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Sea turtle feeding grounds, including coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and coastal lagoons are
very important marine environments. The Mexican Caribbean represents one of the most diverse
marine environments in Mexico and includes foraging areas for juvenile green turtles at Akumal
Bay. The purpose of our study was to examine the foraging strategies of green turtles in this life
satge. In order to determine juvenile green turtle resource use in Akumal Bay, &delta13C and
&delta15N were analyzed in blood samples (whole blood, WB; red blood cells, RBC; and plasma, PL) of green turtles as well as their potential diet items (three seagrass species). Samples were collected between 2012 and 2013. Nitrogen isotope values in green turtles ranged from 2.6 to 7.8‰, 2.6 to 7.9‰ and 2.8 to 8.0‰ (in WB, RBC and PL, respectively), and carbon isotope
values ranged from -11.6 to -5.8‰, -12.2 to -5.9‰ and -10.8 to -5.8 (in WB, RBC and PL,
respectively). Nitrogen isotope values in seagrasses varied from 1.6 to 5.9‰, 3.7 to 4.9‰ and 3.7
to 4.1‰ (in Thalassia testudinum, Halodule wrightii and Syringodium filiforme), and carbon
isotope values varied from -9.2 to -6.8‰, -10.5 to -9.9‰ and -7.3 to -5.5‰ (in T. testudinum, H.
wrightii and S. filiforme). These results suggest that juvenile green turtles feed mainly on T.
testudinum, and also that the natural variation of &delta15N values observed mainly in seagrasses maybe related to rain water inputs. According to this, juveniles green turtles from Akumal bay appear to have a herbivorous feeding strategy, similar to other foraging populations of juveniles green turtles in the Caribbean.

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