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Feeding ecology of subadult green sea turtles in south Texas waters
| dc.creator | Coyne, Michael Scott | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2012-06-07T22:35:57Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2012-06-07T22:35:57Z | |
| dc.date.created | 1994 | |
| dc.date.issued | 1994 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1994-THESIS-C8813 | |
| dc.description | Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to digital@library.tamu.edu, referencing the URI of the item. | en |
| dc.description | Includes bibliographical references. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Feeding ecology of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) at South Padre Island, Texas was characterized from April 1991- March 1993. Ninety turtle captures in entanglement and cast-nets were comprised of 24 individuals from jetty habitat at Brazos Santiago Pass and 27 others over grassbed habitat of South Bay/.N4exiquita Flats. Size range of captured turtles [22.2-81.5 cm straight carapace length (SCL)] indicated that green sea turtles use the two sites as developmental habitats. Size of turtles differed significantly between sites Oetty: 22.2-47.9 cm, mean-31.3 cm SCL; grassbeds: 29.6-81.5 cm, mean-44.6 cm SCL). Comparison of food items flushed from green turtle stomachs with available forage material suggested significant feeding selectivity. Turtles from jetty environs fed strictly on algae, showing a preference for Ulvafasciata, Rhodymenia pseudopalmata, Family Ceramiaceae, Bryocladia sp., and Hypnea mu-sciformis. Grassbed turtles fed primarily on seagrasses and exhibited a preference for the least abundant taxon, Halodule wrightii. The von Bertalanffy growth interval equation was Lt = 1 13.84(l-0.960e-0.0768t). Age at maturity estimates ranged from 18 to 26 years. Highest growth rate was observed in spring and summer (0.62 and 0.64 cm/month, respectively) and lowest in winter (0. 14 cnx/month). Activity patterns varied seasonally, with increased movement during months when mean water temperature exceeded 25 C. Strong site fidelity also was observed during warmer months. | en |
| dc.format.medium | electronic | en |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Texas A&M University | |
| dc.rights | This thesis was part of a retrospective digitization project authorized by the Texas A&M University Libraries in 2008. Copyright remains vested with the author(s). It is the user's responsibility to secure permission from the copyright holder(s) for re-use of the work beyond the provision of Fair Use. | en |
| dc.subject | wildlife and fisheries sciences. | en |
| dc.subject | Major wildlife and fisheries sciences. | en |
| dc.title | Feeding ecology of subadult green sea turtles in south Texas waters | en |
| dc.type | Thesis | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | wildlife and fisheries sciences | en |
| thesis.degree.name | M.S. | en |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | en |
| dc.type.genre | thesis | en |
| dc.type.material | text | en |
| dc.format.digitalOrigin | reformatted digital | en |
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