Estimating body mass in leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea

Abstract

0.001 indicated that body mass can be estimated with 93 % accuracy by body mass (kg) = -709.146 + 3.391 Median-BodyCirc (cm) + 2.664SCCL (cm), where SCCL is the standard curvilinear carapace length and MedianBodyCirc is body circumference at half of SCCL. A sensibility test showed that this parsimonious model is robust, as estimated body mass may change by 0.7 to 1.3% for 1 to 2 cm changes in SCCL and by 0.9 to 1.7% for 1 to 2 cm changes in circumference. Leatherback turtles from French Guiana were larger and heavier than at all other nesting sites studied so far, suggesting either that gravid leatherbacks feed during the nesting season in French Guiana and/or that this species may exhibit site-specific growth strategies. Further studies are required to test these hypotheses, including implementation of similar simple models for other nesting populations, in order to better understand the life history of this endangered species. © Inter-Research 2006.