HAPLOTYPE ANALYSES OF NEWLY IDENTIFIED NESTING BEACH FOR LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE: YAKACIK BEACH, TURKIYE

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Sea turtles can be genetically differentiated for their nesting beaches or regions because they show natal homing behaviour. This may be a single beach or as a management unit of several beaches. Mediterranean coast of Türkiye has many small pocket beaches and other inaccessible remote sandy beaches. In this study, we investigated the genetic structure of a newly identified loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting site, Yakacık beach in the border of Antalya and Mersin provinces. The CC-A2.1 and CC-A3.1 haplotypes were defined within the 16 samples collected from the nests during the 2020 and 2021 nesting seasons. One sample per nest were collected as we are interested in mtDNA inherited only from mothers. The beach is identified in the Eastern Türkiye Management Unit for the presence of these haplotypes. There are 23 nesting beaches along the Mediterranean coast of Türkiye and these beaches are very important nesting sites for the loggerhead and the green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Mediterranean. In this study, we analysed the genetic structure of a newly identified nesting beach and the importance of genetic diversity for Mediterranean Sea turtles was emphasized.