Heavy Metals in Loggerhead Sea Turtle Eggs (Caretta caretta): Evidence to Support the Hypothesis That Demes Exist in the Western Atlantic Population

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Abstract
Concentrations of 13 heavy metals in Loggerhead sea turtle eggs, collected from 4 nesting beaches, were determined. Comparisons of mean heavy metal burdens in eggs from different beaches suggested that no uniform geographic gradients exist in the nesting population. The comparisons indicated that eggs laid on each beach had significantly different mean concentrations of Ba, Co, Cr, Hg, Mo, Ni and Pb. These data suggest the presence of groups of turtles and indirectly support the hypothesis that the Western Atlantic Loggerhead population is composed of demes.