Green Sea Turtle Migration Facts

Location/Distance

• Green sea turtles are found all around the world in between the latitudes of 30 degrees North and 30 degrees South.

• They migrate thousands of miles between feeding and breeding grounds. For example, the Brazilian Green Sea Turtle migrates 2200 km from its feeding grounds off the Brazilian coast to Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
  
  

Mating

• Mating occurs between the months of December and March when the turtles return to Ascension Island.

• The turtles return to their natal beaches (the beaches where they were born) to mate and lay eggs.

• A female will lay 100-150 eggs in a nest dug into the sand.

• Each female will lay an average of five clutches (batches of eggs in individual nests) per breeding season.
  
  

Feeding

• Adults eat seagrass and seaweed found in coastal waters. These are the only herbivore sea turtles.
  
  

Migration Cues

• Migration depends on how old the turtle is.

• The hatchlings navigate the open ocean, the young turtles migrate from the open ocean to the costal feeding grounds, and adults migrate to their natal breeding grounds during breeding season.
  
  

Navigational Mechanisms

• They use a combination of short-range and long-range navigational mechanisms.

• For long distances they use a magnetic map. They use the different magnetic fields in different parts of the ocean to position themselves toward their final destination.

• For short distances they use the scent of the final destination or the distinct wave action when the waves hit the island (waves change shape when they pass an island and the turtle can interpret this change and use it to find a specific island).