Reproductive variation of leatherback sea turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, at Culebra National Wildlife Refuge, Puerto Rico, 1984-1987

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title

Herpetologica

Publication Date

1-1-1991

Volume

25

First Page

115

Last Page

124

Abstract

Clutch size, clutch frequency, and carapace length were examined for leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, nesting at Culebra National Wildlife Refuge, Puerto Rico, from 1984-1987. There were no significant differences in mean clutch frequency, mean clutch size, or mean carapace length of females among years. Clutch frequency showed a significant positive correlation with body size, but there was no significant correlation between clutch size and body size. Returning turtles that had been tagged in previous seasons (remigrants) had higher clutch frequencies than those never before seen nesting on Culebra (neophytes). However, there was no significant difference in body size between remigrants and neophytes.

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