orientation and survival of loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings (Caretta caretta L.) in the nearshore environment

Hatchling sea turtles emerge at night from underground nests, crawl to the ocean, and swim out to sea. In this study, I determined how offshore orientation and shallow-water predation rates varied under natural (sand bottom and patch reef) and modified (submerged breakwater and open-beach hatchery) ecological circumstances. Hatchling offshore orientation in the sea was normal under all conditions; there were no significant differences in either scatter or direction among groups. However, predators (tarpon, snapper, barracuda, jacks, and grouper) took more hatchlings as they swam over submerged reefs, and after they entered the water in front of hatcheries. Predators were concentrated at both of these sites probably because prey (small fishes and invertebrates at patch reefs and turtles entering the water where nests were concentrated in hatcheries) occur in greater abundance.