|
Arribadas, Sea Turtles Synchronised Nesting Disturbed With Tourists
|
Arribada is a Spanish term meaning arrival; a mass nesting behavior. It is one of the most extraordinary nesting habits in the natural world, vast numbers of olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) or Kemp's ridley sea turtles come ashore and nest in what is known as an "arribada"; females nest every year, once or twice in a season, laying clutches of approximately 100 eggs. Large groups of turtles gather off shore of nesting beaches. Then, all at once, vast numbers of turtles come ashore and nest in what is known as an "arribada". During these arribadas, hundreds to thousands of females come ashore to lay their eggs. At many nesting beaches, the nesting density is so high that previously laid egg clutches are dug up by other females excavating the nest to lay their own eggs.
|
|