Research Training Program

James F. Parham
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, Rhode Island

George R. Zug, Ph.D.
Project Advisor
Department of Vertebrate Zoology
Division of Reptiles and Amphibians

"It was scary. It was fun ."

Age and Growth in Cumberland Island Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Carette caretta). A Reassessment.

Humeri collected from Loggerhead sea turtle strandings on Cumberland Island were analyzed using two skeletochronological protocols. The first, described in Zug et. al. (1986), is compared with a regression protocol derived from fish otolith studies (Ralston and Miyamoto, 1983). Both are fitted to known growth equations. The regression protocol's age estimates used to calculate a logistic growth curve gives the least variable growth model. Comparison to nesting data yields an estimated average age at sexual maturity at 27-30 years for this population.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, Award Number BIR-9300225.