Foraging Habits of Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico

Knowledge of green turtle ( Chelonia mydas ) foraging ecology in the northwestern Gulf Mexico (GOM) is critical as populations begin to recover from heavy harvesting prior centuries. We present a comprehensive long-term assessment diets carcasses salvaged 1987 2014 along Texas coast. Digestive tract contents were examined 420 turtles, ranging size 7.3 86.0 cm straight carapace length (SCL max ). Green turtles small 16.2 SCL recruit oceanic environment nearshore habitat GOM and consume macroalgae principally. A successive shift diet inshore seagrasses was evident by seagrass-dominated larger than 30 . Animal matter remained frequently ingested item suggesting these immature are better classified omnivores. The overall evidence indicates that Texas’ recovering assemblage exhibiting plasticity within seagrass meadows changing species composition density.