Long-Distance Movements of Galapagos Green Turtles

Abstract

Twenty-three turtles were recovered from a total of 5844 green turtles (Chelonia mydas agassizil) tagged in the Galapagos Islands between 1970 and 1979. Three recoveries are from Costa Rica, four from Panama, one from Colombia, five from mainland Ecuador and ten from Peru. As with other green turtle populations, the Galapagos breeding colony (or at least part of it) un- dertakes long-distance movements to, and is thus recruited from, distant and widespread feeding grounds. Minimum distances range from 1233 to 2143 km and the times between last recorded sighting and recapture from 98 days to 3183 days. One turtle, recaptured off the coast of mainland Ecuador after nesting in Galapagos and re-released, subsequently renested in Galapagos, thus rep- resenting one of the few documented instances of two-way migration. Three of the recoveries are males; only two other males have made longer recorded one-way journeys. The recapture rate of 0.5% for males and 0.4% for nesting females is lower than for green turtles elsewhere.