|
Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle
Behaviour
Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle
Breeding Behaviour
Female leatherbacks probably reach sexual maturity when they
are 9 years old but most do not breed until 13 or 14 years of
age (Zug and Parham 1996). Gravid females migrate from the
temperate feeding grounds to their natal tropical breeding
islands every 2 to 4 years. She will lay 4 to 6 clutches each
containing 65 to 85 eggs that are
incubated in the sand for 53 to 74 days. About 1 of
every 1000 eggs laid will become a mature turtle. Leatherback
females require wave washed sand beaches with a deep ocean
approach (Pritchard 1971, Ernst and Barbour 1989). The young
hatchlings and juvenile turtles probably need the warmth of
tropical waters (Eckert 2002a). Eastern Pacific populations
nest on beaches in Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and
Costa Rica. The CEC (2005) Conservation Action Plan
details problems for beaches in each country. Western Pacific
turtles nest in Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon
Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Australia.
Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle
Feeding
Behaviour
Leatherbacks eat jellyfish, siphonophores and tunicates that
they catch on the ocean surface and at great depths (Work and
Balazs 2002, Eisenberg and Frazier 1983, Hartog 1980). Females
have been recorded at 1000 meters in the Caribbean but most
dives are between 50 and 80 meters. Routine dives last between
4 and 14.5 minutes although they can stay under for 37.5
minutes (Lutcavage and Lutz 1997).
|
