The coastal waters of the Cape Verde islands are a significant area for the development of the green sea turtle juveniles. In these waters, one can find hundreds of juveniles all year round. In the rest of the Macaronesian archipelagos, one can occasionally observe juveniles of this species. A genetical study, based on a mitochondrial DNA region control sequence analysis, has revealed that South American, African and of the Ascension Island juvenile populations meet in the Cape Verde islands. More than 38% of the juveniles present in Cape Verde proceed from Suriname population. Furthermore, the comparison of these results with the drifter buoys’ data suggests that the oceanic currents play a significant role in the juveniles’ trans-Atlantic movements and contribute to the arrival at Cape Verde of juveniles born in areas distributed in both sides of the Atlantic.

Laboratory analysis for mitochondrial DNA region control sequences

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