Nesting site selection of leatherback and green turtles on Terengganu beach

Abstract

A survey of nesting sites of leatherback and green turtles was conducted along a stretch of Rantau Abang - Kuala Abang coastline. Sixty nests of leatherback and thirty one nests of green turtles were found in the area. Sand samples from the nesting sites, both surface and subsurface (1 meter depth), were collected and analyzed for grain size distribution. The leatherback turtles prefer to nest in fine sand on steeper sloped beaches whilst the green turtles nest in coaser sand on broad flat beaches. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the grain size of sand in the surface and subsurface of the nesting sites of both species. The location of the green turtle nest was found significantly (P>0.05) higher and above the high tide level, closer to vegetation compared to the location of the leatherback turtle nest.