Data from: High rates of growth recorded for hawksbill sea turtles in Anegada, British Virgin Islands

Management of species of conservation concern requires knowledge of
demographic parameters, such as rates of recruitment, survival, and
growth. In the Caribbean, hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) have
been historically exploited in huge numbers to satisfy trade in their
shells and meat. In the present study, we estimated growth rate of
juvenile hawksbill turtles around Anegada, British Virgin Islands, using
capture–mark–recapture of 59 turtles over periods of up to 649 days.
Turtles were recaptured up to six times, having moved up to 5.9 km from
the release location. Across all sizes, turtles grew at an average rate of
9.3 cm year−1 (range 2.3–20.3 cm year−1), and gained mass at an average of
3.9 kg year−1 (range 850 g–16.1 kg year−1). Carapace length was a
significant predictor of growth rate and mass gain, but there was no
relationship between either variable and sea surface temperature. These
are among the fastest rates of growth reported for this species, with
seven turtles growing at a rate that would increase their body size by
more than half per year (51–69% increase in body length). This study also
demonstrates the importance of shallow water reef systems for the
developmental habitat for juvenile hawksbill turtles. Although growth
rates for posthatching turtles in the pelagic, and turtles larger than 61
cm, are not known for this population, the implications of this study are
that Caribbean hawksbill turtles in some areas may reach body sizes
suggesting sexual maturity in less time than previously considered.

针对受保护物种的管理工作，需掌握其种群统计参数，包括补充率、存活率与生长速率等。在加勒比海域，玳瑁（Eretmochelys imbricata）曾因人类为获取其龟壳与肉开展贸易而遭到大规模捕杀。本研究以英属维尔京群岛阿内加达岛周边的幼年玳瑁为研究对象，通过对59只个体开展标记重捕法（capture–mark–recapture）调查，追踪时长最长达649天，以此估算其生长速率。部分个体的重捕次数最多达6次，其活动范围距放流地点最远可达5.9公里。所有体型等级的幼年玳瑁平均生长速率为9.3厘米/年（范围2.3~20.3厘米/年），平均体质量增长速率为3.9千克/年（范围850克~16.1千克/年）。背甲长度是生长速率与体质量增长的显著预测因子，但上述两项指标均与海表温度无显著关联。本研究测得的生长速率位列该物种已报道的最快生长速率之列，其中7只个体的生长速率可使其体型每年增长超50%（背甲长度增幅达51%~69%）。本研究同时证实了浅海礁系统作为幼年玳瑁发育栖息地的重要性。尽管目前尚不明确该种群中远洋生境的孵化后幼龟以及背甲长度超过61厘米的个体的生长速率，但本研究结果表明，部分海域的加勒比玳瑁可在比此前认知更短的时间内达到预示性成熟的体型尺寸。