Green Sea Turtle

Photo: Daniel Austin · © all rights reserved

Aldabra hosts one of the largest populations of green turtles in the Indian Ocean, with thousands nesting on the atoll's beaches each year. Green turtles are herbivores that graze seagrass meadows inside the lagoon and algae from reef surfaces, keeping seagrass beds cropped short and promoting the growth of nutrient-rich young shoots that support diverse invertebrate communities. Their role as ecosystem engineers in seagrass habitats is considered essential for the health of coastal food webs across the western Indian Ocean.