Internesting HabitatsInternesting Habitats

Internesting Habitats

Internesting habitat is the area within a certain radius of the nesting beach that a breeding female turtle occupies during the nesting season between nesting events. During this time a female will grow the next clutch of eggs and will not feed. Hochscheid et.al. (1999) working in Cyprus suggest that the depth of dives of female green turtles is about 25 metres during the internesting interval and that the animals stay close to the coast. Hays et.al. (2000) working on Ascension Island suggest the depth is 18 –20 metres but do not reflect on the location of the animals. Repeated commercial trawling is known to threaten the integrity of the habitat (Poiner et.al. 1998) and to expose the females to the risk of capture. Otter trawling off the Queensland coast is known to cause mortality in nesting loggerhead turtles. Populations affected by threats to the internesting habitat are: all populations that nest on the Queensland coast but eastern Australian loggerhead turtles in particular. The loss of mature nesting females may have serious consequences for the breeding population.