Green Turtle Nesting on Trindade Island: Trend, Abundance and Biometrics

Abstract

Green turtles Chelonia mydas nesting at Trindade Island, 1140 km off the coast of Brazil, were monitored discontinuously from 1982/83 to 2008/09. For 7 years during this period, the majority of nesting was monitored, and the number of nests deposited on Trindade varied from 1333 to 5261. Based on these nest counts, Trindade is among the most important known Atlantic nesting sites for green turtles. The population remained stable between 1991 and 2008. Data on female body size, clutch size, internesting intervals, remigration intervals, and hatching success are also presented.