ESR

Endangered Species Research

ESR is a gold Open Access research journal on all endangered forms of life on Earth, the threats faced by species and their habitats, and the necessary steps that must be undertaken to ensure their conservation.

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Online: ISSN 1613-4796

Print: ISSN 1863-5407

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr

Volume contents
Endang Species Res 47:91-107 (2022)

Habitat models and assessment of habitat partitioning for Kemp’s ridley and loggerhead marine turtles foraging in Chesapeake Bay (USA)

ABSTRACT: Understanding the spatial distribution of a species is required to enact effective conservation. Complications to effective conservation can arise when the distributions of multiple target species are non-overlapping. Conservation efforts meant to protect one species may shift threats into the distribution of another species. Two species of marine turtle, loggerhead Caretta caretta and Kemp’s ridley Lepidochelys kempii, are common seasonally in Chesapeake Bay, a large estuary on the US east coast. Both species are protected under the US Endangered Species Act and face spatially complex threats in the region. We created habitat suitability models for these 2 species to inform conservation efforts in the region and explore the extent of overlap between their distributions. Argos satellite tags were deployed on 24 Kemp’s ridley and 10 loggerhead turtles to record animal locations within the Bay. Boosted regression tree models were created for each species using presence-only animal locations, predicting suitable habitat within the Bay. Habitat for Kemp’s ridley turtles was predicted in shallow, coastal areas of the southern Bay as well as in brackish areas of rivers. Loggerhead turtle habitat was predicted to extend farther north than Kemp’s ridley habitat and was generally found in deeper areas of the middle Bay. There is some evidence that these 2 species are partitioning habitat. Any conservation measures adopted to conserve marine turtles in the Chesapeake Bay should consider the habitat of both species holistically to avoid shifting impacts from one species to another.

KEYWORDS

Andrew DiMatteo (Corresponding Author)

  • CheloniData LLC, Berthoud, CO 80513, USA
  • McLaughlin Research Corporation, Middletown, RI 02842, USA
andrew.dimatteo@gmail.com

Gwen Lockhart (Co-author)

  • Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic, Norfolk, VA 23508, USA
  • Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, Virginia Beach, VA, 23451 USA

Susan Barco (Co-author)

  • Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, Virginia Beach, VA, 23451 USA