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Foraging Behavior of Wild Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Palm Beach County, Florida, USA

Chelonian Conservation and Biology, ISSN: 1071-8443, Vol: 16, Issue: 1, Page: 70-75
2017
  • 8
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 44
    Captures
  • 0
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    8
    • Citation Indexes
      8
  • Captures
    44

Article Description

Foraging behavior from 30 wild hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) was video-recorded by scuba divers on the coral reefs of Palm Beach County, Florida. A transition matrix was created to calculate the sequence and frequency of 5 behavioral categories leading to prey ingestion, and general observations associated with foraging behavior were described. Likely aided by olfaction, the hawksbills at this site employed a multistep process to preferentially locate and ingest well-concealed sessile invertebrates, notably poriferans of the class Demospongiae. Cumulatively, behavioral frequencies decreased as the sequence progressed toward prey consumption, and only a small proportion of the items handled were ingested. Highly exploratory foraging behavior may aid hawksbills to adaptively identify and prioritize dietary preferences within and among habitat types.

Bibliographic Details

Lawrence D. Wood; Sarah L. Milton; Terry L. Maple

Chelonian Conservation and Biology Journal

Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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