Adult female sea turtles are highly migratory, moving between foraging and nesting areas that can be thousands of kilometers apart. Conserving sea turtles and their habitats therefore depends on knowledge of space use across these migration-linked environments. Here, we describe migratory behavior of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), a globally imperiled species. We used satellite telemetry to characterize the movements of females from nesting areas in Jamaica (n = 4) and Antigua (n = 4), West Indies, over 1998–2001. We mapped migrations and summarized space use during inter-nesting and foraging periods with kernel utilization distributions (UDs) and minimum convex polygons. Seven of eight turtles made post-nesting migrations, with paths ranging 56–1324 km in length, representing straight-line displacements of 68–1206 km. Two turtles sampled in southern Jamaica made short-range migrations within southern Jamaican waters, whereas two from northern Jamaica migrated further to foraging areas in the waters of Belize and Honduras. Three migrants sampled at Long Island, Antigua migrated to St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, and Redonda, respectively, with a fourth individual remaining resident in northeastern Antigua. Inter-nesting movements observed for three turtles produced 50% UDs ranging 12–44 km2, with centroid depths between 4–13 m. Foraging UDs for seven turtles spanned 8–111 km2 and 2–161 m in depth. Our results reveal variable migratory strategies, demonstrate international connectivity between hawksbill foraging and nesting habitats, and provide important information for Caribbean conservation efforts such as the design of protected areas or fisheries policies.

中文翻译：

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卫星遥测技术阐明了加勒比海玳瑁海龟 Eretmochelys imbricata 的迁徙路径和觅食区

成年雌性海龟是高度迁徙的，在相距数千公里的觅食区和筑巢区之间移动。因此，保护​​海龟及其栖息地取决于这些与迁徙相关的环境中的空间利用知识。在这里，我们描述了玳瑁海龟 (Eretmochelys imbricata) 的迁徙行为，这是一种全球濒危物种。我们使用卫星遥测来描述 1998-2001 年间来自牙买加 (n = 4) 和安提瓜 (n = 4) 西印度群岛筑巢区的雌性的活动。我们使用内核利用率分布 (UD) 和最小凸多边形绘制了迁移并总结了嵌套和觅食期间的空间使用情况。八只海龟中有七只进行了筑巢后迁徙，路径长度为 56-1324 公里，直线位移为 68-1206 公里。在牙买加南部采样的两只海龟在牙买加南部水域进行了短程迁移，而来自牙买加北部的两只海龟则进一步迁移到伯利兹和洪都拉斯水域的觅食区。在安提瓜长岛取样的三名移民分别迁移到圣尤斯特歇斯、圣基茨和雷东达，第四个人仍居住在安提瓜东北部。观察到三只海龟的嵌套运动产生了 50% 的 UD，范围为 12-44 km2，质心深度在 4-13 m 之间。七只海龟的觅食 UD 跨越 8-111 km2 和 2-161 m 深度。我们的研究结果揭示了不同的迁徙策略，展示了玳瑁觅食和筑巢栖息地之间的国际连通性，并为加勒比地区的保护工作提供了重要信息，例如保护区或渔业政策的设计。