The stomach contents of post-hatchling green and loggerhead sea turtles in the southwest Pacific : an insight into habitat association

摘要: Dietary information obtained from stomach contents can provide a wealth of on an animal’s ecology. Where animals are cryptic, such as the post-hatchling life history stage sea turtle, ecological insight that dietary analyses provide, may be otherwise unobtainable. Investigations into turtle have found planktonic organisms, dominated by pelagic molluscs and crustaceans, hydrozoans, Sargassum fish eggs. The nature these organisms provides evidence for widely accepted hypothesis that, with exception flatback (Natator depressus), turtle’s is oceanic. As majority studies investigated turtles been conducted loggerhead (Caretta caretta) in northern Atlantic Pacific Oceans, derived investigations ecology biased. This study investigates diet green (Chelonia mydas) southwest Ocean. Stomach were 55 had stranded or consumed Coryphaena hippurus. Our findings demonstrate post-hatchlings share similar feeding feed variety neustonic items indicative oceanic existence. both species belong to taxonomic groups those previous level distinctions occurring owing different geographical location.