Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Photo: Kevin Bryant · CC BY-NC-SA

Hawksbill turtles are frequent visitors to Ilha Guarita, feeding on the sponges that colonize the undersides and shaded faces of chapeirão formations. Their narrow, pointed beaks allow them to extract prey from crevices inaccessible to other turtle species, making them important agents of sponge community control on the reef. The park's no-take rules have allowed local nesting populations to stabilize after decades of historical decline.