Determination of natal origins of green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles at feeding grounds in Malaysian waters

Abstract

Genetic, flipper tagging and telemetry studies have demonstrated that sea turtle migrate extensively between nesting and feeding grounds. However, in Malaysia, sea turtle conservation efforts concentrated mainly on nesting populations, hence little is known about the turtles at feeding grounds. In recent years, harvesting of sea turtles at feeding grounds in Malaysia has become more serious. Therefore, this research aimed to identify the feeding grounds and to determine the natal origins of sea turtle occupying each feeding habitat using mitochondrial DNA control region sequences.