Status Of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys Olivacea) In Srikakulam District, Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) exhibit more prominent nesting activity along the coast of India, with major mass nesting beaches in the state of Orissa. Increasing hunting and anthropogenic activities made these sea turtle group into IUCN vulnerable category. Conserving the population and diversity of these turtles has significant ecological role i.e., nourishing the dune vegetation, and help to prevent coastal erosion. The present study focused to evaluate the status of olive ridley turtles population and nesting activity in three hours interval of 4 study regions (namely Kapaskuddi, Battivanipalem, Donkuru and Kalingapatnam) of Srikakulam district, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. This long term ecological study might provide future perspectives for the conservation of sea turtles population and diversity