Habitat and Ecology
Hawksbill turtles are a highly migratory species with a global distribution throughout tropical and sometimes subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean [2]. Throughout their lifetime they occupy a wide range of habitats, first moving with ocean currents as a hatchling, then occupying a foraging habitat as a juvenile (such as a coral reef, sea grass, algal bed, mangrove bay, creek or mud flat). When sexually mature they move between foraging grounds on breeding migrations, while females tend to return to their natal beach where they were born, even if it is hundreds of thousands of kilometres away [2].
Hawksbills are believed to occur in the coastal waters of 108 countries, while nesting is known to occur in at least 70 countries [2]. The largest breeding populations and nesting sites in the world exist in Australia [3]. |
DietHawksbill turtles are known to be both herbivorous and
omnivorous [1], consuming sponges, algae, soft corals, octopus, squid,
marine snails, jellyfish, seagrass and plankton [3].
Ecosystem SignificanceSea turtles hold an important role in the marine and coastal
ecosystems. Along with transporting nutrients in the ocean and onto beaches,
they are also a key predator within food webs. They help to maintain the health
of coral reefs by feeding on sponges, which prevents sponges from out-competing
coral for space, and allows better access for reef fish to feed on the coral [2].
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