Authors
Antonios D Mazaris, Athanasios S Kallimanis, Stefanos P Sgardelis, John D Pantis
Publication date
2008/12/15
Journal
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Volume
367
Issue
2
Pages
219-226
Publisher
Elsevier
Description
Global climate change is likely to have an important influence on the phenology, behaviour and population dynamics of many species. We investigate climatic related changes in the breeding phenology of Mediterranean loggerhead marine turtles Caretta caretta over a 19 year period and the potential relationship between these changes and reproductive success and performance. We found that the studied population has experienced fluctuating sea surface temperatures (SST) with an increasing trend during the last century. With increasing spring SST there is a trend towards earlier nesting. However, there is no significant relationship between SST and nesting season, defined as the duration between the first recorded emergence and the last nest laid. Our analyses indicate that marine turtles display phenological changes, and thus maintain favorable thermal conditions at the nesting sites. Furthermore …
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