Age and growth determination by skeletochronology in loggerhead sea turtles (<i>Caretta caretta</i>) from the Mediterranean Sea

Paolo Casale; Nicoletta Conte; Daniela Freggi; Carla Cioni; Roberto Argano

doi:10.3989/scimar.2011.75n1197

Autores/as

Paolo Casale Department of Biology amd Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, University of Rome “La Sapienza”
Nicoletta Conte Department of Biology amd Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, University of Rome “La Sapienza”
Daniela Freggi Sea Turtle Rescue Centre WWF Italy
Carla Cioni Department of Biology amd Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, University of Rome “La Sapienza”
Roberto Argano Department of Biology amd Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, University of Rome “La Sapienza”

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/scimar.2011.75n1197

Palabras clave:

tortuga boba marina, tasa de crecimiento, edad y tamaño, esclerocronología, Mediterráneo

Resumen

La esclerocronología se aplicaba a los huesos de los húmeros para determinar la edad y las tasas de crecimiento de la tortuga boba Caretta caretta del Mediterráneo. Cincuenta y cinco tortugas bobas muertas de 24 a 86.5 cm de longitud de la curvatura del caparazón (CCL) fueron recogidas del Mediterráneo central. Secciones de los húmeros fueron procesados histológicamente para analizar las marcas anuales de crecimiento. Se aplicaron dos aproximaciones para determinar el crecimiento somático utilizando la función de crecimiento de von Bertalanffy. La primera aproximación se basaba en el número total de marcas de crecimiento, correspondiendo a la edad de las tortugas en el momento de la muerte. La segunda aproximación era una estimación de la longitud del caparazón en las marcas de crecimiento más antiguas, con la intención de saber la tasa de crecimiento de cada tortuga. Las tasas de crecimiento individual observadas, oscilaban entre 1.4 y 6.2 cm año^–1, mostrando una elevada diversidad individual intra e interanual, posiblemente ligada a la variabilidad ambiental experimentada por las tortugas bobas durante su vida. Ambas aproximaciones dieron resultados similares y sugieren que la tortuga mediterránea tarda 14.5-28.5 años en alcanzar un tamaño de 66.5-84.7 cm de CCL. Este tamaño corresponde al tamaño medio de las tortugas bobas hembras nidificantes, encontradas en la mayoría de lugares nidificantes del Mediterráneo y puede ser considerado el tamaño aproximado de la madurez.

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