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Marine turtles have been traditionally considered model organisms to study sex-biased behaviour and dispersal. Although female philopatry has been identified in the loggerhead turtle, with adult females returning to specific locations to nest, studies on the philopatry and breeding migrations of males remain limited. In this study we analysed 152 hatchlings using 15 microsatellite markers. Each individual came from a different nest from samples taken at 8 nesting grounds in the Mediterranean. Our results revealed the existence of 5 genetically differentiated units, mostly due to restricted gene flow for both sexes. This supports existing satellite tracking studies that suggest that mating occurs close to nesting grounds in this region. The 5 management units identified within the Mediterranean included nesting grounds from (1) Libya and Cyprus,(2) Israel,(3) Lebanon,(4) Turkey and (5) Greece. The genetic similarity …