Embryonic Mortality

Dead loggerhead eggs and hatchlings have been reported from nests inundated by rainfall and sea swells, with mortality attributed to lack of respiratory oxygen. Incubation in sand moistened by water with salinities equal to 75% and 100% sea water prevented normal metabolism and caused subsequent failure in green turtle eggs. Embryonic mortality is observed during early development, before pigmentation of the eye, and supports the belief that the first three weeks of incubation is a critical period in embryonic sea turtle development.