Biotic And Abiotic Factors Affecting Nest Mortality In The Atlantic Loggerhead Turtle
Fates were determined for 458 nests of the Atlantic loggerhead ( Caretta caretta caretta) on 4 South Carolina barrier islands. Raccoons (Procyon lotor) destroyed 56.1% of the nests overall and from 16.4 to 86.3% on individual islands. Poachers took 47.5% from I island and abiotic factors accounted for 14.2%. Ghost crabs (Ocypode quadrata) were not important predators, destroying only 2.4%. The overall hatch was 6.1 %. The spatial and temporal aspects of nesting and predation, age of nest when depredated, density of nesting, and feeding efficiency of raccoons are discussed as they relate to...
