once within the study area, but nest principally outside the 

 study area. In areas where efficient coverage of extensive areas 

 has been accomplished the number of nests per female per season 

 exceeds three (Richardson 1982; C. Limpus pers. cornm.)* 



In addition to reproductive attributes, movements of tagged 

 females may also be determined by recaptures of tagged turtles. 

 This can provide information on survivorship, feeding areas and 

 migratory routes. In this case sample sizes may be small and may 

 be biased by recoveries from areas where turtles are frequently 

 captured or killed, as opposed to the real proportional use of 

 areas by turtles. 



One major disadvantage of a tagging project is that it is 

 labor intensive. For species such as the loggerhead, much of the 

 gathered data will be redundant of information widely available 

 from the literature. Statistical estimates of attributes such as 

 remigration interval usually require several years of surveys to 

 obtain, and information on recruitment may require more than a 

 decade of surveys. 



The final aspect of tagging studies which is frequently 

 overlooked is the effects of disturbance on nesting turtles. 

 During 1984, the authors telemetrically monitored the effects of 

 beach disturbance on 11 nesting loggerheads. We repeatedly 

 interrupted the terrestrial emergences of gravid loggerheads. 

 This disturbance resulted in increasing the internesting 

 intervals, poorer nest site selection and extensive nest site 

 relocation. It was also apparent that the farther along in the 

 nesting behavior a female was when disturbed, the greater the 

 level of disturbance that was necessary to cause an abort of the 

 nesting attempt. Thus, much of the effect of beach disturbance 

 on nesting loggerheads occurred while the turtles were still in 

 the ocean and, thus, would go unnoticed by tagging personnel on 

 the beach. 



This is not a condemnation of tagging. But before beginning 

 a tagging project, one should carefully determine the project 

 goal, the duration of the project and the allocation of resources 

 to the project. One should also determine if the project will 

 produce the desired information in the time allotted. 

 Experimental results are frequently more interesting and useful 

 to the management and recovery of a species. Alternatives such 

 as telemetry should be considered. 



Ground Survey of Tracks 



Information on nesting distribution and nesting density may 

 be obtained using morning surveys of turtle tracks. This is 



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