First report on two loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nests in the Aeolian Archipelago (Southern Italy)

oleh: Monica Francesca Blasi, Sandra Hochscheid, Roberta Bardelli, Chiara Bruno, Carolina Melodia, Perla Salzeri, Paolo De Rosa, Paolo Madonia

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Firenze University Press 2022-04-01

Deskripsi

The Aeolian Archipelago (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) hosts important foraging/overwintering habitats for Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), although nesting sites have never been documented. This study reports the data of two nesting events occurred in summer 2019 at Stromboli and Lipari islands. A hatchling success of 20.69 % (18 hatchlings from 87 eggs) was recorded at Stromboli, while a complete hatchling unsuccess characterised the Lipari nest, where 111 eggs were deposited. Data acquired during the monitoring of the nests suggest that combined factors, mainly temperature, beach morphology, and sand composition, could be the causes for the low success of these nesting events.