The species is found on sandy coastal plains and low dunes with sparse vegetation (Gardner 2013). It is a diurnal species that preys on invertebrates. Sexual maturity is reached in one year and the breeding season is during spring and summer (Gardner 2013). Burrows are mostly located near vegetation.

This species naturally inhabits rocky areas in arid regions (Qarn Nazwa population), including those in limestone outcrops where it clings to cliffs, boulders and bushes (Gardner 2013). Apparently not a house gecko in Arabia, though it has occasionally been found in houses (Gardner 2013). It is nocturnal and females lay two hard-shelled eggs glued to rock surfaces or in secure crevices.

This species prefers hard substrates such as consolidated sand and alluvial or gravel plains from sea level to 300 m asl (Gardner 2013). It is a ground-dwelling and nocturnal species that digs burrows in firm ground near or under vegetation and can be found under construction debris (Gardner 2013).

Found in gravel and stony deserts, sandy plains, desert margins, sandy coastal regions, and in cultivated and urban areas (Gardner 2013). Apparently absent from the deep sand deserts and mountains (Gardner 2013). It is normally diurnal but crepuscular or nocturnal during the summer.This species is capable of moving large amounts of sand by active shovelling with the head and neck, pushing the sand aside with sideways movements with the head bent downwards, and can thus make shelters under stones or logs (Gardner 2013). When disturbed, the snake threatens by lifting the front third of the body off the ground and flattening the neck into a narrow hood. It predates on lizards, small mammals and other snakes (Gardner 2013). Breeding is during summer and spring, with females laying a clutch of 4-18 eggs (Gardner 2013). The species is known to polish its scales with an oily secretion from the outside of the nasal flap beside the nostrils (Gardner 2013), the purpose of which is unknown but presumed to reduce water loss or act as a chemical communication.

Within the UAE, this species is found in desert regions including sandy and harder substrates, dry wadis, and hills. They also use agricultural areas, irrigated forestry plots (Gardner 2013) and waste disposal sites.

The species is found throughout the Hajar Mountains (Burriel-Carranza et al. in press) on gravel plains, dry wadis and on mountain ridges. It is also encountered in gardens, oases, plantations and irrigation canals. The species is highly adapted to arid environments and in the UAE it is mainly nocturnal. During dry conditions, they are typically found as single individuals (Soorae et al. 2013) aestivating in burrows underground or under flat rocks until the rainy season. After rainfall, they appear in high densities and form breeding groups, which continue by day and night (Cunningham and Feulner 2001, 2005; Gardner 2013). They are able to breed successfully even in puddles or potholes away from permanent water. They feed on insects and other invertebrates.

This is an opportunistic species that is present where there are water sources available; this includes garden courtyards, oases, permanent springs, irrigation canals and permanent small rivers. Breeding takes place in stagnant and slow-moving water. These toads are active by day as well as by night. Eggs are laid throughout the year in permanent water pools and following rain in temporary pools (Gardner 2013).There is no overall decline in habitat extent and quality, however, over-utilisation of surface water (for agriculture for example) will impact the species.

The utilisation of UAE waters by this species is uncertain but is likely to be for passage only, and no nesting beaches are known in the UAE. Juveniles are believed to occur in similar habitats as the adults (i.e,. pelagic waters) where they forage on gelatinous prey such as jellyfish, salps and tunicates (Kopitsky et al. 2004, Abreu-Grobois and Plotkin 2008). Satellite telemetry studies on Olive Ridley nesting turtles have been undertaken at the south of Masirah Island. Tagging results indicated that six turtles tracked spent most of their time to the west of Masirah foraging at depths of less than 100 m (Rees et al. 2012).Females lay their nests on coastal sandy beaches from which neonates emerge and enter the marine environment to continue their development. They remain in a pelagic phase, drifting passively with major currents that disperse far from their natal sites, with juveniles sharing some of the adults' habitats (Kopitsky et al. 2000) until sexual maturity is reached. Reproductively active males and females migrate toward coastal zones and concentrate near nesting beaches. However, some males appear to remain in oceanic waters and mate with females en route to their nesting beaches (Plotkin et al. 1996, Kopitsky et al. 2000). Their post-breeding migrations are complex, with pathways varying annually (Plotkin 1994) and with no apparent migratory corridors, swimming hundreds or thousands of kilometres, commonly within the 20'°C isotherms.This species displays a unique breeding strategy with females nesting synchronously in large numbers that include hundreds to thousands of females over a period of days in few and specific areas around the world; a phenomenon known as Arribada (word for arrival in Spanish). However, the most common breeding strategy is the solitary or disperse (non-arribada) nesting with no apparent synchronicity and of three or four orders of magnitude lower than arribada nesting populations (Bernardo and Plotkin 2007). At some localities, a mixture of these two forms of nesting can also occur.

Within the UAE the species uses sandy beaches for nesting. Whilst several of the nesting sites are within protected areas, they are often in near proximity to developed areas.No new nesting sites are likely due to extensive development.A four-year research project monitoring post-nesting Hawksbill turtles in the Gulf identified foraging habitats that were spread over vast areas but at the individual turtle level they typically ranged over only 40-60 km² with core areas of only 3-5 km² in size (Pilcher et al. 2014a). Based on the project ground-truthing surveys, the feeding areas were found to be limited to small reef mounds only a few 100s of metres across. In addition, the project revealed short-term migrations that were related to temporal climatic shifts during the summer months. The results indicate that Gulf Hawksbills employ thermoregulatory responses moving to northern and cooler areas during the summer. This type of behaviour is presumably taking them out of high temperature and potentially physiology-threatening conditions. Growth and reproduction are integrally linked to foraging ecology (Bjorndal 1997) and limitations to foraging or food availability can impact the productivity of individuals and populations. Similarly, exposure to temperatures which exceed normal tolerances can lead to a decrease in nutritional uptake and growth. Gulf turtles are amongst the smallest adult turtles worldwide, in comparison to Omani turtles which are an average of 10 cm larger in carapace length as nesting adults, suggesting that growth in Gulf turtles is nutrient-limited.Hawksbills mainly feed on corals, sponges and crustaceans. In the water, the species is reef-associated, and reefs are undergoing a continuing decline in extent and quality. In the western Arabian Gulf, the species was found using more fragmented feeding sites (and females were <10 cm shorter than females from Oman).Hawksbills in the UAE may nest up to six times in a season with an average of three nests per turtle (Pilcher et al. 2014a), with 2-3 nests per female noted locally, however, recent genetic analysis found lower numbers of nests per female, at least in Dubai and Sir Bu Nair (A. Natoli pers. comm. 2018). The distribution of foraging habitat in the Gulf region has been described by Pilcher et al. (2014a) based on satellite tracking of 90 post-nesting female Hawksbills from nesting sites in Iran, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. In this study most of the turtles tagged in Qatar, Iran and the UAE migrated to southern and southwestern waters in the Gulf shared by the UAE and Qatar. A smaller number of turtles migrated northward towards Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. Turtles spent 68% of the time in foraging grounds with home ranges of 40-“60 km² and small core areas of 6 km² were found to be larger than those used by Omani turtles (core areas ~3 km²). In addition, adult female turtles from the Arabian Gulf were significantly smaller than Omani turtles (by ~11 cm CCL). Arabian Gulf turtles spend an average of 20% of time undertaking summer migration loops, a thermoregulatory response to avoid elevated sea surface temperatures, as the Arabian Gulf regularly experiences sustained sea surface temperatures of over 30 '°C (Pilcher et al. 2014b).Genetic analyses revealed differences in mating behaviour between Sir Bu Na'air, Dubai and Abu Dhabi nesting sites, with a high level of single paternity in Dubai and Abu Dhabi nests and high multiple paternity in Sir Bu Na'air nests. Across the time of the study (2008 -2010) no females were detected to nest in more than one nesting site and males rarely sired at different nesting sites, further supporting the presence of different breeding grounds in UAE (Natoli et al. 2017).In the Arabian region, Hawksbill turtles deposit multiple clutches and nest during the short summer seasons, typically between April/May and July (Pilcher et al. 2014a).Hawksbills nest on insular and mainland sandy beaches throughout the tropics and subtropics. Newly emerged hatchlings enter the sea and are carried by offshore currents into major gyre systems where they remain until reaching a carapace length of some 20 to 30 cm (Mortimer and Donnelly 2008). However, recent studies (Vargas et al. 2015, Natoli et al. 2017) have found the species to have more distinct sub-populations, including a clade restricted to the Gulf. One in the sea, they move into foraging habitat that may comprise coral reefs or other hard bottom habitats, seagrass, algal beds, or mangrove bays and creeks (Musick and Limpus 1997) or mud flats. As they increase in size, immature turtles typically inhabit a series of habitats, with some tendency for larger turtles to inhabit deeper sites (van Dam and Diez 1997, Bowen et al. 2007). Once sexually mature, they undertake breeding migrations between foraging grounds and breeding areas at intervals of several years (Witzell 1983, Dobbs et al. 1999). Global population genetic studies have demonstrated the tendency of female sea turtles to return to breed at their natal rookery (Bowen and Karl 1997), even though as juveniles they may have foraged at developmental habitats located hundreds or thousands of kilometres from the natal beach. While Hawksbills undertake long migrations, some portion of immature animals may settle into foraging habitats near their beaches of origin (Bowen et al. 2007). Generation Length (from Mortimer and Donnelly 2008)Generation length is defined here as the age to maturity plus one half the reproductive longevity (Pianka 1974). Hawksbills mature very slowly, taking 20 to 40 years, and so are long-lived (Chaloupka and Musick 1997). Age to maturity in the Indo-Pacific requires a minimum of 30-35 years (Limpus 1992, Limpus and Miller 2000, Mortimer et al. 2002, 2003).Data on reproductive longevity in Hawksbills are limited, but becoming available with increasing numbers of intensively monitored, long-term projects on protected beaches. During the last decade, numerous individual Caribbean Hawksbills have been recorded actively nesting over a period of 14-22 years (Parrish and Goodman 2006). In the Indo-Pacific Mortimer and Bresson (1999) and Limpus (1992) have reported nesting over 17-20 years, comparable to other Chelonid turtles which range from 20 to 30 years (Carr et al. 1978, FitzSimmons et al. 1995).Given estimated ages to maturity of 25 years in the Caribbean and 35 years in the Indo-Pacific, with half of reproductive longevity estimated at ten years, a conservative generation length of 35 years (25 + 10 years) is calculated for the Caribbean and Western Atlantic, and 45 years (35 + 10 years) in the Indo-Pacific. In analyzing the data, declines over three generations are therefore measured for up to 135 years in the Indo-Pacific. In fact, generation length may well have been longer in the days when population density was higher (Bjorndal et al. 2000).

In UAE territorial waters, the occurrence of this species is sporadic, and habitat use is not known; presumed to use epipelagic open water (0-200 m).At the global scale, this is an oceanic, deep-diving marine turtle that inhabits tropical, subtropical, and subpolar seas (Wallace et al. 2013). The species makes extensive migrations between feeding areas at different seasons, and to and from nesting areas. Leatherbacks feed predominantly on jellyfishes, salps and siphonophores. Females usually produce several (3-10) clutches of 60-90 eggs in a reproductive season, and typically have a re-migration interval of multiple years (2+) between subsequent reproductive seasons.