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<p>Understanding long-term dietary patterns is critical for assessing how environmental changes and anthropogenic impacts affect a species across life stages and utilized habitats. We compared gut contents of large juvenile and adult green turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>) foraging off the Miskito Cays, Nicaragua, in 1975 and 2020, and of adult females nesting at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, in 1976–1978 and 2021–2023. At the foraging ground, the seagrass <i>Thalassia testudinum</i> comprised over 90% of gut contents in both periods, indicating meadow stability despite global seagrass declines. These meadows appear to function below historical grazing pressure, as turtle populations remain well below carrying capacity following past overexploitation. Among foraging turtles, adult females consumed more animal matter than males and juvenile females, potentially to meet the energetic demands of reproduction. Reproductively active males at foraging grounds as well as nesting females ingested more anthropogenic debris, which may reflect worsening riverine pollution from densely populated areas upstream from the nesting beach and neritic mating habitats. Moreover, nesting females ingested more riparian vegetation and algae than foraging individuals. The rise in algal ingestion at the nesting beach, particularly of <i>Sargassum</i> spp., mirrors ongoing environmental changes, with eutrophication and shifting oceanic circulation altering the availability and drift patterns of macroalgae. These findings underscore the need to protect resilient foraging habitats while mitigating anthropogenic threats at nesting sites through improved watershed management and pollution control.</p>

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Gut contents of Caribbean green turtles (Chelonia mydas) across nearly five decades reveal a consistent diet at the foraging ground and human-induced shifts in ingesta off the nesting beach

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月6日

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  • Renato Saragoça Bruno,
  • Cynthia J. Lagueux,
  • Anne B. Meylan,
  • Sebastián Bonilla Sánchez,
  • William Jirón Toruño,
  • Alan B. Bolten,
  • Karen A. Bjorndal

摘要

Understanding long-term dietary patterns is critical for assessing how environmental changes and anthropogenic impacts affect a species across life stages and utilized habitats. We compared gut contents of large juvenile and adult green turtles (Chelonia mydas) foraging off the Miskito Cays, Nicaragua, in 1975 and 2020, and of adult females nesting at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, in 1976–1978 and 2021–2023. At the foraging ground, the seagrass Thalassia testudinum comprised over 90% of gut contents in both periods, indicating meadow stability despite global seagrass declines. These meadows appear to function below historical grazing pressure, as turtle populations remain well below carrying capacity following past overexploitation. Among foraging turtles, adult females consumed more animal matter than males and juvenile females, potentially to meet the energetic demands of reproduction. Reproductively active males at foraging grounds as well as nesting females ingested more anthropogenic debris, which may reflect worsening riverine pollution from densely populated areas upstream from the nesting beach and neritic mating habitats. Moreover, nesting females ingested more riparian vegetation and algae than foraging individuals. The rise in algal ingestion at the nesting beach, particularly of Sargassum spp., mirrors ongoing environmental changes, with eutrophication and shifting oceanic circulation altering the availability and drift patterns of macroalgae. These findings underscore the need to protect resilient foraging habitats while mitigating anthropogenic threats at nesting sites through improved watershed management and pollution control.