Nesting of hawksbill turtles, eretmochelys imbricata, on the islands of the arabian gulf: (Reptilia: Cheloniidae)

The overall nesting population of Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766)) on Jarnain and Bu Tinah islands of the United Arab Emirates in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf comprised 48 nests on Jarnain and 17 nests on Bu Tinah. The nesting season was short and extended from mid-March to mid-July, with peak nesting activity in April and May. The average clutch size was 58.6. Both percent hatching success and hatchling size showed a deceasing trend from the beginning to the end of the nesting season. This might be due to the adverse effect of increasing atmospheric temperature from 26 to 48°C and of nest temperature from 26 to 35°C.