Factors Influencing Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) Reproductive Success on a Mixed Use Beach in Florida

Although estimates of sea turtle reproductive success are important to quantify population status and effects from threats, published representative values of these rates are rare. Most assessments involving hatching success have taken place as part of experimental analyses that did not spatiotemporally represent a population. To fill this gap, we analyzed an 11-yr time series (2004–2014) of sea turtle hatching and emergence success data for a 7-km stretch of Florida beach backed by mixed suburban and resort/recreational land use. Our analysis examined potential egg-mortality factors associated with the incubation of these nests. The data set included representative sampling of loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nests (n = 2,543, 34.4% of all nests made during the period) and green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests (n = 972, 44.7% of all nests). Mean (± SD) annual hatching success was 68.6% ± 35.5% for loggerheads and 59.6% ± 39.5% for green turtles, and mean emergence success was 66.6% ± 35.7% for logger...