| Abstract: | Although there is a fairly large body of literature on sea turtles, there is a relative paucity of information on sea turtle behavior. There is no information on general sea turtle communication, although there are some indications in the literature of the potential for chemical communication. This research catalogs many behaviors found in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), with special emphasis on reproductive behavior and communication (see Appendix A). Turtles were observed at the Cayman Turtle Farm, in the British West Indies, during three mating seasons in 1984-1986. For validation and comparative purposes, wild turtles were also observed on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The turtle farm contains a naturalistic breeding pool holding about 250 adult sea turtles. Behaviors specific to reproduction include checks by males and females, nuzzles, bites by males, circling and biting, chases, attempted mounts and escorts. Non-courtship behaviors include gapes, bites by females, cloacal checks by males and females and following. Males may use checks, nuzzles or cloacal checks to determine female receptivity. Females may perform some of these same behaviors to other females, possibly to bring about synchronization of nesting and nest hatching. Females may also escort mounted pairs to increase the likelihood of male availability later in the mating season. Males may determine female receptivity by detecting chemical signals released from the female's cloaca, Rathke's glands or elsewhere. Experiments designed to test the chemical communication hypothesis were, however, inconclusive. In the experiments, males discriminated between active and inactive females when visual and chemical cues were present. When chemical stimuli alone were present, males distinguished conspecific chemicals from controls, but not food chemicals from controls. However, males did not apparently distinguish between chemical stimuli from active female conspecifics and chemical stimuli from inactive female conspecifics. |
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