Interpreting the Pre-Nesting Foraging Ecology of Florida’s Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea)

The migratory behavior of North Atlantic leatherback turtles (Dermochelys
coriacea) has been documented in the Wider Caribbean, but the migratory movements of
leatherbacks nesting in South Florida are relatively understudied. Our knowledge of their
migrations is currently limited to ten nesting females tracked from the east coast of
Florida that either moved north to the Northern Atlantic or east to the coast of Western
Africa. These results bring to light the need for further investigation and larger sample
sizes to identify and determine the relative importance of the different foraging areas for
the leatherbacks nesting in South Florida. Here, I analyzed stable carbon (δ13C) and stable
nitrogen (δ15N) values in whole blood and skin of leatherbacks nesting in South Florida
between 2014 and 2017 to estimate the putative foraging origins of these nesters prior to
coming to South Florida to nest. This study provides some of the first stable isotope
inferences and insights into the variable pre-nesting foraging habitat locations of
Florida’s leatherback population.