# Somatic Growth Rates of Juvenile Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Fijian Archipelago

## TL;DR

Researchers measured the growth rates of juvenile green sea turtles in Fiji and found an average growth rate of 1.6 cm per year, which helps inform conservation efforts.

## Contribution

This study provides new data on the somatic growth rates of juvenile green turtles in the Fijian Archipelago, including spatial variation and a non-monotonic growth pattern.

## Key findings

- The mean growth rate of juvenile green turtles in Fiji was 1.6 ± 0.1 cm per year.
- Growth rates varied spatially across three foraging sites, ranging from 1.1 to 1.8 cm per year.
- The non-monotonic growth pattern aligns with trends observed in other Pacific green turtle populations.

## Abstract

Establishing key life history traits (i.e., somatic growth rates) for sea turtles produces insights into population demography and informs conservation efforts. Despite a plethora of studies on sea turtles over the past decades, there remain significant knowledge gaps for the demography of many populations. From 2015 to 2022, we measured somatic growth for 215 foraging green turtles (
Chelonia mydas
) captured among three foraging areas in the Fijian Archipelago, tropical South Pacific. We modeled a mean size‐specific growth rate function for this foraging aggregation that was non‐monotonic decreasing with size. The mean growth rate for this foraging aggregation was 1.6 ± 0.1 cm year−1 curved carapace length, and we found some spatial variation in growth rates across the three foraging sites (range of means = 1.1–1.8 cm year−1), perhaps owing to differences in habitat quality and/or ontogeny‐based differences in feeding ecology. Overall, the range of Fijian juvenile green turtle growth rates aligns with those reported from foraging aggregations elsewhere in the Pacific and also conforms to the general pattern of non‐monotonic declining growth reported for green turtles throughout this ocean basin. Establishing foraging area‐specific growth parameters for Fijian green turtles provides current estimates to inform ecological and health assessments vital to the development of future conservation plans.

We measured somatic growth rates of 215 juvenile green turtles across three foraging sites in the Fijian Archipelago from 2015 to 2022, finding a mean growth rate of 1.6 ± 0.1 cm year−1 that declined non‐monotonically with size and varied spatially between sites. These growth rates are consistent with patterns observed in other Pacific green turtle populations, reflecting influences of habitat quality and feeding ecology. Our findings establish key life history parameters for Fijian green turtles that will support future ecological assessments and conservation planning.