Journal article
Biology and Conservation of Leatherback Turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, at Playa Langosta, Costa Rica
Chelonian conservation and biology, Vol.2(2), pp.184-189
01 Oct 1996
Abstract
Playa Langosta is a small (1.3 km), but very important nesting beach for leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. From the beginning of October 1991 through early March 1992 we tagged 229 leatherbacks nesting there. Nesting peaked in December and January with an average of 7-8 turtles per night. Internesting period was 9 days and observed clutch frequency was 3.3. These were among the smallest nesting leatherbacks in the world with a mean standard curved carapace length (SCCL) of 147.0 cm. The smallest individual had a SCCL of 128.0 cm. Mean clutch size was 65.3 yolked eggs and 39.4 yolkless eggs. Distance between nest sites of individual turtles for consecutive nestings was usually less than 300 m. However, 10% of leatherbacks tagged on Playa Langosta nested at least once on nearby Playa Grande and 20% of those tagged on Playa Grande did the reverse. Environmental education in the local schools, villages, and nationally, combined with law enforcement and research activities, helped to reduce poaching of eggs from a high of 91% in October to less than 2% in December.
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Details
- Title
- Biology and Conservation of Leatherback Turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, at Playa Langosta, Costa Rica
- Creators
- A ChavesG SerranoG MarinE ArguedasA JimenezJ Spotila
- Publication Details
- Chelonian conservation and biology, Vol.2(2), pp.184-189
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- [Retired Faculty]
- Identifiers
- 991021013189904721