Schmid: Marine turtle populations on the west-central coast of Florida 
595 
o 
Q. 
E 
o 
o 
a> 
N 
Cl 
a> 
> 
jg 
® 
c: 
60- 
30- 
C 
40- 
20 - 
0- 
I 
40- 
mean SSCL = 47.23 cm 
n = 17 
— ! — 
10 
— I 1 — 
20 30 
40 50 60 
— I — 
70 
1986 
80 
mean SSCL = 44.06 cm 
n = 17 
10 20 30 40 50 60 
— i — 
70 
1987 
80 
20 - 
0 
mean SSCL = 45.46 cm 
n =35 
31 
1988 
0 
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 
60' 
30 ' 
0- 
60- 
30- 
0- 
60 
mean SSCL = 46.96 cm rr 
n =29 S 
1 T 1 1 f 
----- — i 1 
1989 
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 
mean SSCL = 45.74 cm 
n =35 
m\ 
i i i 
^ — i 1 
1990 
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 
mean SSCL = 40.79 cm m 
n =21 
[777 : : : : 
T1 
■ 
| ^ T | 
1991 
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 
40- 
20 - 
0- 
40 
20 - 
0- 
mean SSCL - 43.57 cm 
n = 53 [717 
•7T7? 
, 
bq T j 
1992 
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 
mean SSCL = 43.58 cm 
n =24 
10 20 30 40 50 60 
Carapace length (cm) 
— I - 
70 
1993 
80 
Figure 4 
Annual relative size composition of Kemp’s ridley turtles, Lepidochelys 
kempii, captured at Corrigan Reef from 1986 to 1993. 
Kemp’s ridley recaptures ranged from 
14 to 839 days and loggerhead recap- 
tures ranged from 142 to 189 days. The 
two headstart Kemp’s ridley turtles 
were recaptured approximately 3-4 
years after their release in Texas wa- 
ters as was determined from the loca- 
tion of the living tag in the carapace 
(Fontaine et ah, 1993; Cailiouet et ah, 
1995). Seven Kemp’s ridley turtles with 
tag scars had marginal scute markings 
indicating the year of initial capture at 
Corrigan Reef. Four of these were at 
large for 1 year, one was at large for 2 
years, and two were at large for 3 years. 
Four Kemp’s ridley turtles had multiple 
recaptures in the vicinity of Corrigan 
Reef. One turtle was tagged at site 2 in 
September 1991 and recaptured at this 
site in October 1991 and May 1992 (0.7 
year duration). Another turtle tagged at 
site 1 in July 1990 was recaptured at 
this site in June 1991 and June 1992 
(1.9-year duration). A turtle tagged at 
site 2 in October 1991 was recaptured 
at this site in September 1992 and at 
site 3 in May 1994 (2.6-year duration). 
The fourth turtle had a 1991 marginal 
marking and was recaptured at site 2 
in September 1993 and August 1995 
( = 4-year duration). 
Seasonal and annual 
size distributions 
Mean water temperatures at Corrigan 
Reef were calculated by season (Table 
2): winter ( Dec- Feb., spring (Mar- 
May), summer (Jun-Aug), and fall 
(Sep-Nov). Turtles were captured in 
water temperatures greater than 20°C. 
Carapace lengths for Kemp’s ridley 
turtles captured from 1986 to 1995 were 
pooled by season (spring, summer, or 
fall) according to the month of capture 
(Table 2). A significant difference (F- 3.76, P-0.025) 
was detected between the mean SSCL of at least two 
seasons. Multiple comparisons with the Bonferroni 
procedure demonstrated no significant difference in 
mean SSCL between spring and summer, or spring 
and fall. However, mean SSCL in summer was sig- 
nificantly larger than that of fall. 
Analysis of the annual relative composition of 
Kemp’s ridley turtle carapace lengths from 1986 to 
1993 indicated that the 40-50 cm size class domi- 
nated the catch during all years except 1991 (Fig. 4). 
The majority of turtles captured during 1991 were 
in the 30-40 cm size class. The carapace length dis- 
tributions for 1986 through 1990 were not signifi- 
cantly different when compared with the Kolmogrov- 
Smirnov two-sample test. The distribution of cara- 
pace lengths for 1991 was significantly different from 
all years except 1987, and the distribution for 1992 
was significantly different from all years except 1987 
and 1988. The carapace length distribution for 1993 
