ABSTRACT: The use of marine offshore benthic habitats by sea turtles is poorly characterized due to the difficulty of obtaining in situ data. Understanding benthic habitat use that is important to the species’ reproduction, foraging, and migrations is critical for guiding management decisions. A towed camera-based assessment survey system (C-BASS) equipped with environmental sensors was used to characterize and assess benthic habitats on the West Florida Shelf (WFS) from 2014 to 2018. During these cruises, sea turtles were opportunistically observed during the surveys, and critical in situ data such as spatiotemporal information, species identification, habitat use, behavior, and environmental data were collected and evaluated. In total, 79 sea turtles were observed during 97 transects of approximately 2700 km of seafloor, which was recorded on 380 h of video. Several sea turtle species were spotted within the WFS, including loggerhead Caretta caretta, Kemp’s ridley Lepidochelys kempii, and green turtles Chelonia mydas. These opportunistic sightings revealed an area of high use on the WFS, an anthropogenic structure known as the Gulfstream natural gas pipeline (GSPL). C-BASS survey results suggest that 2 sea turtle species (C. caretta and L. kempii) utilize this artificial structure primarily as a resting area. We emphasize the importance of combining habitat mapping techniques (towed underwater video and multibeam bathymetry/backscatter) with tracking technology to better understand the fine-scale habitat use of sea turtles.

中文翻译：

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根据原位拖曳的相机观测结果，西佛罗里达州的架子管道可作为海龟底栖生境

摘要：由于难以获得原位数据，海龟对海洋近海底栖生境的使用特征不佳。了解底栖生境的使用对物种的繁殖，觅食和迁移很重要，这对于指导管理决策至关重要。从2014年至2018年，使用配有环境传感器的基于摄像头的拖曳式评估调查系统（C-BASS）来表征和评估西佛罗里达州陆架（WFS）的底栖生物栖息地。在这些航行中，在调查期间有机会观察到海龟，并在现场就位收集并评估了诸如时空信息，物种识别，栖息地使用，行为和环境数据之类的数据。在大约380小时的视频中记录了总共约2700 km的海底的97个样带，总共观察到79只海龟。一些海龟物种的WFS中发现，包括海龟科圆科圆，肯普氏丽龟鳞kempii和绿海龟绿海龟。这些机会主义的发现揭示了WFS上的一个高使用区域，WFS是一种人为的结构，被称为湾流天然气管道（GSPL）。C-BASS调查结果表明，有2种海龟物种（C. caretta和L. kempii）将该人造结构主要用作休息区。我们强调将栖息地制图技术（拖曳的水下视频和多光束测深/反向散射）与跟踪技术相结合的重要性，以更好地了解海龟的精细栖息地用途。