Nesting Ecology and Conservation of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

• Published in: Chelonian conservation and biology Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 249 - 254
• Main Authors: Lima, Eron Paes e, Wanderlinde, Juçara, de Almeida, Daniella Torres, Lopez, Gustave, Goldberg, Daphne Wrobel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lawrence Allen Press Inc 01.12.2012
• Subjects: Aquatic reptiles; Beaches; Biodiversity; Birds; Caretta caretta; Ecology; Eggs; Endangered & extinct species; Environmental protection; Freshwater; Hatching; Incubation; males; Nesting; Nests; Notes and Field Reports; Population biology; Reptiles & amphibians; Seasons; Success; temperature; wildlife management; Brazil; Rio de Janeiro Brazil; ASW, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro; ASW, Brazil
• ISSN: 1071-8443; 1943-3956
• DOI: 10.2744/CCB-0996.1

Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting in the Southwest Atlantic has been monitored for decades, but information from northern Rio de Janeiro State (Brazil) has been lacking until now. In this study, we documented 11,086 nests laid between the 1992/1993 and 2010/2011 nesting seasons (∼1000 nests per season) and found significant variations in incubation period and hatching success among in situ and relocated nests. Because loggerhead nests in Rio de Janeiro are presumed to produce a large proportion of male hatchlings because of lower average incubation temperatures, this area is an important component of loggerhead population biology and conservation in Brazil and the southwest Atlantic region.