Laparoscopy of Nesting Hawksbill Turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata, at Milman Island, Northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Laparoscopies were performed on 225 hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) following nesting emergences on Milman Island, northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia during the 1992–1995 summer seasons. New recruits (first time breeders) made up between 9.8% and 14.3% of the nesting population across 4 summer seasons. Remigrants were not significantly larger or heavier than recruits, indicating that females nesting for the first time do not necessarily recruit to a nesting population at the smallest sizes. Further investigations are required to determine if the summer recruitment rate is reflective of the entire nesting population, which nests year-round.