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Tag recoveries of the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta in the eastern Adriatic Sea: implications for conservation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2004

Bojan Lazar
Affiliation:
Adriatic Marine Turtle Programme, Department of Zoology, Croatian Natural History Museum, Demetrova 1, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation, Zad Bone 11, HR-51551 Veli Lošinj, Croatia
Dimitris Margaritoulis
Affiliation:
ARCHELON—Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, Solomou 57, GR-10432 Athens, Greece, E-mail: margaritoulis@archelon.gr
Nikola Tvrtković
Affiliation:
Adriatic Marine Turtle Programme, Department of Zoology, Croatian Natural History Museum, Demetrova 1, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

Data on tag recoveries of 31 adult female and two juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) along the eastern Adriatic coast were analysed. All adult females originated from Mediterranean nesting areas: 29 from Greece, one from Cyprus and one from Turkey. This is the largest aggregation of long-distance tag recoveries in the Mediterranean for the loggerhead population nesting in Greece. The short period elapsed between the last observation of some turtles on the nesting beach and their recovery suggests the existence of a migratory pathway from the Ionian Sea into the Adriatic. Recoveries of some turtles within a period of a year indicate that loggerheads reside in the Adriatic for some time, suggesting that some individuals may demonstrate a level of site fidelity for these marine habitats. The high concentration of tag returns in the shallow northern Adriatic highlights this region as an important feeding habitat, for the population nesting in Greece in particular. The Ionian–Adriatic loggerheads form an important management sub-unit for this nesting population.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2004 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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