•  
  •  
 

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Author ORCID Identifier

BEKTAŞ SÖNMEZ: 0000-0002-8190-409X

DOI

10.55730/1300-0179.3186

Abstract

Conducting long-term conservation and monitoring activities for sea turtles provides a more precise depiction of their population status compared to studies conducted across a single year. The frequency of the nesting activity may fluctuate dramatically over time, depending on the environmental conditions. This study aimed to examine the nest count, female abundance, and reproductive output of green turtles on Yeniyurt beach in the eastern Mediterranean between 2017 and 2022. The beach was surveyed annual monitoring at consistent intervals. Temporal variations in the number of nests and the abundance of females were analyzed using the Mann-Kendall and Sen Slope tests. A total of 803 nests were recorded, with an average of 133 nests per nesting season and an average nest density of 33.5 km-1. A total of 326 nests were excavated, with 28,546 of the 36,394 eggs successfully hatched (78% hatch success). The number of nests and female abundance exhibited an insignificant, monotonic upward trend. The average number of nesting females per nesting season was estimated to be 138.5 based on observed clutch frequency and 67 based on estimated clutch frequency. Yeniyurt beach has a high nesting activity, representing 6% of the Mediterranean in terms of the number of nests and 5% in terms of female abundance. Approximately 12% of nests did not produce hatchlings due to flooding and predation. Yeniyurt Beach lacks conservation status, making it vulnerable to future threats like industrialization. In addition to the designation of the area as a protected site, the rehabilitation of the backshore habitat is of significant importance.

Keywords

abundance, Chelonian mydas, conservation, green turtle, Nesting, Yeniyurt

First Page

318

Last Page

326

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Download

Included in

Zoology Commons

Share

COinS