TO DEVELOP A MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE CONSERVATION OF THE ZAKYNTHOS SEA TURTLE.

POPULATION ASSESSMENTS

1. NESTING BEACHES WILL BE MONITORED AND TURTLE ACTIVITIES (EMERGENCES, NESTS AND HATCHLINGS) WILL BE RECORDED.

2. CONTINUATION OF THE TAGGING PROGRAMME WILL PROVIDE INFORMATION ON NESTING PERIODICITIES AND REMIGRATION PATTERNS WHICH WILL BE USED IN ESTIMATING POPULATION SIZES.

3. OTHER NESTING AREAS (OUTSIDE ZAKYNTHOS) WILL BE IDENTIFIED AND DATA ON NESTING POPULATIONS WILL BE ASSESSED IN COMPARISON TO ZAKYNTHOS POPULATION.

4. TAGGING IS EXPECTED TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE "PHILOPATRY" OF SEA TURTLES AND ALSO ON POSSIBLE MIGRATORY HABITS (FROM SUBSEQUENT RECAPTURES AT SEA).

FACTORS AFFECTING BREEDING

1. THE HYPOTHESIS THAT TEMPERATURE STRUCTURE OF THE SEA MAY AFFECT THE BEGINNING OF NESTING (AND THE IN-SEASON PERIODICITY OF NESTING) WILL BE CHECKED.

2. A POSSIBLE CORRELATION OF NESTING DENSITY OF VARIOUS BEACHES WITH PHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF THE BEACH SAND WILL BE INVESTIGATED IN AN EFFORT TO EXPLAIN THE HABIT OF SEA TURTLES TO LAY REPEATEDLY ON SPECIFIC BEACHES.

3. THE EFFECT OF WIND INDUCED CURRENTS ON THE DISPERSAL OF HATCHLINGS WILL BE EXAMINED AT SEA, CLOSE TO THE NESTING BEACHES.

4. THE EXTENT TO WHICH HUMAN PERTURBATIONS (ARTIFICIAL LIGHTS, TRAFFIC, BEACH ALTERATIONS ETC.) INFLUENCES NESTING ACTIVITIES WILL BE INVESTIGATED.