As well as green turtles, Critically Endangered hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata are found in near-shore habitats of Ascension Island, although they have never been found to be nesting there and are present in smaller numbers. Shell measurements taken indicate that most (if not all) individuals encountered around Ascension are juveniles. This suggests that Ascension serves as a mid-Atlantic developmental habitat for juvenile hawksbill turtles on their oceanic migrations before recruiting to their adult foraging grounds, likely to be located in Brazil or tropical West Africa. |