ECOLOGY, REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF THE LEATHERBACK TURTLE DERMOCHELYS CORIACEA (VANDELLI, 1761): A GLOBAL REVIEW WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR GREAT NICOBAR ISLAND, INDIA

Abstract :

For the Literature Review, greater evidential weight was assigned to leatherback-specific empirical studies, long-term datasets and systematic reviews. Studies concerning other turtle species were used only where they supplied transferable methods or comparative ecological principles. The available geographically uneven. Research is comparatively strong for the Atlantic, Caribbean and eastern Pacific; moderate for the western Pacific and western Indian Ocean; limited for the eastern Indian Ocean; and especially sparse for Great Nicobar Island. Consequently, the literature supports a strong global conceptual framework but does not provide a complete local ecological explanation for the Great Nicobar population, indicating lacunae in research in Great Nicobar.