Persistent Leatherback Turtle Migrations
Present Opportunities for Conservation

George L. Shillinger1, Daniel M. Palacios2,3, Helen Bailey3, Steven J. Bograd3, Alan M. Swithenbank1, Philippe Gaspar4,
Bryan P. Wallace5, James R. Spotila6, Frank V. Paladino7, Rotney Piedra8, Scott A. Eckert9, Barbara A. Block1*
1 Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, Pacific Grove, California, United States of America, 2 Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, Honolulu, Hawaii,
United States of America, 3 NOAA/NMFS/SWFSC/Environmental Research Division, Pacific Grove, California, United States of America, 4 Collecte Localisation Satellites,
Direction Oce´anographie Spatiale, Ramonville, France, 5 Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia, United States of America,
6 Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, 7 Department of Biology, Indiana-Purdue University,
Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States of America, 8 Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas, Ministerio de Ambiente y Energı´a, San Jose´ , Costa Rica, 9 Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle
Conservation Network, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, North Carolina, United States of America
Effective transboundary conservation of highly migratory marine animals requires international management
cooperation as well as clear scientific information about habitat use by these species. Populations of leatherback
turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the eastern Pacific have declined by .90% during the past two decades, primarily due
to unsustainable egg harvest and fisheries bycatch mortality. While research and conservation efforts on nesting
beaches are ongoing, relatively little is known about this population of leatherbacks’ oceanic habitat use and
migration pathways. We present the largest multi-year (2004–2005, 2005–2006, and 2007) satellite tracking dataset
(12,095 cumulative satellite tracking days) collected for leatherback turtles. Forty-six females were electronically
tagged during three field seasons at Playa Grande, Costa Rica, the largest extant nesting colony in the eastern Pacific.
After completing nesting, the turtles headed southward, traversing the dynamic equatorial currents with rapid,
directed movements. In contrast to the highly varied dispersal patterns seen in many other sea turtle populations,
leatherbacks from Playa Grande traveled within a persistent migration corridor from Costa Rica, past the equator, and
into the South Pacific Gyre, a vast, low-energy, low-productivity region. We describe the predictable effects of ocean
currents on a leatherback migration corridor and characterize long-distance movements by the turtles in the eastern
South Pacific. These data from high seas habitats will also elucidate potential areas for mitigating fisheries bycatch
interactions. These findings directly inform existing multinational conservation frameworks and provide immediate
regions in the migration corridor where conservation can be implemented. We identify high seas locations for focusing
future conservation efforts within the leatherback dispersal zone in the South Pacific Gyre.
Citation: Shillinger GL, Palacios DM, Bailey H, Bograd SJ, Swithenbank AM, et al. (2008) Persistent leatherback turtle migrations present opportunities for conservation. PLoS
Biol 6(7): e171. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060171