Reproductive Ecology of Loggerhead (<i>Caretta caretta</i>) and Green Sea Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>) on the Karpaz Peninsula, in Northern Cyprus

The northern and southern nesting beaches of the Karpaz Peninsula, Northern Cyprus, were investigated for two consecutive breeding seasons (2022 – 2023). A total of 10604 emergences were reported, with 2945 (27.8%) resulting in nests during two consecutive nesting seasons. Of these nests, 2885 (97.6%) were green turtle nests, whilst the remaining were loggerhead turtle nests. There were five major nesting beaches (Ronnas, Ayphilon, Dolphin, İkidere, and Laden) which held more than 80% of the nests. Nest counts increased by 539% at these beaches using the IUCN MTSG Red List assessment technique, which compares the change in nest counts between the oldest (1993 – 1995) and most current 3-year averages (1189 nests). The overall hatching success ranged from 62.6 to 70.7% for green turtle nests. The annual depredation of nests was predominantly by foxes, with the depredation percentages ranging from 18.6% to 23.6%. These results emphasise the significance of Karpaz Peninsula beaches in relation to other Mediterranean breeding locations, positioning Ronnas beach as the second most crucial nesting site for green turtles in the Mediterranean, only behind Samandağ beach in Türkiye.