Growth and behaviour of green sea turtle hatchlings in captivity at segari turtle research Centre Perak

This study is aimed to determine the growth rates and behaviour of different growing stages of green turtle hatchlings in captivity. During 8 weeks of study, the growth rate of mean minimum straight carapace length for Class 1 hatchlings was 0.05 cm/week, Class 2 was 0.10 cm/week, Class 3 was 0.13 cm/week and Class 4 was 0.21 cm/week. For growth rate based on mean straight carapace width for Class 1 was 0.09 cm/week, Class 2 was 0.06 cm/week, Class 3 was 0.13 cm/week and Class 4 was 0.18 cm/week. The turtle hatchlings showed the normal behaviour involving diving, aggression, and floating. The mortality rate of Class 1 turtle hatchlings were highest among classes with 56.31% over 8 weeks period. The mortality rates for Class 2 and Class 3 were 46.0% and 26.0%, respectively. Class 4 turtle hatchlings have lowest mortality rate with only 11.25% over 8 weeks period. The level of public awareness on turtle conservation is good but these efforts should be continue