International Journal of Marine Science, 2017, Vol.7, No.33, 316-343
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Nevertheless, considering both approaches and haplotype lengths, we had some aggregations with the same
primary contributors reported in the first publication where these ones appear (
i.e.
breeding males of Mona Island:
Velez-Zuazo et al. (2008), Rio Lagartos: Bowen et al. (2007), Palm Beach County: Wood et al. (2013), Key West
National Wildlife Refuge: Gorham et al. (2014)). This demonstrates that when the sampling or original data are
robust the contributions will tend to the same result even if the
a priori
assumptions vary somewhat. These
inferences coincide with the expected connectivity between these aggregations and their most represented
rookeries, considering the effect of regional sea currents (Blumenthal et al., 2009a). Conversely, the lack of
significance and the low coefficients in the correlations calculated between the TMD and the contributions of the
2000s (Table 3), make it impossible to establish a cause-effect relationship between these variables. If the
haplotype distribution depends on sea currents then a high residence of the oceanic-stage juveniles newly
recruited to the neritic habitats is expected. Nevertheless, an increase in their dispersal capability when
oceanic-stage juveniles are growing could cause the lack of statistical dependence among these variables. Another
possibility is that the TMDs calculated in the present study do not coincide with the true routes taken by the
individuals to their residence sites. There are accurate studies on the swimming behavior of the small juveniles of
hawksbill turtle but these studies are not in the Caribbean region. Nevertheless, the simulations have suggested
that the swimming of the smaller juveniles can be very active on diverse ocean currents and sea temperatures
(Putman et al., 2014). This phenomenon in the hot waters of the WC requires additional evidences to give a better
explanation according to our results.
The incorporation in the MSAs of the present study of other WC rookeries and aggregations recently
characterized (Carreras et al., 2013; Gorham et al., 2014; Cazabon-Mannette et al., 2016) reinforces the
contributions from the largest rookeries (ME, BaL and MI). These populations have experienced the highest
recovery rates in decades (
ca.
6-8 times the Nr from the 1980s, Mortimer and Donnelly (2007)) and also have the
highest frequencies of the most represented haplotypes in the region (A/EiA01, F/EiA11 and Q/EiA23). This is
why rookeries with high or moderate frequency in these haplotypes but limited Nr (Dominican rookeries,
Tortuguero, Barbados windward coast, etc.) generally had lower contributions and narrow confidence intervals.
However, the use of the higher Nr, as occurs in the literature, does not always support the plausibility of the
inferences made. For example, it is unlikely that BaL mainly contributes to the non-adult and adult fishing
aggregation of Doce Leguas in the MSAgr (Supplementary Material 1E; Supplementary Material 1I). This
aggregation is in a foraging (Anderes and Uchida, 1994) and residence area of juveniles most probably born in the
homonymous rookery, and some post-nesting females, also from this source (Moncada et al., 1998; 2012), with
A/EiA01 being the most abundant haplotype (Díaz-Fernández et al., 1999). The contributions calculated in the
MSAoa are more compatible with these evidences, and of the same way, the low values of genetic diversities in
the adult individuals from this aggregation (Table 2). This does not imply that BaL rookery does not contribute
individuals to this feeding aggregation, although only one adult female with a Barbados flipper tag has been
reported in the period 1989-2009 (Moncada et al., 2012).
The analysis of the different MSAs presented here results in many interpretations of the role of JR in the
dispersal/migration of
E. imbricata
in the WC. If only the MSAs with 384 bp (either MSAoa or MSAgr) are
considered in the non-adult fishing aggregations of 2004 and 2005 of JR, the explanation is more simple since this
would mean that many non-adult individuals with Q most probably come from the Mexican source (Figure 1).
The conclusion therefore is that JR is a corridor frequently used by the immature cohorts originating from the
Mexican source to transit to regional foraging grounds. Thus, from a conservationist perspective, JR should also
be a focus of attention for the protection of the Mexican source, consistent with the temporary demographic
growth reported in the Mexican source (Garduño-Andrade et al., 1999; Pérez-Castañeda et al., 2007). In fact, this
increase explains why the rookery-centric approach revealed that the ME rookery did not have a high percentage
of its total number of hatched individuals represented in JR, indicating that the remainder are found in other WC
aggregations. In contrast, in the MSAs with 740 bp the non-adult and adults individuals with EiA23 or EiA41
(Table 2) that migrated via JR are highly likely to have originated in Las Coloradas. However, with the haplotype
EiA43 and EiA24 (N = 11) the derivation is different. The former is rare in the WC and this could mean that while
