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Increase of sea turtles stranding records in Rhodes Island (eastern Mediterranean Sea): update of a long-term survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2013

Maria Corsini-Foka ,
Gerasimos Kondylatos  and
Elias Santorinios
Maria Corsini-Foka*
Affiliation:
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes, Cos Street, GR-85100 Rhodes, Greece
Gerasimos Kondylatos
Affiliation:
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes, Cos Street, GR-85100 Rhodes, Greece
Elias Santorinios
Affiliation:
Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes, Cos Street, GR-85100 Rhodes, Greece
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: M. Corsini-Foka, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Hydrobiological Station of Rhodes, Cos Street, GR-85100 Rhodes, Greece email: mcorsini@ath.hcmr.gr
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Abstract

A total of 209 strandings of sea turtles (152 loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta, 42 green turtles Chelonia mydas, 15 unidentified) were recorded during the period 1984–2011 along the coasts of Rhodes (Aegean Sea, Greece). The proportion of dead to live individuals was different in the two species. Stranded Caretta caretta were larger than Chelonia mydas. The size range of stranded green turtles, usually juveniles, appeared to increase since 2000, including the largest specimens ever observed in Greek waters. For both species, a tendency to strand more frequently on the west coast of the island, along fishing ground areas, was noted. The higher incidence of loggerhead turtle strandings was observed in summer, while more green turtle strandings were documented in winter. Factors involved in the increased trend of stranding records of both species, along with the acceleration of this phenomenon in the last decade, are discussed. Data from Rhodes provide evidence that human activities detrimentally affect mainly larger-sized loggerhead turtles living in shallow waters.

Keywords

Caretta carettaChelonia mydasendangered speciesstrandingAegean SeaMediterranean Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 93 , Issue 7 , November 2013 , pp. 1991 - 2002
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013 

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