Multiple satellite tracking datasets inform green turtle conservation at a regional scale

Ferreira, Luciana C.; Thums, Michele; Fossette, Sabrina; Wilson, Phillipa; Shimada, Takahiro; Tucker, Anton D.; Pendoley, Kellie; Waayers, Dave; Guinea, Michael L.; Loewenthal, Graham; King, Joanne; Speirs, Marissa; Rob, Dani; Whiting, Scott D.

doi:10.1111/ddi.13197

Cited by 19 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The migration routes illustrate that turtles which migrated to the same destination did not necessarily follow the same migratory route and that turtles which did follow the same general migratory route did not necessarily stop at the same foraging area. While in route along the coast and over deep-water areas, they swam at speeds comparable to those reported by others, with migration speeds over deep-water being faster (e.g., Papi et al, 1995;Cheng, 2000 and citations therein;Godley et al, 2002;Ferreira et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…In recent years, satellite tracking of marine turtle movements between their nesting sites and foraging areas has elucidated much of the previously unknown biology and habitat use (Godley et al, 2002(Godley et al, , 2008Luschi et al, 2003;Blumenthal et al, 2006;Hart et al, 2013Hart et al, , 2017Luschi and Casale, 2014;Pilcher et al, 2014Pilcher et al, , 2021aRees et al, 2016;Ferreira et al, 2020), including bi-directional movements (Limpus and Limpus, 2001;Pilcher et al, 2020). It is now well established that post-nesting turtles which used a particular nesting location return to several different foraging areas (Luschi et al, 1996;Bjorndal et al, 2005;Blumenthal et al, 2006;Bolker et al, 2007;Bradshaw et al, 2017;Shimada et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Satellite Tracking of Post-nesting Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) From Ras Baridi, Red Sea

Al-Mansi¹,

Sambas

Abukaboos

et al. 2021

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Identifying migratory pathways and linking nesting sites to foraging areas is essential for effective conservation management of migratory species, such as marine turtles. Post-nesting marine turtles disperse from their nesting sites to multiple foraging areas located from a few to hundreds of kilometers away. Over a six-year period 16 female green turtles (Chelonia mydas) were equipped with satellite transmitters between October and December of five nesting seasons to determine their migratory routes from their nesting area at five contiguous beaches at Ras Baridi, Saudi Arabia, to their foraging areas. All foraging areas for these turtles were located in shallow coastal areas or in shallow areas around offshore islands within the Red Sea basin. The majority (n = 12) migrated through the shallow (<200 m) water along the coastal margin to reach foraging areas located to the North (n = 4) and South (n = 12) of the nesting site. Four turtles crossed the deep trough of the Red Sea during their journeys. Ten of the 16 turtles migrated to foraging areas within the territorial waters of Saudi Arabia. The other six turtles migrated to foraging areas in Egypt (n = 4) and Eritrea (n = 2). These 16 turtles traveled between 130 and 1749 km from their nesting site to foraging areas located in the northern, middle and southern parts of the Red Sea. Because these turtles utilized foraging areas in at least three countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Eritrea) and one passed through the territorial waters of Sudan, conservation and management of green turtles in the Red Sea requires multinational cooperation to address anthropogenic threats in the region.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite Tracking of Post-nesting Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) From Ras Baridi, Red Sea

Al-Mansi¹,

Sambas

Abukaboos

et al. 2021

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Marine megafauna often use distinct habitats during different life history stages (Hussey et al, 2015). Individuals may spread over different habitats to forage, whereas, during breeding seasons they may migrate to particular sites, aggregating in large numbers within relatively small areas (Boyd et al, 2002;Robinson et al, 2012;Ferreira et al, 2021). Due to the spatial concentration of reproductive adults, such breeding sites can be critical habitats for many species and are often a target of conservation efforts (Oppel et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Every few years, adult females return to the same natal nesting areas to lay several clutches of eggs on a beach, although foraging grounds of each turtle can be separated by thousands of kilometers (Miller, 1997;Jensen et al, 2013;Shimada et al, 2020). Between nesting events, females rest in nearshore waters (inter-nesting habitats) to prepare their eggs for the next clutch (Houghton et al, 2002;Ferreira et al, 2021;Shimada et al, 2021). This aggregation and fidelity to specific breeding areas makes turtles extremely vulnerable to sudden alteration or loss of nesting and inter-nesting habitats, due to both natural (e.g., coastal erosion) and anthropogenic (e.g., development, climate change) threats (Lutcavage et al, 1997;Hamann et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite Tracking Reveals Nesting Patterns, Site Fidelity, and Potential Impacts of Warming on Major Green Turtle Rookeries in the Red Sea

et al. 2021

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Major aggregations of nesting green turtles (Chelonia mydas) occur in the northern Red Sea, although little is known about the reproductive ecology of this endangered species in the region. To address this issue, we satellite-tracked 30 female green turtles to document their movements and to identify factors driving habitat use at two major rookeries in the Red Sea, Jazirat Mashabah (Mashabah Island) and Ras Al Baridi in Saudi Arabia. Between successive nesting events, turtles displayed high fidelity to nesting beaches and adjacent in-water habitats (inter-nesting habitats). Using generalized linear mixed models, we estimated the mean probability of nesting per beach emergence (nesting success rate) to be 0.628, and the mean duration between a successful nesting event and the successive emergence onto the beach (re-nesting interval) to be 10.8 days at each site. The nesting success rate was relatively high (>0.8) when the preceding daytime land surface temperature (LST) was lower than 37°C but decreased with elevated daytime LST (<0.4 when >47°C). Re-nesting interval was longer at lower water temperatures and towards the end of the nesting season of individuals. Our study improves the robustness of abundance estimates from census data (e.g., track counts) and shows that the protection of nesting and inter-nesting habitats during a breeding season would be an effective conservation strategy for the species. We discuss how global warming could increase energy expenditure due to lowered nesting success, ultimately compromising the reproductive fitness of these populations.

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“…O registro dessa elevada densidade de movimentos, indica que a criação de áreas marinhas protegidas ao longo dessas rotas, que interligam áreas de reprodução e de alimentação, tem elevado potencial de beneficiar a conservação dessas espécies. A extensão da proteção prevista para as áreas prioritárias de reprodução para o mar é aplicada na Austrália, a partir de um raio de 20km (Ferreira et al, 2021). Um exemplo do uso das informações espaciais para orientar políticas públicas de proteção das tartarugas marinhas é observado na costa da África, entre o Gabão e a República do Congo (Maxwell et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussões E Conclusõesunclassified

Identificação de Áreas Críticas para Tartarugas Marinhas e sua Relação com Unidades de Conservação no Brasil

et al. 2022

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As tartarugas marinhas são animais migratórios e o conhecimento de seus movimentos é vital para a definição de estratégias de manejo. Áreas principais de uso de quatro das cinco espécies que ocorrem no litoral brasileiro, a saber: Caretta caretta, Lepidochelys olivacea, Eretmochelys imbricata e Dermochelys coriacea, foram identificadas através da telemetria por satélite (n = 160 transmissores) e analisadas por meio do método State-Space Model. As áreas principais de uso identificadas corresponderam a 3% da distribuição total e localizaram-se, majoritariamente, na costa do Pará, Ceará e Rio Grande do Norte; ao longo da margem leste da plataforma continental do Nordeste, até Salvador, Bahia; no sul da Bahia e Espírito Santo; na plataforma de São Paulo e no estuário do Rio de la Plata, entre o Uruguai e Argentina. Os movimentos das tartarugas intersectaram 89,6% das unidades de conservação marinhas consideradas (52 das 58 UCs), porém, apenas 21,5% das áreas principais de uso sobrepuseram unidades de conservação (UCs = 15). Dentre estas, se destacam: APA Plataforma Continental do Litoral Norte, APA Costa dos Corais, APA dos Recifes de Corais e a APA Ponta da Baleia – Abrolhos, dada presença de áreas principais, utilizadas por duas ou três espécies. Os resultados evidenciam a importância das unidades de conservação, assim como apontam a necessidade de essas áreas adotarem medidas para a redução de ameaças, em especial a captura incidental por pescarias. Os resultados mostram também potencial para contribuir com análises de impactos ambientais de empreendimentos marinhos, dentro ou fora dos limites de unidades de conservação.

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Multiple satellite tracking datasets inform green turtle conservation at a regional scale

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 19 publications

References 48 publications

Satellite Tracking of Post-nesting Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) From Ras Baridi, Red Sea

Satellite Tracking of Post-nesting Green Sea Turtles (Chelonia mydas) From Ras Baridi, Red Sea

Satellite Tracking Reveals Nesting Patterns, Site Fidelity, and Potential Impacts of Warming on Major Green Turtle Rookeries in the Red Sea

Identificação de Áreas Críticas para Tartarugas Marinhas e sua Relação com Unidades de Conservação no Brasil

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