圈养绿海龟的筑巢行为和巢址选择特征

Nesting Behavior and Site Characteristics of Captive Green Turtles(Chelonia mydas)

绿海龟(Chelonia mydas)是国际濒危物种,为我国一级保护野生动物,巢址的选择对绿海龟繁衍后代极为关键,研究筑巢行为可为其种群恢复及保护提供必要的科学依据。目前,国内外对绿海龟巢址选择的研究并不多见,也不全面,仍有许多未知之处,如沙滩树木对产卵的影响等。由于我国野外上岸产卵的绿海龟极度稀少,很难通过野外种群深入了解它们的筑巢行为,故2019—2020年间,采用红外线视频监控技术研究了11只人工养殖的雌性绿海龟的119次筑巢行为,发现96%筑巢位置位于树木区,仅有4%出现在裸沙区;树木区中80%筑巢及88%产卵行为均集中在隐蔽区域,说明绿海龟明显偏好于植被下产卵,尤其喜好温度、湿度和隐蔽性相对较好的区域。此外,绿海龟每次产卵通常会经多次上岸、多次筑巢以寻找合适产卵点,另约有25%的产卵点是它们的弃址,皆揭示绿海龟对巢址具有选择能力。

Green turtle(Chelonia mydas)is an internationally endangered species and listed as a first-class protected animal in China.Selection of nesting sites is very important for reproduction of green turtles.A study on their nesting behaviors can provide necessary scientific basis for population recovery and conservation.At present,only a few researches focused on the nesting site selection of green turtles,but being not comprehensive;many aspects such as the effect of beach trees on their nesting,are still unknown.It is difficult to study the nesting behavior for wild population because there are very few green turtles nesting in China.Therefore,from 2019 to 2020,119 times nesting of 11 captive female green turtles were observed under artificial conditions by using infrared video monitoring technology.Results showed that 96%nests were built close to the trees and only 4%in naked zones;among them,80%nests and 88%clutches eggs located in hidden zones,indicating that green turtles prefer to lay eggs under vegetation,especially in areas with better temperature,humidity and concealment.In addition,green turtles usually go ashore and build nests for several times to find suitable nesting sites for each clutch of eggs,and about 25%of the nesting sites are the location abandoned by them before,suggesting that green turtles have the ability to choose better nesting sites.