Social Interactions in Marine Turtles: Evidence from Hawaiian Hawksbills

Social behavior embodies a central tenet of biology yet social interactions remain fairly undocumented for marine turtles. Marine turtles have been studied extensively yet the importance and prevalence of social behaviors has largely been overlooked within the taxon as a whole. Through this project, new evidence suggests that marine turtles, specifically Hawksbills, may not be as solitary as initially believed yet display a variety of social behaviors. These behaviors suggest that more complex social behaviors exist throughout the taxon and marine turtles may be more social than initially believed. These findings have important conservation management implications and encourages more research into turtle behavior.