Later Nesting by Hawksbill Turtle following Sea Surface Warming

Abstract

We studied the nesting behavior of the Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) along the northeastern coast of Brazil, specifically in southern Rio Grande do Norte. We compare the peak of nesting activity for several seasons from 2006 to 2016. The raw data consist of daily records of the presence of hawksbill turtle on a beach (N = 3,717). In the statistical analysis, we construct a cumulative sum of data and perform a logistic fitting. Furthermore, we use the derivative of the fitting to find the peak of nesting season. We observed a drift in the oviposition peak of the Hawksbill Turtle. In addition, the peak of maximal sea surface temperature in the nesting area followed a similar drift. The results suggest that the Hawksbill Turtle population has been responding to warming environmental changes.