INDICADORES DEL ÉXITO REPRODUCTIVO DE LA TORTUGA VERDE (Chelonia mydas) EN TRES PLAYAS DE LA PENÍNSULA DE GUANAHACABIBES, PINAR DEL RÍO, CUBA.

An analysis of the reproductive success of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) using as indicators quantitative descriptors of the final phase of incubation was carried out in Antonio, Perjuicio and Caleta de los Piojos nesting beaches, located in the Biosphere Reserve and National Park "Peninsula of Guanahacabibes", Cuba. Eight indicators of the reproductive success (clutch size, duration of incubation period, hatchlings emergence success, percent eggs without embryos, percent of embryo mortality, percent predation, percents of anomalies and percent of hatching mortality) were compared between beaches and between nesting zones A, B and C for each beach. There were significant differences between beach zones for survival and for eggs without embryo. Between beaches there were different predation levels. The incubation period differed as a function of the interaction between beaches and between zones. The fact that significant differences between the study sites were found for indicators such as survival (the lowest value in the A zone) or the percentage of eggs without embryo (the highest value in the A zone), together with the fact that the smallest number of nests occurred in this zone, corroborates the notion that green turtles have fixed a preference for areas with the most appropriate conditions for the reproductive success. On the other hand, high rates of hatchling emergence together with low mortality and anomalies in the three beaches indicates the presence of conditions that favor the reproductive success in the study area as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]