Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2003

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Wyneken, Jeanette

Abstract

To improve our understanding of loggerhead life history, particularly factors affecting the duration of each age class and survivorship, detailed growth data must be interpreted. The purpose of this study was to investigate how temporal and spatial nest origin influence initial hatchling size and growth potential. Seasonal environmental fluctuations and maternal resource allocation could result in differential hatchling size and development. Hatchlings from ten sites from North Carolina to Florida representing 2 subpopulations were sampled during 3 phases of the season. The largest (WT, SCL and SCW) hatchlings came from the northernmost site with initial size decreasing as latitude decreased. Turtles deposited during the earliest phase of the nesting season grew faster than those from later phases of the season. Differences in initial size and growth potential could influence early stage survivorship as a function of size-based predation, and may imply the need for separate consideration when constructing population models.

Extent

65 p.

Comments

FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2003.|Charles E. Schmidt College of Science|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Identifier

FADT13070

Format

pdf

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