Abstract To conserve imperiled marine species, an understanding of high-density use zones is necessary prior to designing and evaluating management strategies that improve their survival. We satellite-tracked turtles captured after nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument (BIRNM), St. Croix, US Virgin Islands to determine habitat-use patterns of endangered adult female hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata). For 31 turtles captured between 2011 and 2014, switching state-space modeling and home range analyses showed that inter-nesting (IN) core-use areas (i.e., 50% kernel density estimates [KDEs]) were 9.6 to 77.7 km2 in area, occupied for 21 to 85 days, and in shallow water (21 of 26 centroids > −10 m). The IN zones overlapped with areas both within the protected borders of BIRNM, and outside BIRNM (32% of turtle-tracking days outside during IN). Turtles migrated to their foraging grounds between July and October with path lengths ranging from 52 to 3524 km; foraging areas included 14 countries. Core-use foraging areas (50% KDEs) where turtles took up residence were 6.3 to 95.4 km2, occupied for 22 to 490 days, with mean centroid depth − 66 m. Our results show previously unknown habitat-use patterns and highlight concentrated areas of use both within and adjacent to a US protected area during the breeding season. Further, our results clearly demonstrate the need for international conservation to protect hawksbills, as migrating turtles crossed between two and eight different jurisdictions. Our results provide critical spatial and temporal information for managers charged with designing strategies to minimize human impact to and maximize survival for this globally imperiled species.

中文翻译：

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对在美属维尔京群岛巴克岛礁国家纪念碑筑巢的玳瑁进行卫星跟踪：筑巢和觅食期间的移动和迁徙

摘要 为了保护濒危海洋物种，在设计和评估改善其生存的管理策略之前，必须了解高密度利用区。我们对在美属维尔京群岛圣克罗伊岛巴克岛礁国家纪念碑 (BIRNM) 筑巢后捕获的海龟进行卫星跟踪，以确定濒危成年雌玳瑁 (Eretmochelys imbricata) 的栖息地使用模式。对于 2011 年至 2014 年间捕获的 31 只海龟，切换状态空间建模和家庭范围分析表明，嵌套 (IN) 核心使用区域（即 50% 核密度估计 [KDE]）的面积为 9.6 至 77.7 平方公里，占据了 21 到 85 天，并且在浅水中（26 个质心中的 21 个 > -10 m）。IN 区与 BIRNM 受保护边界内的区域重叠，和 BIRNM 之外（IN 期间 32% 的海龟跟踪天数在外面）。海龟在 7 月至 10 月间迁徙到它们的觅食地，路径长度为 52 至 3524 公里；觅食区包括14个国家。海龟居住的核心使用觅食区（50% KDE）为 6.3 至 95.4 平方公里，占用时间为 22 至 490 天，平均质心深度 - 66 m。我们的结果显示了以前未知的栖息地使用模式，并突出了繁殖季节期间美国保护区内和附近的集中使用区域。此外，我们的结果清楚地表明需要国际保护来保护玳瑁，因为迁徙的海龟跨越了两到八个不同的管辖区。