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Eggs well done: Nest success of flatback sea turtles, Bare Sand Island, Northern Territory, Australia

Stevens, A, Whiting, SD and Guinea, ML (2006). Eggs well done: Nest success of flatback sea turtles, Bare Sand Island, Northern Territory, Australia. In: 26th Annual Sumposium on Sea turtle Biology and Conservation, Crete, 3-8 April 2006.

Document type: Conference Paper
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Author Stevens, A
Whiting, SD
Guinea, ML
Title Eggs well done: Nest success of flatback sea turtles, Bare Sand Island, Northern Territory, Australia
Conference Name 26th Annual Sumposium on Sea turtle Biology and Conservation
Conference Location Crete
Conference Dates 3-8 April 2006
Publication Year 2006
HERDC Category E1 - Conference Publication (DEST)
Abstract Incubation duration, hatching success and emergence success of over 150 natural flatback sea turtle (Natator depressus, Garman) nests were investigated on Bare Sand Island (50 km due west of Darwin, NT, Australia). The 1.8 km of beach was divided into eight unequal sectors where turtles could nest. Nest position on the beach was identified as one of three habitats from the high-water mark to the top of the dune. Clutches deposited during a 5- week period, from June 10 to July 17, 2005, were monitored throughout incubation to determine whether hatching and emergence success were affected by the nest location and habitat. During this period, sand temperature at nest depth (50 cm) ranged from 24.19oC to 35.68oC with a maximum daily variation of 0.37oC. Incubation duration (mean=50 days, ± 2.69SD, n= 92) was affected by beach locality (p=0.029) but not by habitat. Examination of multiple clutches laid by 43 females in the 5 weeks revealed no difference in incubation duration regardless of changes in location and habitat. Overall hatching success and emergence success were similar to other beaches, with means of 82.5% and 78.9% respectively. Reported loss of eggs due to depredation amounted to 7%, with roots of the creeper Ipomea pes-caprea responsible for 65% of this loss.
 
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Created: Wed, 18 Feb 2009, 15:04:58 CST by Sarena Wegener