Feeding ecology of the green turtle Chelonia mydas in northern Peru

Jimenez, A.; Hooker, Y.; Mangel, J. C.; Pingo, S.; Alfaro-Shigueto, J.

dc.contributor.author	Jimenez, A.
dc.contributor.author	Pingo, S.
dc.contributor.author	Alfaro-Shigueto, J.
dc.contributor.author	Mangel, J. C.
dc.contributor.author	Hooker, Y.
dc.date.accessioned	2019-01-25T16:36:29Z
dc.date.available	2019-01-25T16:36:29Z
dc.date.issued	2017
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12866/4848
dc.description.abstract	Diet and food preferences of the green turtle Chelonia mydas were analyzed based on digestive tract contents of dead specimens caught incidentally by an artisanal gillnet fishery in Sechura Bay, northern Peru. We examined 27 digestive tracts and identified 35 prey items. The sampled turtles were all juveniles (CCL = 53.7 +/- 1.2 cm, range 40.5-67.0 cm). The prey items were grouped into six categories: algae, cnidarians, mollusks, arthropods, chordates and garbage/anthropogenic debris. The items with the highest Frequency of Occurrence values (% FO) were: Caulerpa filiformis (77.8%), Loligo gahi (eggs) (51.9%) and Rhodymenia corallina (44.4%). By weight (% W), the most important items, were L. gahi (eggs) (33.3%), Stomolophus sp. (7.3%) and Aphos porosus (6.5%). According to the Preponderance Index (%IP), the preponderant item was L. gahi (eggs) with 6.1% and 61.2% during winter-spring and summer-autumn, respectively. According to the Resultant Weight index (Rw) of wet items, the most important items were: C. filiformis (13.1%), L. gahi (eggs) (10.5%), R. corallina (7.4%), plastic (7.5%), Gigartina chamissoi (5.1%). Garbage/anthropogenic debris was common in the digestive tracts analyzed. Plastic items had a frequency of occurrence of 44.4%. A greater diversity of food items was observed during summer and autumn. This study shows that juvenile C. mydas forage on a variety of resources. We recommend that conservation plans, land use planning and future management plans in the Sechura Bay include green turtles as a sentinel species for monitoring biodiversity of marine resources and the degree of pollution in the Bay.	en_US
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher	Escuela de Ciencias del Mar Pontificia. Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es
dc.subject	Peru	en_US
dc.subject	Fisheries	en_US
dc.subject	Marine & Freshwater Biology	en_US
dc.subject	gulf-of-california	en_US
dc.subject	bahia magdalena	en_US
dc.subject	baja-california	en_US
dc.subject	Chelonia mydas	en_US
dc.subject	coastal foraging area	en_US
dc.subject	colombian pacific	en_US
dc.subject	diet	en_US
dc.subject	east pacific	en_US
dc.subject	gorgona-national-park	en_US
dc.subject	sea-turtles	en_US
dc.subject	Sechura	en_US
dc.subject	small-scale fisheries	en_US
dc.subject	trophic ecology	en_US
dc.title	Feeding ecology of the green turtle Chelonia mydas in northern Peru	en_US
dc.type	info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.3856/vol45-issue3-fulltext-8
dc.subject.ocde	https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#4.01.08
dc.subject.ocde	https://purl.org/pe-repo/ocde/ford#1.05.11
dc.relation.issn	0718-560X