Rare green turtle breeding reported on Chrissi island

The rare green sea turtle species has been found to have bred on Chrissi Island, according to a post by the Natural History Museum, as researchers discovered the nest.

Details from the post:A significant discovery was made today, August 28, 2024, by the research team of the Natural History Museum of Crete (NHMC) for the Action Plan of Chrissi Island. Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) breeding was confirmed on the island. The team, consisting of Michalis Dretakis (Biologist-Ornithologist of the Ecology and Environmental Management Laboratory of NHMC), Raffaela Pantelari (PhD Biologist, volunteer for NHMC activities), Katerina Chatzikyriakidou (educator, volunteer for NHMC activities), and Manolis Roukounakis (Head of Environment for the Lassithi Regional Unit), located a nest of this rare sea turtle species, alongside finding many nests and tracks of the Caretta caretta. For the Green Turtle, this finding is the most significant record of fauna made in recent years on Chrissi Island, as part of long-term NHMC research. It underscores the value of monitoring programs for threatened (and other) species in their habitats, particularly those under legal protection of the Natura 2000 network. Further details about this finding and the status of sea turtles on Chrissi Island for the period 2022-2024 will be provided in a report to the relevant administrative authorities and the scientific community.P.S. To our knowledge, this is only the second time Green Turtle breeding has been reported in Greece, with a previous report from the Messara Bay by the recording program conducted by ARCHELON.

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