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Background <p>The northwest Atlantic leatherback sea turtle (<i>Dermochelys coriacea</i>) migrates long distances between subtropical nesting grounds and high-latitude foraging areas. Leatherbacks nesting in Costa Rica and southeastern Florida forage along the continental shelf of North America and Gulf of Mexico, where numerous acoustic arrays are situated. Here, we aim to understand long-term post-nesting occurrence within the northwest Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico using acoustic telemetry. In addition, we experiment with two different transmitter attachment techniques to evaluate tracking duration and improve animal welfare. Forty-six Vemco V16-4 × acoustic transmitters were affixed to nesting leatherbacks in Pacuaré Nature Reserve, Costa Rica (N = 8), and Juno Beach, Florida, USA (N = 38) during 2019–2025.</p> Results <p>Three leatherbacks tagged in Costa Rica were detected 66,780 times by 27 receiver stations in the Gulf of Mexico and northwest Atlantic Ocean, although one individual accounted for 99% of all detections. To date, 38 leatherbacks tagged in Florida generated 5465 total detections by 361 receiver stations between the southeast Florida Shelf and the Scotian Shelf. Transmitters attached with stainless-steel wire had significantly longer tracking durations (<i>p</i> = 0.001), although this should be interpreted with caution due to differing deployment timelines between the two attachment sites and wire usage. Monofilament wire (<i>p</i> = 0.017), pygal attachments (<i>p</i> = 0.003), and using two drill channels instead of one (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001) all yielded significantly higher total detections, likely due to improving attachment stability. The proportion of turtles that responded to the pygal attachment site (80%; 12 of 15 turtles) was significantly greater than the proportion of turtles that responded to the ridge mount attachment site (0 of 23 turtles) (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001).</p> Conclusion <p>This is the first known application of implementing acoustic telemetry to monitor the movements of adult leatherbacks. Results indicate it has the potential to monitor leatherback presence at post-nesting habitats; however, further research and detections are necessary to fully validate this method. We found that the medial ridge attachment method of acoustic transmitters caused no observable pain response and suggest using this attachment method to prioritize animal welfare for future studies. Finally, we encourage satellite telemetry studies to incorporate acoustic telemetry when appropriate.</p>

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Evaluating the viability and animal welfare of acoustic telemetry for the long-term monitoring of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea)

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月3日

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  • Derek M. Aoki,
  • William R. Bishop,
  • Jeffrey R. Guertin,
  • Annie Page,
  • Selena Persaud,
  • George L. Shillinger,
  • Justin R. Perrault

摘要

Background

The northwest Atlantic leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) migrates long distances between subtropical nesting grounds and high-latitude foraging areas. Leatherbacks nesting in Costa Rica and southeastern Florida forage along the continental shelf of North America and Gulf of Mexico, where numerous acoustic arrays are situated. Here, we aim to understand long-term post-nesting occurrence within the northwest Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico using acoustic telemetry. In addition, we experiment with two different transmitter attachment techniques to evaluate tracking duration and improve animal welfare. Forty-six Vemco V16-4 × acoustic transmitters were affixed to nesting leatherbacks in Pacuaré Nature Reserve, Costa Rica (N = 8), and Juno Beach, Florida, USA (N = 38) during 2019–2025.

Results

Three leatherbacks tagged in Costa Rica were detected 66,780 times by 27 receiver stations in the Gulf of Mexico and northwest Atlantic Ocean, although one individual accounted for 99% of all detections. To date, 38 leatherbacks tagged in Florida generated 5465 total detections by 361 receiver stations between the southeast Florida Shelf and the Scotian Shelf. Transmitters attached with stainless-steel wire had significantly longer tracking durations (p = 0.001), although this should be interpreted with caution due to differing deployment timelines between the two attachment sites and wire usage. Monofilament wire (p = 0.017), pygal attachments (p = 0.003), and using two drill channels instead of one (p < 0.001) all yielded significantly higher total detections, likely due to improving attachment stability. The proportion of turtles that responded to the pygal attachment site (80%; 12 of 15 turtles) was significantly greater than the proportion of turtles that responded to the ridge mount attachment site (0 of 23 turtles) (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

This is the first known application of implementing acoustic telemetry to monitor the movements of adult leatherbacks. Results indicate it has the potential to monitor leatherback presence at post-nesting habitats; however, further research and detections are necessary to fully validate this method. We found that the medial ridge attachment method of acoustic transmitters caused no observable pain response and suggest using this attachment method to prioritize animal welfare for future studies. Finally, we encourage satellite telemetry studies to incorporate acoustic telemetry when appropriate.