Logo image
Global analysis of the effect of local climate on the hatchling output of leatherback turtles
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Global analysis of the effect of local climate on the hatchling output of leatherback turtles

Pilar Santidrian Tomillo, Vincent S. Saba, Claudia D. Lombard, Jennifer M. Valiulis, Nathan J. Robinson, Frank V. Paladino, James R. Spotila, Carlos Fernandez, Marga L. Rivas, Jenny Tucek, …
Scientific reports, v 5(1), pp 16789-16789
17 Nov 2015
PMID: 26572897
url
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep16789View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY V4.0 Open

Abstract

Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology Science & Technology - Other Topics
The most recent climate change projections show a global increase in temperatures along with precipitation changes throughout the 21st century. However, regional projections do not always match global projections and species with global distributions may exhibit varying regional susceptibility to climate change. Here we show the effect of local climatic conditions on the hatchling output of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) at four nesting sites encompassing the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. We found a heterogeneous effect of climate. Hatchling output increased with long-term precipitation in areas with dry climatic conditions (Playa Grande, Pacific Ocean and Sandy Point, Caribbean Sea), but the effect varied in areas where precipitation was high (Pacuare, Caribbean Sea) and was not detected at the temperate site (Maputaland, Indian Ocean). High air temperature reduced hatchling output only at the area experiencing seasonal droughts (Playa Grande). Climatic projections showed a drastic increase in air temperature and a mild decrease in precipitation at all sites by 2100. The most unfavorable conditions were projected for Sandy Point where hatching success has already declined over time along with precipitation levels. The heterogeneous effect of climate may lead to local extinctions of leatherback turtles in some areas but survival in others by 2100.

Metrics

8 Record Views
58 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#15 Life on Land
#13 Climate Action

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Ecology
Logo image