GREEN SEA TURTLE URUGUAYAN MARINE PROTECTED AREAS RELATIVE DENSITY OF JUVENILE GREEN SEA TURTLE ( Chelonia mydas ) IN THE MPA CABO POLONIO-BARRA DE VALIZAS, URUGUAY. Cecilia Lezama 1 , Daniel González-Paredes 1,2 , Mariana Rios 3 , Alejandro Fallabrino 1 , Gabriela Vélez-Rubio 1,4 , Gustavo Martínez-Souza 1,5 1)Karumbé, Biodiversidad y Conservación. Av.Rivera 3245. 11600. Montevideo. Uruguay. [email protected] 2)Hombre y Territorio Association. C/ Castellar 54-56 #2, 41003. Seville, Andalusia, Spain. [email protected] 3)Area de biodiversidad y conservación, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, MEC. Montevideo, Uruguay. 4)Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biologia Evolutiva, Universidad de Valencia, Aptdo. 22085, 46071 Valencia, Spain 5)Programa de Pós-Graduação em Oceanografia Biológica, IO, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil UY UY (Catch per Unit of Effort) number of captured turtles guillnet soak time x guillnet unit (75m 2 ) CPUE S O N D J F M A M J J A 50 *CCL (mean±SD = 38’5 ± 4’5 cm) **[stranding turtles/month (N= 643). Karumbé database 1999-2010] * * Chelonia mydas Uruguayan coast represents an important fee- ding area for a mixed stock of juvenile* green sea turtle into the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean 1,2 . The occurrence of green turtles in Uruguay is determina- ted by the abundance of algae (its main food resource) and warm water temperatures (optimal for its metabolism) 1 . Therefore, the occurrence of green turtles in Uruguay is seasonally with a remarkable peak during the summer months 3,4 . The aim of this research is to analyze the green turtle density population in MPA Cabo Polonio-Barra de Vali- zas compared with the MPA Cerro Verde e Islas de la Coronilla, which is considered a critical habitat 1 for green turtles. The study period ran in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2013, from January to March. REFERENCES 1.- López-Mendilaharsu et al .(2006).Biología, Ecología y Etología de las tortugas marinas en la zona costera uruguaya.(eds) 2.- Bolten, A.B. (1999). Techniques for Measuring Sea Turtles.(eds) 3.- Vélez-Rubio et al. (2013).Marine turtle threats in Uruguayan waters: insights from 12 years of stranding data. MB. 4.- Martínez-Souza et al .(2011). Cerro Verde, Uruguay, can be a year-round feeding area for juvenile green turtles? Proceedings of the 31 ISTS. ACKNOWLEGMENTS Authors are really grateful to all Karumbé members and volunteers who once formed part of the NGO. Thanks for the support of Sea Turtle Conservation, CLS America, ISSF, EBS, EAI. Karumbé NGO We performed scientific captures of the green turtles when they came to feed on algae on the coastal rocky points. We used the CPUE index (Catch per Unit of Effort) to estimate the turtle abun- dance in both MPAs. Considering the CPUE as abundance index, this means that MPA Cabo Polonio-Barra de Valizas supports a re- lative density of green turtles similar to MPA Cerro Verde e Islas de La Coronilla. The rocky points and surrounding waters in both MPAs represent a critical habitat for green turtles. These linked spots confirm an important foraging network that supports a juvenile stock in its growing stage. MPA Cabo Polonio Karumbé NGO achieved to capture 46 juvenile green turtles in a total of 55 captu- re events during the study period. CPUE = 0’60 ± 0’81 338 46 MPA Cerro Verde In this important feeding spot, Karumbé NGO mana- ged to capture 338 juveni- le green turtles in a total of 157 capture events during the study period. CPUE = 0’47 ± 0’91 2005 2006 2007 2013 2005 2006 2007 2013 KARUMBÉ SCIENTIFIC BASE AMP CABO POLONIO BARRA DE VALIZAS 0’60 ±0’81 CPUE 0’47 ±0’91 CPUE AMP CERRO VERDE ISLAS DE LA CORONILLA