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Nesting ecology and reproductive biology of the hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, at Kish Island, Persian Gulf

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2015

M. Askari Hesni ,
M. Tabib  and
A. Hadi Ramaki
M. Askari Hesni*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran
M. Tabib
Affiliation:
Department of Environment, Kish Free Zone Organization, Kish, Iran
A. Hadi Ramaki
Affiliation:
Department of Environment, Kish Free Zone Organization, Kish, Iran
*
Correspondence should be addressed to:M. Askari Hesni, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran email: mahesni@gmail.com
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Abstract

The ecology and reproductive biology of the hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata were studied in Kish Island, Persian Gulf. The studied parameters include: environmental factors such as air temperature and humidity, soil types in different habitats during the breeding season; parameters related to the females' body and hatchlings biometrics i.e. weight, curved carapace length (CCL), straight carapace length (SCL), curved carapace width (CCW) and straight carapace width (SCW); and parameters related to reproductive biology, i.e. breeding time during diurnal, total eggs laid, the numbers of normal and abnormal eggs, weight and diameter of the eggs, incubation period and hatching success (HS). The temperature, humidity and soil size in different nest sites were 18.5–31°C, 70 to 88% and 0.063 to 4 mm, respectively. Means of weight, CCL, SCL, CCW and SCW of the females were 39.8 kg, 71.6, 65.1, 65.2 and 51.8 cm, respectively. The average of total egg numbers, normal and abnormal eggs by each individual female were 92.9, 75.2 and 17.7 respectively. Diameter and weight of every egg measured 38.4 mm and 33.6 g. Average of incubation period and HS were 60.9 days and 75.8%. According to the positive and significant correlation between CCL and CCW with weight took exponential regression models.

Keywords

Eretmochelys imbricatamarine turtlesnesting factorsreproductive biology
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 96 , Issue 7 , November 2016 , pp. 1373 - 1378
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2015 

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