Gil Hernandez, Reyna A. and Pedro Viveros Leon 



Sea Turtle Conservation in Quintana Roo. Mexico During 1987 



Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo 

 Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico 



During 1987 the Quintana Roo Research Center carried out a 

 research and conservation program, sponsored by the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, of the nesting sea turtles at Quintana Roo. 

 The littoral extends about 900 km, and it is characterized by 

 numerous beaches, bays and coral reefs. 



Ten beaches make up the study area (Fatima, Xpu-ha, 

 Kantenah, Aventuras, Xca-tel, Tankah, Ojo de Agua, Santa Rita and 

 Estacion San Juan), located to the south of Cancun (20° 29' to 

 19°51'N and 87°13' to 87°16« W) . 



Night censuses were carried out on the beaches mentioned 

 above. Sea turtles were tagged and measured in the following 

 order of abundance: loggerhead (Caretta caretta) , green turtle 

 (Chelonia mydas) , occasionally the hawksbill ( Eretmochleys 

 imbricata ) and the leatherback ( Dermochelys coriacea) . At the 

 same time some nests were transplanted to protected areas; 

 morphometric data as well as number of released hatchlings were 

 recorded. 



The nesting season for the loggerhead spans from May to 

 August and for the green turtle from June to September; in the 

 cases of the hawksbill and the leatherback, only one individual 

 came ashore throughout the nesting season. None nested, but they 

 were tagged. 



Results 



Data are incomplete, since the nesting season had only 

 recently ended in September, and have not been fully analyzed. 



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