evidence: Aves Island Wildlife Refuge is unique among sea turtle reproductive sites because significant numbers of males and females of the same population congregate there for courtship and mating, and females do not face any anthropogenic threats on the nesting beach. Located approximately 670 kilometers (416 miles) north of continental Venezuela, in that country’s maritime boundary, Aves Island is a mere 580 by 120 meters (1,902 by 393 feet). The refuge is one of the few areas on the planet where male green turtles are found in large mating aggregations in clear, shallow waters where they can be easily observed and studied. Far to the west along the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua, the expansive Caribbean continental shelf of Mesoamerica provides some of the most extensive seagrass pastures in the Atlantic. Green turtles come from all over the region to feed. At the southern extent of this vast foraging area, green turtles exhibit a sex ratio of approximately three males to one female, making it yet another unique area for studying male green turtles. Researchers suggest that the high concentration of males is evidence of sexual segregation on the foraging ground and is likely a mating strategy to increase encounters with reproductive females migrating to near and distant nesting areas, particularly nearby Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Female green turtles nesting at Aves Island are known to use Nicaragua’s Miskito Coast foraging grounds.