Cynthia Lagueux

University of Florida | UF · Department of Biology

Delineating spatial boundaries that accurately encompass complex, often cryptic, life histories of highly migratory marine megafauna can be a significant conservation challenge. For example, marine turtles range across vast ocean basins and coastal areas, thus complicating the evaluation of relative impacts of multiple overlapping threats and the c...

The countless tranquil beaches of the Caribbean, with their gently lapping waves and fringing palm trees, give the feeling of permanence. Although you could be excused for thinking that these ecosystems—and their sea turtle inhabitants—have remained largely untouched for millennia, this is far from the truth. Sea turtles have provided the people of...

Somatic growth is an integrated, individual-based response to environmental conditions, especially in ectotherms. Growth dynamics of large, mobile animals are particularly useful as bio-indicators of environmental change at regional scales. We assembled growth rate data from throughout the West Atlantic for green turtles, Chelonia mydas, which are...

One of the largest legal green turtle, Chelonia mydas, fisheries in the world occurs in Caribbean Nicaragua, where annually thousands of endangered turtles are captured for consumption. Understanding characteristics of turtles caught and assessing trends can provide insights into population status and resource management needs. From 1994 to 2011, g...

Somatic growth dynamics are an integrated response to environmental conditions. Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are long-lived, major consumers in coral reef habitats that move over broad geographic areas (hundreds to thousands of kilometers). We evaluated spatio-temporal effects on hawksbill growth dynamics over a 33-yr period and 2...

This is the first assessment of catch rates for the legal, artisanal green turtle, Chelonia mydas, fishery in Caribbean Nicaragua. Data were collected by community members, monitoring up to 14 landing sites from 1991 to 2011. We examined take levels, and temporal and spatial variability in catch rates for the overall fishery, by region, and communi...

ABSTRACT: While many migratory marine organisms converge at breeding areas, identifying foraging strategies away from these reproductive sites can be challenging. Adult female green turtles Chelonia mydas regularly migrate thousands of kilometers between nesting and foraging areas, making it difficult to identify foraging habitats that support nest...

Management of the critically endangered hawksbill turtle in the Wider Caribbean (WC) has been hampered by knowledge gaps regarding stock structure. We carried out a comprehensive stock structure re-assessment of 11 WC hawksbill rookeries using longer mtDNA sequences, larger sample sizes (N = 647), and additional rookeries compared to previous surve...

Background/Question/Methods Concerns regarding the potential effects of climate change on marine megafauna largely have been focused on polar environments, where changes in ice coverage can dramatically affect habitat and prey availability. Less attention has been given to cetaceans and turtles in temperate and tropical waters even though climate c...

During 1955–2003, flipper tags were attached to 46,983 green turtles and ten turtles were fitted with satellite transmitters at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Eight satellite-tracked turtles stayed within 135km of the beach and probably returned to nest after release. The internesting area is more extensive than previously documented. Post-nesting migrati...

The goal of this study was to quantify marine turtle nesting activity by species, identify threats to their populations, and provide recommendations for their conservation on the south-east coast of Nicaragua. One survey was conducted in each of 1998 and 1999, and 10 surveys in 2000. The majority of nesting emergences were by leatherback Dermochely...

The largest remaining green turtle (Chelonia mydas) population in the Atlantic is potentially threatened by the resurgence of a commercial artisanal green turtle fishery in Nicaragua. Nicaragua is the site of the principal feeding ground for adults from the Tortuguero, Costa Rica, rookery. Little is known about the life history parameters of this p...

Digestive tracts from 51 sea turtle carcasses that washed ashore on the east and west coasts of Florida were examined for the presence of anthropogenic debris. Debris was found in 24 of 43 green turtles (Chelonia mydas), 0 of 7 Kemp's ridleys (Lepidochelys kempi), and 1 of 1 loggerhead (Caretta caretta). Ingested debris included plastic, monofilame...