122 Figure 26. Results of the PCA relating the predicted sector number of nests per islet with the ‘habitat’ variables. A: Correlation circle displaying how much the original ‘habitat’ variables are correlated with the first two principal components of the associated PCA. B: Scatter diagram with representation of point classes addressing nesting intensities, ranging from green= ‘no nesting’ to red= ‘high nesting’. 5. Discussion 5.1 Spatial distribution of nesting activities and site selection patterns in a multiple sites rookery The GLS area is considered a major nesting rookery for loggerhead turtles, with a mean seasonal estimate of 437 nests (95% Credible Interval=328-582), representing the highest nesting concentration reported for this species in New Caledonia (Bourgogne et al. 2024c). It is, as such, an important conservation priority area at the scale of the South Pacific critically endangered subpopulation (Bourgogne et al. 2024a, b, c). It exhibits a singular topography, with the presence of 35 islets scattered over an extensive lagoon. This characteristic raises questions about the distribution of nesting activities among these islets, but also a conservation challenge that requires robust knowledge over the most critical sites to the reproductive sea turtle population for the implementation of prioritized management measures. In order to address this challenge, we have investigated the spatiotemporal patterns of nesting activities distribution within the GLS. The total number of nests per islet and per season has been assessed in a recently published study, based on an innovative monitoring protocol and specially designed predicting models (Bourgogne et al. 2024c). While we acknowledge the
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