FRETEY : 



FINLAY; 



HALL; 



A research project in French Guiana and Panama to 

 investigate the nesting behavior of leatherbacks 

 is desired. Nesting at the waters edge and up to 

 the vegetation line has been observed by him. 

 Even under constant inundation, the female ignored 

 the interruption and continued nesting. 



Fishermen from Grenada say that the leatherback 

 will cover its dig and flatten the sand over the 

 nest even when they (fishermen) jump on the 

 nester's carapace. He asked why they do not lay 

 their eggs further up the beach? 



(In response to a statement by P. Pritchard) . 

 Coloration of the hatchlings (speckled and spotted 

 carapace) could be useful in the deeper water 

 environment where bioluminescent plankton occur. 

 Leatherback hatchlings may not have the buoyancy 

 problem of other species and, as they are strong 

 swimmers, allowing deeper diving, may not have a 

 developmental habitat but go directly to the adult 

 habitat. 



CHARLES : Based on turtle watches in St. Lucia, leatherback 

 nesting takes place over a 10 day cycle during 

 May-June, with peak activity at 2100-0300 hours. 



K. ECKERT ; The leatherback is one of the most unique and 



misunderstood of all the reptiles. It is a deep, 

 open ocean form with no shell, weighing from 700- 

 1,200 pounds and is 6-8 feet long and is found in 

 the waters of the West Indies from February to 

 July with nesting peaks in May. Relocation of 

 nests to a stable section of the beach, as 

 described in the WATS manual, and demonstrated in 

 Puerto Rico, is the best way to conserve the 

 species. 



Leatherbacks are seen on the beach in Surinam in 

 the early morning hours when the sun is rising. 



Based on leatherback information collected off 



Culebra, Puerto Rico, the reproductive output 

 (number of eggs) may be underestimated if the mean 

 clutch frequency of 5-7 nests per female is used. 



PRITCHARD ; Although he and Mrosovsky used somewhat different 

 systems, their overall population estimates were 

 not terribly divergent. The formula for making 

 beach female data into population estimates was 

 explained: 



MOHADIN; 



TUCKER; 



155 



