Reproductive investment by green turtles nesting on Ascension Island

Clutch sizes and egg sizes were measured for green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic (7°57′S, 14 °22′W) in 1992. The mean number of eggs per clutch was 127.5 (SD = 22.9; n = 46 clutches). The number of eggs per clutch increased in larger turtles and declined as the nesting season progressed. Mean egg size was 45.5 mm (SD = 1.45 mm; n = 47 clutches). Three turtles laid significantly smaller eggs than the rest of the sample. When these three clutches were removed from the analysis, mean egg size increased in larger turtles. When the effect of female body size was removed there was no relationship between the number and size of the eggs in a clutch. The depth from the top to the bottom of the egg chamber, the depth from the top of the egg chamber to the topmost egg, and the depth of the body pit were all independent of adult size. Egg size varied systematically within clutches, the largest eggs being laid first and the smallest eggs last. This intraclutch variation in egg size had important consequences for the calculated gradient of the relationship between egg size and adult size.