O uso da esqueletocronologia para estimar idade em tartarugas marinhas.

Abstract

Sea turtle populations are declining worldwide and human activities are being considered as important factors in decreasing this group. Fisheries carried out directly on foraging sites of the species Lepidochelys olivácea generate high mortality rates for this species. Sea turtle strandings have been a very important tool for studies regarding the negative impacts that occur in the coastal zone. Taking into account the importance of assessing the impacts caused on sea turtle populations, the objective of the present study is to estimate the age for the species Lepidochelys olivacea found on the coast of municipality of Ipojuca - PE, using the skeletochronology technique. 14 individuals were used to carry out the analysis, using transversal cuts of the humerus close to Crista Deltapeitoral and thus testing the method of manual wear to obtain the materials for reading the growth lines. The estimated age of the individuals analyzed was 9 to 17 years. It was observed in a strong correlation between the curvilinear Carapace Length - CCC and the number of growth lines (r = 0.91; P <0.0001). However, the correlation between the CCC and the longitudinal length - CL did not obtain a good correlation (r = 0.7; P <0.0001).