Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Afd.Natuurkunde
1 total work
Studies in the Comoro Archipelago form part of a larger project to assess the status and distributions of sea turtles in the western Indian Ocean, an ambitious venture that still continues. The Comoro Archipelago has been little studied, and the sea turtles there have been virtually ignored by biologists. None the less, there are relatively large numbers of turtles nesting in these islands, and the adjoining shallow water areas (with some of the richest reefs in the western Indian Ocean) may provide important feeding habitats for many turtles. This illustrated report is the first detailed account of marine turtles in the Comores. Based on merely four month's observations, it is but a preliminary statement, but because follow-up studies are likely to be few - there have been none in over a decade - the results are presented in detail to facilitate future comparative studies.