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1 December 2006 Flatback Turtle (Natator depressus) Nesting at Field Island, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, 1990–2001
Chloe Schäuble, Rod Kennett, Steven Winderlich
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Field Island in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, supports a nesting population of flatback turtles (Natator depressus) monitored since 1990. We summarize 9 years of survey data for this location and make recommendations for future research. At least 221 nesting flatbacks were tagged at Field Island between 1990 and 2001. Nightly emergence rates indicate that Field Island is a locally and regionally important rookery for flatbacks with no other species recorded nesting. The mean interseasonal remigration period was 2.82 years. Female flatbacks laid clutches of similar sizes to those reported for other Australian rookeries, but nests tended to be deeper than those on nearby mainland beaches. No evidence of size decline (curved carapace length) occurred over the years, and mean curved carapace length was similar to those observed at other nesting rookeries. The amount of biological information now available for the Field Island rookery and the number of nesting turtles already tagged makes it valuable as an index site for flatback turtles in northern Australia.

Chloe Schäuble, Rod Kennett, and Steven Winderlich "Flatback Turtle (Natator depressus) Nesting at Field Island, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, 1990–2001," Chelonian Conservation and Biology 5(2), 188-194, (1 December 2006). https://doi.org/10.2744/1071-8443(2006)5[188:FTNDNA]2.0.CO;2
Received: 13 July 2003; Accepted: 1 August 2005; Published: 1 December 2006
KEYWORDS
Australia
Cheloniidae
clutch size
Kakadu National Park
Natator depressus
nest depth
nesting
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