The green turtle, Chelonia mydas, in Queensland: breeding males in the southern Great Barrier Reef

Abstract

Breeding male green turtles, Chelonia mydas, at any one courtship area in the southern Great Barrier Reef mate with females that will nest on rookeries spread throughout the region. In comparison with the breeding females from the same breeding unit, the males are smaller in curved carapace length, and a higher proportion of males remigrate for additional breeding seasons at 1-2-year intervals. Like the adult females, adult males are slow-growing, averaging 0.046 cm year-1. Each male appears to display a fidelity to a particular courtship area, to which it returns in successive breeding migrations. At the conclusion of the courtship period, the males disperse to widely scattered feeding areas.