RESEARCH
Scientific Publications
Casale P, Figgener C, Arendt M, Broderick AC, Ceriani SA, Kaska Y, Plotkin P, Sanchez CL, Schwenter J, Snape R, et al. Performance Comparison of Argos and Iridium Tracking Technologies for Sea Turtle Movement Ecology Studies. Animals. 2025; 15(24):3605. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15243605. PDF
García-Rada E, Buenfil-Ávila A, Figgener C, Guzmán HM, Plotkin PT, Reygondeau G, Robalino-Mejía C, Tittensor DP, Villalobos H, Peñaherrera-Palma C (2025). Climate change implications in the suitable habitat of olive ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Marine Environmental Research. 207:107091.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107091. PDF
Myre BL, Figgener C, Byrd B, Guentzel AN, Plotkin PT, Bernardo J, MacKenzie DS (2024). Anatomical evidence that arribada olive ridley sea turtles Lepidochelys olivacea feed at breeding and nesting grounds to maintain high reproductive output. Endangered Species Research. 55: 67–82. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01360. PDF
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Plotkin PT (2022). Delineating and characterising critical habitat for the Eastern Pacific olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea): individual differences in migratory routes present challenges for conservation measures. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.933424. PDF
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Plotkin PT (2022). Marine turtles are only minimally sexually size dimorphic, a pattern that is distinct from most nonmarine aquatic turtles. Ecology and Evolution. 12: e8963. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8963. PDF
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Plotkin PT (2019). Beyond trophic morphology: stable isotopes reveal ubiquitous versatility in marine turtle trophic ecology. Biological Reviews. 94: 1947-1973. https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12543. PDF
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Plotkin PT (2019). MarTurtSI, a global database of stable isotope analyses of marine turtles. Scientific Data. 6: 16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-019-0030-9. PDF
Figgener C (2018). What I learnt pulling a straw from a sea turtle's nose. Nature. 563:157. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07287-z. PDF
Figgener C, Beck E, Dunlop D, Castillo-MacCarthy A (2018). Loxocemus bicolor. Diet. Herpetological Review. 49(1): 133. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323881161_Loxocemus_bicolor_Diet. PDF
Robinson NJ, Figgener C, Gatto C, Lazo-Wasem EA, Paladino FV, Santidrian Tomillo P, Zardus JD, Pinou T (2017). Assessing potential limitations when characterising the epibiota of marine megafauna: Effect of gender, sampling location, and inter-annual variation on the epibiont communities of olive ridley sea turtles. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 497: 71-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2017.09.012. PDF
Figgener C, Chacón D, Jensen M, Feldhaar H (2016). Paternity re-visited in a recovering population of Caribbean leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 475: 114-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2015.11.014. PDF
Robinson NJ & Figgener C (2015). Plastic straw found inside the nostril of an olive ridley turtle. Marine Turtle Newsletter. 147: 5-6. http://www.seaturtle.org/mtn/archives/mtn147/mtn1473.shtml. PDF
Oviedo L, Herra-Miranda D, Pacheco-Polanco JD, Figgener C, Márquez-Artavia A, Quirós-Pereira W, Iñiguez M (2015). Diversidad de cetáceos en el paisaje marino costero de Golfo Dulce, Península de Osa, Costa Rica. Revista de Biología Tropical. 63 (Suppl.1): 395-406. https://doi.org/10.15517/RBT.V63I1.23118. PDF
Pacheco-Polanco JD, Herra-Miranda D, Oviedo L, Quirós-Pereira W, Figgener C (2015). Agregaciones de Alimentación del Tiburón Ballena Rhincodon typus, SMITH 1828 (Orectolobiformes: Rhincodontidae) en la cuenca interna de Golfo Dulce, Península de Osa, Costa Rica. Revista de Biología Tropical. 63 (Suppl.1): 299-306. http://doi.org/10.15517/RBT.V63I1.23109. PDF
Scientific Reports & Conference Presentations
Aschinger N, Astley S, Castillo MacCarthy A, Sanarrucia Ortiz MJ, Oporta MacCarthy AM, Figgener C (2025). Reproductive biology of the hawksbill turtle nesting at Gandoca Beach, Costa Rica - Data from five years of monitoring. Oral Presentation. 43rd International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Accra, Ghana
Masís Solano J, Castillo MacCarthy A, Oporta MacCarthy AM, Alguera MacCarthy H, Sandoval Morales J, Tijerino Mora JW, Ortiz Sanarrucia MJ, Sandoval MacCarthy E, Figgener C (2023). Species turnover on Gandoca Beach, Costa Rica: once important for leatherback nesting, it is now considered the most important nesting site for the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Caribbean Costa Rica. Oral Presentation. 41st International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Cartagena, Colombia BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Plotkin PT (2023). Inter- and intraspecific variation in trophic ecology of marine turtles: Frequency, potential drivers, and implications for conservation. Oral Presentation. 41st International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Cartagena, Colombia
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Plotkin PT (2019). Spatial modelling used to identify and characterize oceanic areas of conservation importance for the Eastern Pacific olive ridley turtle, Lepidochelys olivacea. Oral Presentation. 39th International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Charleston, USA BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Reich K, Plotkin PT (2018). Divergent nesting behaviour linked to differences in foraging behaviour of female olive ridley sea turtles nesting on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica elucidated with stable isotope analysis. Oral Presentation. 38th International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Kobe, Japan
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Reich K, Plotkin PT (2018). Successful use of the IRIDIUM satellite system to study the fine-scale movements of internesting marine turtles. Poster Presentation. 38th International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Kobe, Japan
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Reich K, Plotkin PT (2017). Trophic ecology of the olive ridley sea turtle in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Poster Presentation. 37th International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Las Vegas, USA
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Plotkin PT (2016). Sexual dimorphism & sexual selection in Lepidochelys olivacea. Oral Presentation. 36th International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Lima, Peru BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Figgener C, Bernardo J, Plotkin PT (2016). Sexual dimorphism in Lepidochelys olivacea. Poster Presentation. IDP MARB Retreat, Corpus Christi, USA
Figgener C, Castillo-MacCarthy A, Mora-Sandoval J, Argüello-Gomez Y, Quiros-Peirera W (2014). Raising the hatching success of leatherback nests at the olive ridley mass-nesting beach Ostional (Guanacaste, Costa Rica). Oral Presentation. 34th International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, New Orleans, USA BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Márquez-Artavia A, Oviedo L, Herra-Miranda D, Pacheco-Polanco JD, Quirós-Pereira W, Silva-Hernandez MG, Figgener C (2012). The utilization distribution of humpback whales in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. International Whaling Commission (IWC). Report of the Scientific Committee. SC/64/015
Oviedo L, Herra-Miranda D, Pacheco-Polanco JD, Márquez-Artavia A, Quirós-Pereira W, Silva-Hernandez MG, Figgener C (2012). The critical foraging habitats of coastal bottlenose and pantropical spotted dolphins in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. International Whaling Commission (IWC). Report of the Scientific Committee. SC/64/SM10
Figgener C, Quiros-Pereira W (2011, 2012, 2013). Leatherback and Pacific Green Sea Turtle Research and Conservation Project Ostional – Nesting-Season 2010/11 (2011/12, 2012/13). Technical Report for MINAE/SINAC
Figgener C, MacCarthy A, Chacón D, and Feldhaar H (2010). Re-assessment of mating strategies of Caribbean leatherback turtles. Poster Presentation. 30th International Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, San Diego, USA BOOK OF ABSTRACTS
Figgener C (2010). Paternity study and population genetics on the Caribbean Leatherback sea turtle population (Dermochelys coriacea) in Costa Rica. Master’s Thesis, Julius-Maximilians-University Wuerzburg Germany. ProQuest 175251699.
Figgener C (2009). Monitoring of the nesting activities of the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) at Playa Gandoca, Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica from August until October 2009. Technical Report for MINAE/SINAC
Figgener C (2005). Size does matter – clients’ choice of cleaning stations of the cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus in the Red Sea. Senior Project. Eberhard-Karls-University Tuebingen, Germany