Mohamad Isnin Noer, Yusuf Adhie Prakoso, Agung Sedayu
Nest selection is a crucial behavior for sea turtles due to its role as the initial step in providing fitness and survival for their offspring. The Kepulauan Seribu consists of a group of low-lying islands off the coast of Jakarta that experience different degrees of natural and anthropogenic pressures, resulting in variations in local environmental conditions. Nest selection of hawksbill turtles in this island group has not been conducted broadly; studies are only available from a few islands. This is challenging for practitioners to address conservation practices based on data primarily compiled from only a tiny subset of islands to other preferred islands by hawksbill turtles for oviposition. This study aimed to identify the environmental characteristics of the nests selected by hawksbill turtles for nesting at a population level and identify the differences in nest selection between sub-populations/islands. Our findings supported the idea that hawksbill turtles in Kayu Angin Bira and Peteloran Timur chose non-random sites for nesting, which is demonstrated by the differences in the statistical values of the sites chosen by turtles for nesting compared to vacant sites. However, we also observed behavioral plasticity in nest selection by turtles in both islands on most of the variables observed, except beach width and sand grain size. Despite its differences, we figured out that the preferences of turtles on these six variables are likely under stabilizing selection in which turtles in both islands show a similar basis of preferences on specific characteristics. The plasticity observed in most variables was likely associated with a difference in local environmental conditions between the two islands. The variables that were supposed to be under directional selection were canopy cover and distance to the high tide line. The turtles in both islands showed different preferences for nesting irrespective of similar variations of nesting beach characteristics, suggesting genetic factors account for this variation. These findings underscore the importance of using evidence-based management for implementing conservation strategies for turtles in Kepulauan Seribu of Jakarta. © 2024 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.
Biology Study Programme, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
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