Impacts of Jaguar Predation on Nesting Sea Turtles at Nancite Beach, Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica

Abstract

Jaguar (Panthera onca) predation on sea turtles occurs across the Americas; however, records are scattered and not frequently presented in terms of their potential effects on sea turtle populations. In this study, we documented Jaguar predation events on nesting sea turtles at Nancite Beach, Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica, between the 2009–2010 and 2018–2019 nesting seasons (excluding 2012–2013 and 2013–2014). We also estimated the size of the local nesting populations for each sea turtle species to assess potential impacts of Jaguar predation. We documented 160 Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) and 11 Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) that were eaten by Jaguars during our study period, corresponding to fewer than 1% and 8–40% of the nesting populations of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles and Greens, respectively. Relative to the size of each nesting population, these results suggest that Jaguar predation does not represent a significant threat to Olive Ridley Sea Turtles. Although Jaguars do not constitute a threat to Green Turtles at a regional-scale, they could influence the persistence of the nesting population at Nancite Beach if their predation rates continue over time.