Nesting of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at Ascension Island, South Atlantic Original Research Article

A detailed survey of the nesting by green turtles (Chelonia mydas) on Ascension Island (7°57′ S, 14°22′ W) was conducted between 1 December 1998 and 1 October 1999. During this period there was a total estimate of 36,036 marine turtle nesting activities, resulting in the deposition of an estimated 13,881 clutches (95% confidence limits 13,092–14,660). These data suggest that 2–3 times more turtles nested than when previous detailed surveys were undertaken in the 1970′s. The peak of nesting was in March, with 95% of nesting activity being recorded between 4 January and 18 May. Possible reasons for the evolution of the seasonality of nesting are discussed. Individual beaches varied greatly in density of nesting activities (range=534–10,001 activities/km; MEAN=6204 activities/km), density of nests (range=213–5200 nests/km; MEAN=2390 nests/km) and the proportion of nesting activities resulting in nests (nesting success; RANGE=0.13–0.52; MEAN=0.39).