Blood levels of progesterone (P
4), estradiol-17β (E
2), calcium (Ca), triglyceride (TG), and total protein (TP) were monitored in a captive female loggerhead turtle throughout a nesting season that included three 13- or 14-d internesting intervals. We observed the turtle’s ovaries to monitor the appearance of shelled eggs, using ultrasonography, and compared the results of blood analyses and ovary observations. The blood P
4 level remained low (<0.2 ng/mL), with the exception of three sharp peaks (1.7, 2.2, and 4.2 ng/mL) immediately after the initial three nestings. Eggshell formation occurred immediately after the P
4 peaks. The blood Ca level gradually dropped to approximately 3.0 μmol/mL during each eggshell formation period but then recovered to approximately 3.7 μmol/mL prior to the next eggshell formation. The blood E
2 level fluctuated between 44 and 299 pg/mL, but with two higher peaks (734 and 419 pg/mL) after eggshell formation in the first and second internesting intervals, respectively. During the nesting season, the blood TG level (initially 20 μmol/mL) showed a stepwise drop to 7.6 μmol/mL, while the blood TP level fluctuated between 57 and 69 mg/mL with no distinct peaks. The periodic cycle of P
4 and Ca changes aligned with albumen layer secretion around ovulated follicles immediately after nesting, followed by eggshell calcification in the clutch. The relatively small fluctuations in E
2, TG, and TP during the nesting season suggested that lipid deposition and preovulatory follicular development were completed prior to the start of nesting.
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