Morphometric diversity of Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) at the Kelapa Island and Harapan Island Turtle Conservation Centers

Departement of Marine Science and Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science, IPB University, Jl. Raya Dramaga, Bogor, West Java, 16680, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Kepulauan Seribu National Park (TNKpS) is one of the marine nature conservation areas located in Pulau Seribu, DKI Jakarta Province. Kelapa Island and Harapan Island are centers for hawksbill turtle conservation, as several islands in the TNKpS are their landing and nesting areas. The study aimed to analyze the morphometric characteristics of hawksbill turtles based on their life stages. Morphometric measurements were carried out on 54 samples of hawksbill turtles of different ages with 13 parameters to differentiate cohorts, then a correlation analysis was conducted between carapace length and hawksbill turtle weight and nMDS analysis. Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in SPTN Region I Kelapa Island, and Region II Harapan Island showed a negative allometric growth pattern, with a correlation level of 0.001 for hatchlings (very low) to 0.938 for juveniles (very strong). The nMDS analysis showed similarities in characteristics from the early hatchling to early juvenile phases and there were 3 cohorts of hawksbill turtles conserved in SPTN Regions I and II TNKpS, based on carapace length.