Spatial Ecology and Conservation of Sea Turtles in Coastal Foraging Habitat PDF Download
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Author: Takahiro Shimada
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Green turtle
Languages : en
Pages : 164
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Book Description
Author: Takahiro Shimada
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Green turtle
Languages : en
Pages : 164
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Book Description
Author: Lucas Griffin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Considering many sea turtle populations are a fraction of their historic size and anthropogenic threats within the marine environment are increasing, additional data are imperative to help mitigate anthropogenic disturbances and to build resilience into sea turtle populations. In this dissertation, I present three data chapters focused on immature sea turtle ecology and conservation. These chapters evaluate sea turtle ecology and conservation at varying scales, ranging from mitigating human-wildlife interactions at the individual level, to coastal movements and space use at the ecosystem level, and to large scale climate change impacts at the population level. Ultimately, these chapters provide a better understanding of immature turtle behavioral and spatial ecology within nearshore waters that are required for the continued conservation of turtles and their habitats. In Chapter 2, following Chapter 1: General Introduction, I quantified the behavioral response of immature green turtles (Chelonia mydas) to disturbance by snorkelers in a popular ecotourism venture on Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, United States. Using a standardized disturbance stimulus, I evaluated whether turtles have individual-level responses to snorkeler disturbance. I found ninety percent of turtles disturbed by snorkelers initiated their fights at distances of 3 m or less. Thus, I recommended snorkelers remain greater than 3 m distance from immature turtles. In addition, I found a significant intra-individual repeatability in behavioral responses to disturbance, suggesting, ecotourism activities may be disproportionally affecting individual turtles depending on their personality type. Finally, I suggest ecotourism activities be temporally and spatially stratified and better regulated to reduce missed foraging opportunities by immature turtles in important foraging areas. In Chapter 3, I used acoustic telemetry to describe movement patterns and connectivity of immature green turtles on Culebra and Culebrita Islands, Puerto Rico and, secondly, to determine the spatial-temporal drivers of presence and absence of turtles. Network analysis revealed high fidelity within bays with little to no connectivity across the islands. Based on these findings, I provided evidence that habitat quality and availability in combination with predation risk (innate or learned) is likely driving different rates of somatic growth across the island. Using a presence-absence Bayesian model, results indicated turtles occupied areas of lagoon and seagrass habitats at night, and were rarely using areas of macroalgae habitat. The parameter estimates from the model enabled me to predict diel movement patterns and space use across the focal bay. While habitatswithin Culebraare still largely intact, coastal embayments are becoming increasingly threatened. Given that my research showed that turtles in Culebra exhibit high fidelity within the bays, it is imperative to protect these distinct habitats that serve as both shelter and foraging areas. In Chapter 4, I examined the oceanic, atmospheric, and biological factors that may affect the increasing trend of cold-stunned immature Kemp's ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii) in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, United States. Using cold-stunned data collected since the early 1980's and analytical methods, such as machine learning algorithms and Bayesian modeling, I demonstrated higher cold-stunning years occurred when the Gulf of Maine has warmer seas surface temperature (SST) in late October through early-November. Hatchling numbers, a proxy for population abundance, was not identified as an important factor in predicting the number of annual cold-stunning strandings. Further, I predicted the potential annual cold-stunning counts out to 2031 based on the increasing Gulf of Maine SSTs and evaluated the population level effects of future cold-stunning events in the face of climate change. While cold-stunning at the population level may be minimal, I recommend the continued efforts to rehabilitate cold-stunned turtles to maintain population resilience for this critically endangered species. For the fifth, and final chapter, I synthesized these findings in the context of contributions to the greater field of sea turtle conservation and management, propose future research directions, and re-visit caveats of these studies. Within this chapter, each data chapter is revisited to provide direct conservation applications to help mitigate anthropogenic disturbances. In Chapter 2, I suggest alternate ecotourism regulations and advocate for the spatial-temporal stratification of green turtle snorkel tours. In Chapter 3, I highlight the differential space use of green turtles within coastal habitats and advocate for the importance and protection of these habitats to ensure recruitment into adult populations. And finally, in Chapter 4, I advise for the recovery and rehabilitation of cold-stunned Kemp's ridley turtles to provide population resilience for this critically endangered species in a changing world.
Author:
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 43
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Green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, utilize coastal areas as foraging grounds for the majority of their lives. Human development of coastlines is increasing, but the effects of the urbanization of foraging grounds on green turtles are poorly understood. I used both manual and automated acoustic telemetry to determine the home ranges, movement behavior, and temporal patterns of site visitation of green turtles during 2009-2011 in San Diego Bay, California, a highly urbanized temperate foraging area. The home ranges of all tracked turtles were restricted to the southern portion of San Diego Bay, where eelgrass (Zostera marina) is abundant and where human activity is the lowest within the bay. Core activity areas coincided with eelgrass distribution or occurred adjacent to the warm water-effluent outfall of a waterfront power plant. Automated monitoring of sites throughout south San Diego Bay confirmed this finding, showing that green turtles most frequently visited the outfall of the power plant and areas known to contain eelgrass. This method also elucidated that turtle presence at the power plant was strongest during the winter and at night, whereas visitation to eelgrass areas was strongest during the spring and in the daytime. Turtle visitation to a high boat traffic shipping terminal was rare but occurred almost exclusively during the daytime, the period during which human activities in the area are also the highest. Manual tracking of green turtles similarly demonstrated that individuals ranged across larger portions of south San Diego Bay during the day, during which they exhibited high swimming speeds but highly non-linear movement. Turtle activity at night was primarily restricted to the power plant's effluent outfall channel and adjacent jetty. Nighttime movement was characterized by long periods of inactivity sporadically interrupted by brief, linear movements to new resting locations. Collectively, the results of this study paint a robust picture of the spatial, diel, and seasonal patterns of habitat use by green turtles in San Diego Bay. All data support the hypothesis that south San Diego Bay serves as important turtle habitat within the bay. Further, a combination of manual and automated acoustic telemetry enables a more complete understanding of turtle spatial ecology that would not have been possible with exclusive use of one technique. Future monitoring and modeling is required to document the potential effects of changing environmental conditions, including power plant closure, on green turtles resident to San Diego Bay. This study helps to assess the data gap of how turtles use urbanized foraging areas and changing coastal ecosystems, a currently novel scenario that will likely become commonplace in the face of increasing coastal development worldwide.
Author: Jeanette Wyneken
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1439873089
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 467
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Book Description
Since the first volume of The Biology of Sea Turtles was published in 1997, the field has grown and matured in ways few of the authors would have predicted-particularly in the areas of physiology, behavior, genetics, and health. Volume III presents timely coverage of emerging areas as well as the integration of approaches and information that did n
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309152550
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 174
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Book Description
All six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters are listed as endangered or threatened, but the exact population sizes of these species are unknown due to a lack of key information regarding birth and survival rates. The U.S. Endangered Species Act prohibits the hunting of sea turtles and reduces incidental losses from activities such as shrimp trawling and development on beaches used for nesting. However, current monitoring does not provide enough information on sea turtle populations to evaluate the effectiveness of these protective measures. Sea Turtle Status and Trends reviews current methods for assessing sea turtle populations and finds that although counts of sea turtles are essential, more detailed information on sea turtle biology, such as survival rates and breeding patterns, is needed to predict and understand changes in populations in order to develop successful management and conservation plans.
Author: Candace Patterson
Publisher: Nova Publishers
ISBN: 9781634849814
Category : Green turtle
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Modern marine turtles belong to an ancient group of reptiles inhabiting the Earth for over 110 million years, since the Cretaceous. Marine turtles depend on both marine and terrestrial habitats for their growth and development, from high energy beaches to benthic reefs, and the open waters of the seas. All seven species of sea turtles are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals (IUCN 2011). The threats facing sea turtles are many, both on land and at sea, including habitat loss, predation, and human exploitation. This book examines the ecology, behavior and conservation efforts of sea turtles.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Marine biology
Languages : en
Pages : 252
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Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Endangered species
Languages : en
Pages : 220
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Book Description
Author: Francine L. Dolins
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107062306
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 461
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Book Description
A primatologist's guide to using geographic information systems (GIS); from mapping and field accuracy, to tracking travel routes and the impact of logging.
Author: James R. Spotila
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801880076
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 254
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Book Description
Marine biologist James R. Spotila has spent much of his life unraveling the mysteries of these graceful creatures and working to ensure their survival. In "Sea Turtles," he offers a comprehensive and compelling account of their history and life cycle based on the most recent scientific data and suggests what we can be done to save them. Illustrated with stunning, full-color photographs. 0-808-8007-6$24.95 / Johns Hopkins University Press
