| Remarks |
Enters brackish water estuaries but also found in open water seas (Ref. 417). Habitat is a shallow thermocline at 50 m with strong thermal and chlorophyll gradients and surface convergent fronts (Ref. 78527). They are observed to reposition themselves in a particular area on a daily basis to take advantage of thermal hotspots within a highly dynamic thermal environment (Ref. 81016). Diving behavior of loggerheads on seabed and pelagically mid-water is observed for travel and foraging during their inter-nesting interval; there is a preference of mid-water resting during travel with a seabed alternative to conserve its resources. This behavior is observed to be locally adapted (Ref. 66292). Aggressive behavior between females has 4 stages (1) initial contact: once intruders entered the visual range of residents, (2) passive confrontation: wide head-tail circling maintaining a distance of 1.5 m, (3) aggressive confrontation: starts when a turtle stops circling to face the other head-on; then sparring starts wherein they snap at each others' jaws while holding defensive horizontal positions in the water column; it progresses to close circling and snapping at the posterior carapace and/or flippers of the other followed by chasing and snapping at the neck and/or central carapace, and (4) separation: may be mutual wherein they swim in opposite directions or may involve a brief chasing of the other out of the vicinity. During contests, established female loggerheads were more likely to win both passive and aggressive contests. This is usually seen in resting site locations (Ref. 81015). Little information is available on the feeding behavior of post-hatchlings in pelagic waters, but they are most likely exclusively carnivorous, feeding on invertebrates and fish eggs. Juveniles and adults consume benthic invertebrates and occasionally fishes (Ref. 122680). Feeds on wide variety of invertebrates such as crabs, jellyfish, prawns, gastropods and pelycepods (Ref. 97534), especially bony fishes (Refs. 804, 97534). |
