Some Problems of Sea Turtle Ecology

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Abstract
Tagging programs have revealed parts of the patterns of reproductive migration of some sea turtle populations, but much of the ecologic geography of the species remains unknown. The present paper takes stock of the advances and gaps in our knowledge of the group. Kemp's ridley and the Tortuguero green turtle population are used as sources of examples of these strong and weak areas. Possible causes of one-season nesting and its bearing on sea turtle demography are discussed. An apparent dichotomy in the “lost-year” ecology of the Tortuguero green turtles and Kemp's ridley is suggested. Some hatchlings of both evidently drift away in major currents, while others pass this stage circling in local eddies—Chelonia in the West Caribbean Gyre and Lepidochelys kempi within the Gulf of Mexico.

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