Preliminary observations on the biology of green turtles, Chelonia mydas, from the United Arab Emirates

1. Aspects of the biology of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) that occur in the Arabian Gulf off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), United Arab Emirates (UAE) are described. 2. A total of 145 turtles, incidentally captured by fishermen, were examined. These consisted of 142 green turtles of various size groups and three juvenile hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata). 3. The green turtle population appeared to consist of resident and migratory individuals (curved carapace length between 35 and 105.5 cm). 4. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) analysis showed that more turtles were caught by beach seine fishermen from RAK (CPUE: 8.5) compared with those from Ar Rams, a nearby site (CPUE: 0.73). 5. Stomach content analysis showed that green turtles in this area feed almost exclusively on two species of seagrass, Halodule uninervis and Halophila ovalis. 6. During May, the turtles consumed a significantly higher proportion of H. uninervis as compared with H. ovalis. However, in August this ratio was reversed. This may indicate that the turtles feed in deeper waters during the summer months where H. ovalis appears to be prevalent. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.