Global Vision International,

Seychelles - Curieuse Report Series No. 133-142

ISSN 1751-2255 (Print)




GVI Seyche||es - Cur|euse
1errestr|a| Conservat|on Lxped|t|on


Annua| keport

2014
Subm|tted |n who|e to
Clobal vlslon lnLernaLlonal
Seychelles naLlonal arks AuLhorlLy (SnA)


2


roduced by
noel uunn | Sclence Co-ordlnaLor

And
ChrlsLophe Mason-arker | CounLry ulrecLor
uan uavles | 8ase Manager
kaLe CulnLon | LxpedlLlon sLaff
8en orLal | Scholar
Carollne Ward | Scholar
8eggle Lang | 8ase Manager
aLrlck Woods | LxpedlLlon sLaff
Zach !ones | Scholar
llorence arker-!urd | Scholar
ascal Lovell | Scholar

Spec|a| thanks
1o all volunLeers from Aprll 2013 - Aprll 2014.
uaLa collecLlon would noL be Lhe same wlLhouL Lhelr efforLs.









GVI Seyche||es - Cur|euse 1errestr|a| Conservat|on Lxped|t|on
Address: Cvl c/o SnA, C 8ox 1240, vlcLorla, Mahe, Seychelles
Lmall: seychelles[gvlworld.com
Web page: hLLp://www.gvl.co.uk and hLLp://www.gvlusa.com


3

Lxecut|ve Summary
1hls reporL summarlses Lhe sclence programmes conducLed by Lhe Seychelles Clobal vlslon
lnLernaLlonal (Cvl) LxpedlLlon on Curleuse lsland, beLween Aprll 2013 and Aprll 2014. 1he LoLal
ralnfall for Lhls Llme perlod was 1963.89mm.
8lrd monlLorlng commenced ln !anuary 2013. ln LoLal 38 dlfferenL specles have so far been recorded
ln 3432 observaLlons. olnL counLs were locaLed ln Lhree hablLaLs, coasLal areas, Lhe mangrove
foresL and ln upland areas. 1he mosL commonly recorded specles were Lhe Seychelles Sunblrd, Lhe
Common Myna and Lhe Madagascan lody. CreaLer specles rlchness was seen ln Lhe coasL and ln Lhe
mangroves Lhan ln upland areas. 8asellne daLa from an enLlre year form a basellne undersLandlng of
seasonal vlslLs by blrd specles Lo Curleuse. AddlLlonally, Crey Perons were observed breedlng on Lhe
lsland for Lhe flrsL Llme and mlnlmal seablrd breedlng acLlvlLy was recorded.
An on-golng Coco de Mer census added a furLher 2433 palms Lo brlng Lhe LoLal number of Coco de
Mers surveyed Lo 4391 Lrees. 1he resulLs conLlnue Lo show an even sex raLlo beLween adulLs wlLh
over half Lhe populaLlon (n=2476) belng [uvenlles. Cf Lhe LoLal populaLlon, 13 are seedllngs
lndlcaLlng a small amounL of re[uvenaLlon. A key flndlng was LhaL female Lrees on average have a
Lrunk helghL 0.3m Laller Lhan male Lrees. 1hls ls ln conLrasL Lo Lhe raslln populaLlons where male
Lrees are slgnlflcanLly Laller Lhan female Lrees. Cf 606 female Coco de Mers surveyed on Curleuse,
over half had 0 nuLs when surveyed and only 208 Lrees had one nuL or more when surveyed.
A new glanL LorLolse census commenced ln May 2013. ln LoLal 123 lndlvlduals were found
LhroughouL Lhe lsland. A ma[orlLy of LorLolses (n=104, 83.9) were locaLed aL Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon
wlLh oLhers dlsbursed across Lhe lsland. 1hree Lagglng Lechnlques were uLlllzed lncludlng plasLlc
dlscs, asslve lnLegraLed 1ransponder (l1) Lags and Sharple MeansLreak ?ellow ens. l1 Lags
applled ln a 1997 census by MorLlmer (1998) alded ln deLermlnlng growLh for 69 LorLolses over 16
years. Cverall, Lhe populaLlon seems Lo be healLhy. Some LorLolses have puncLure wounds, peellng
on Lhelr carapaces and spllL scuLes, all of whlch ls conslsLenL wlLh Lhe populaLlon on Aldabra. Slx
[uvenlles found ln Lhe wlld polnL Lo haLchllng survlvorshlp desplLe Lhe presence of lnLroduced
predaLors on Lhe lsland lncludlng feral caLs (!"#$% '()$%) and raLs (*())+% ,())+%).
Mangrove dlsLrlbuLlon ln relaLlon Lo hydrology and sallnlLy surveys sLarLed ln March 2013.
lnundaLlon channels and areas of ralsed ground have unevenly dlsbursed mangrove specles
LhroughouL Lhe foresL, alLhough *-$./0-/,( 1+',/2()( domlnaLes Lhe seaward edge wlLh 3,+4+$",(
4512/,-$.( and 6+12$).",( ,('"1/%( more common on Lhe landward edge of Lhe foresL. Sprlng


4

Llde, Lhe hlghesL each monLh, causes lnundaLlon channels Lo reach secLlons aL Lhe landward edge of
Lhe mangroves, encouraglng specles assoclaLed wlLh hlgh sallnlLy Lo grow. Areas wlLh low sallnlLy
and low lnundaLlon levels are colonlzed by Lhe non-mangrove specles lncludlng 7(%+(,$2(
"8+$%")$9/#$( and 7/'/% 2+'$9",(.
uurlng Lhe 2013-14 Pawksblll sea LurLle nesLlng season a LoLal of 323 emergences were recorded,
73.8 of whlch occurred on Crande Anse. Cf Lhese emergences 128 were successfully lald nesLs. 1he
mosL sulLable nesLlng beaches are Crande Anse and Anse Mandarln. 1he mean haLchllng success
raLe for all beaches was 87.6. hoLo ldenLlflcaLlon commenced ln 2010 and Lhls season an
addlLlonal 36 lndlvldual female LurLles have been documenLed. 8ased on Lhe number of nesLs lald, a
conservaLlve esLlmaLe lndlcaLes 33-60 females nesLed on Curleuse durlng Lhe 2013-2014 season.

L|st of Contents
Lxecut|ve Summary .............................................................................................. 3
Introduct|on .......................................................................................................... 3
1errestr|a| Lxped|t|on .......................................................................................... 6
8|rds ...................................................................................................................... 8
Coco de Mer ....................................................................................................... 13
G|ant torto|ses .................................................................................................... 21
Mangroves ......................................................................................................... 30
Sea turt|es .......................................................................................................... 37
keferences .......................................................................................................... 44
Append|ces ......................................................................................................... 48
Appendlx A. 8lrds ................................................................................... 48
Appendlx 8. Coco de Mer ..................................................................... 33
Appendlx C. ClanL LorLolses .................................................................. 36
Appendlx u. Mangroves ......................................................................... 60
Appendlx L. Sea LurLles .......................................................................... 62










5


Introduct|on
Clobal vlslon lnLernaLlonal (Cvl) Seychelles comprlses Lwo expedlLlons based on separaLe granlLlc
lslands. 1he Curleuse expedlLlon ls based on a small granlLlc lsland of Lhe same name locaLed Lo Lhe
norLh of raslln. 8ase camp ls locaLed aL Anse SL. !ose wlLhln Lhe Curleuse Marlne naLlonal ark. 1hls
marlne park has been esLabllshed slnce 1979 and represenLs an area of 14.7km
2
.
All of Cvl's sclenLlflc work ln Lhe Seychelles ls carrled ouL on behalf of local parLners and aL Lhelr
requesL, uslng Lhelr meLhodology. Cvl supplles experlenced sLaff, Lralned volunLeers and equlpmenL
Lo conducL research ln supporL of Lhelr on-golng work. Cvl's key parLner ls Lhe Seychelles naLlonal
arks AuLhorlLy (SnA). AddlLlonal local sclenLlflc parLners are Lhe Marlne ConservaLlon SocleLy
Seychelles (MCSS), Lhe Seychelles llshlng AuLhorlLy (SlA) and Lhe Seychelles lsland loundaLlon (Sll).
Seyche||es Nat|ona| arks Author|ty (SNA): A local parasLaLal organlsaLlon parLly funded by Lhe
governmenL, encompasslng Lhe Seyche||es Centre for Mar|ne kesearch and 1echno|ogy (SCMk1)
and Lhe Mar|ne arks Author|ty (MA). 1hese organlsaLlons have Lhe respecLlve alms of conducLlng
marlne research ln Lhe Seychelles and managemenL and proLecLlon of Lhe marlne parks.
Mar|ne Conservat|on Soc|ety Seyche||es (MCSS): A local nCC LhaL carrles ouL envlronmenLal
research ln Lhe Seychelles, currenLly monlLorlng whale sharks, ceLaceans and LurLles around Mahe.
Seyche||es I|sh|ng Author|ty (SIA): 1he governlng body, whlch oversees Lhe managemenL and
regulaLlon of commerclal and arLlsanal flsherles ln Lhe Seychelles. 1hls governmenL agency ls
dlrecLly concerned wlLh seLLlng Lhe caLch, bag and seasonal llmlLs LhaL apply Lo local sLocks on an
annual basls, as well as managlng Lhe lnLernaLlonal exporL lndusLry LhaL ls generaLed from Lhe
harvesL of flsherles across Lhe Seychelles Lxcluslve Lconomlc Zone (LLZ).
Seyche||es Is|and Ioundat|on (SII): 1hls organlsaLlon manages and proLecLs Lhe World PerlLage slLes
of Aldabra and vallee de Mal. 1helr work wlLh Lhe Coco de Mer foresLs on raslln and oLher endemlc
Lrees, planLs and anlmals ls closely llnked wlLh Lhe flora and fauna and Coco de Mer populaLlon on
Curleuse. ln regards Lo Lhe Coco de Mer census, Cvl collecLs ldenLlcal daLa Lo LhaL recorded on
raslln so daLa seLs may be collaLed and analysed LogeLher.




6


1errestr|a| Lxped|t|on
1he Seychelles lslands are Lhe only mld-oceanlc granlLlc lslands ln Lhe world. lsolaLed for 73 mllllon
years, Lhe Seychelles now hosLs a unlque assemblage of flora and fauna, many of Lhem exLremely
prlmlLlve. Such anclenL specles lnclude endemlc palm Lrees such as Lhe Coco de Mer (6/:/$'"(
1(#:(;$'(). Powever, 200 years of human seLLlemenL has exerLed a serlous lnfluence on Lhe naLlve
bloLa of Lhese lslands. PablLaL loss and fragmenLaLlon, as well as lnvaslve specles, have caused
several exLlncLlons and reduced populaLlons of many specles Lo perllous levels. naLural resource
explolLaLlon conLlnues Lo pose a serlous LhreaL Lo Lhe Seychelles' naLlve flora and fauna (Plll 2002).
Curleuse lsland ls a small granlLlc lsland (2.86km
2
) ln Lhe Seychelles, close Lo Lhe norLh coasL of Lhe
lsland of raslln. Curleuse ls noLable for lLs bare red earLh lnLermlngled wlLh Lhe unlque Coco de
Mer palms, one of Lhe culLural lcons of Lhe Seychelles LhaL ls only presenL ln Lhree populaLlons on
raslln and Curleuse.
ln 1979 Curleuse lsland and lLs surroundlng waLers were declared Lhe Curleuse Marlne naLlonal ark
ln order Lo proLecL Lhe naLlve wlldllfe. 1oday lL ls home Lo approxlmaLely 123 feral Aldabra ClanL
1orLolses (<#:(=,('-"#5% 4$4(2)"() found malnly aL Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon buL ln smaller numbers
LhroughouL Lhe lsland around Curleuse. Sea LurLles are ofLen found ln Lhe sea grass and reef hablLaLs
surroundlng Lhe lsland and Lhe beaches are an lmporLanL nesLlng slLe for female sea LurLles beLween
CcLober and lebruary. AnoLher key parL of Lhe Curleuse marlne ecosysLem ls Lhe mangrove foresL, a
group of LerresLrlal Lrees adapLed Lo cope wlLh hlgh sallnlLy and low oxygen envlronmenLs.
Mangrove Lrees are found mosL exLenslvely around Lhe lagoon area aL 8ale Larale and brldge Lhe gap
beLween Lhe marlne and LerresLrlal envlronmenLs, playlng a key role ln malnLalnlng opLlmum reef
bulldlng condlLlons for corals (Cbura & Abdulla 2003).
1he ob[ecLlves of Lhe LerresLrlal expedlLlon from Aprll 2013 - Aprll 2014 on Curleuse focused on a
blrd monlLorlng programme, flnlshlng a flve year Coco de Mer Census, a mangrove monlLorlng
programme, commenclng a new annual glanL LorLolse census and on-golng sea LurLle surveys. 1he
fundamenLal goal behlnd all fleldwork ls Lo make sure daLa collecLed ls relevanL Lo our pro[ecL
parLners. 1he lnformaLlon collecLed by Cvl ls avallable Lhrough SnA Lo be used as a basellne for
fuLure sLudy.



7


Study s|tes


llgure 1. A map of Curleuse lsland showlng all currenL survey slLes as underLaken by Cvl
8lrd polnL counLs surveys along nesLlng beaches and ln Lhe mangroves
Coco ue Mer palms counLed and surveyed
Sea LurLle nesLlng beaches: 1 Anse Calman/ClmlLler, 2 Anse SL. !ose, 3 Anse Mandarln, 4 Anse Larale, 3
Anse apale, 6 Crande Anse, 7 Anse 8adamler
lnacceslble areas for LorLolse surveys, mosL llkely also lnaccesslble Lo LorLolses


1ra|n|ng
!"##"$%#&'( *"'(%+ ',- .'/"%0
All LxpedlLlon Members on Lhe LerresLrlal program are educaLed Lhrough safeLy precauLlons Lo work
on beaches or walklng off-paLh Lo slLes. 1hey are also provlded wlLh flrsL ald Lralnlng Lhrough Lhe
Lmergency llrsL 8esponse course, whlch ls LaughL on-slLe.

!"##"$%#&'( .1"2&"$ &-",%&/&2'%&3,
Cvl relles on volunLeers Lo carry ouL all of lLs fleldwork. 1hese volunLeers sLay for perlods of 4, 8 or
12 weeks. 1o ensure preclslon and conLlnulLy all volunLeers are lnLenslvely Lralned and need Lo pass
an exam before Lhey are permlLLed Lo survey. All LxpedlLlon Members are requlred Lo ldenLlfy blrds
by slghL and sound, recognlze Coco ue Mer palms, undersLand approprlaLe handllng of glanL




8

LorLolses and learn specles of mangroves and sea LurLles. 1ralnlng ls lnlLlally provlded ln Lhe form of
presenLaLlons, workshops and lnformal dlscusslon wlLh Lhe expedlLlon sLaff. Self-sLudy maLerlals are
also avallable ln Lhe form of LexLbooks and facL sheeLs. SLaff members accompany volunLeers on all
fleld excurslons. CbservaLlons and responses are noLed and sLaff supervlslon remalns vlgllanL unLll
Lhe expedlLlon member demonsLraLes accuraLe ldenLlflcaLlon of all necessary specles, Lracks and
procedures. 1o malnLaln rellablllLy for blrd surveys one of Lhe observers ls always a sLaff member
who ls Lralned Lo a hlgher level and has more ldenLlflcaLlon experlence Lhan LxpedlLlon Members.


8|rds
Accordlng Lo Lhe Seychelles 8lrd 8ecords CommlLLee (S88C) 264 blrd specles had been recorded ln
1he Seychelles by 1sL !anuary 2014, lncludlng resldenL land and waLer blrds, breedlng seablrds,
annual mlgranLs, occaslonal vlslLors and exLlncL specles. Cf Lhese 264 specles, 36 specles had been
documenLed on Curleuse lsland by Lhe S88C. 8eLween Aprll 2013 and Aprll 2014, Lhree records
lncludlng Lhe 8lack-crowned nlghL Peron (>5')$'/,(? 25')$'/,(?@A 8arn owl (B5)/ (#=() and Lhe LlLLle
LgreL (C4,"))( 4(,."))(@ were submlLLed by Cvl and accepLed by Lhe S88C brlnglng Lhe LoLal number
of blrds LhaL have been documenLed on Curleuese lsland up Lo 39, Lhough '1he Seychelles LlsL'
produced by Lhe S88C has noL been updaLed onllne slnce May 2013.
AL presenL Lhere ls a lack of readlly avallable, publlshed lnformaLlon on Lhe blrdllfe of Curleuse
lsland. Conslderlng Lhe marlne park sLaLus of Curleuse lsland lL ls parLlcularly lmporLanL Lo flll Lhls
gap ln Lhe sclenLlflc knowledge. Curleuse ls noL an lmporLanL 8lrd Area (l8A), as llsLed by 8ocamora
and SkerreLL (2001). Powever, lL may be lmporLanL for seablrd, shoreblrd and mlgraLory specles, due
Lo lLs Marlne ark sLaLus and Lhe presence of rare hablLaLs, such as mangroves and Coco de Mer
foresLs. 1he presence and foraglng hablLs of seablrds ln Lhe ocean surroundlng Curleuse, parLlcularly
lnshore feedlng specles such as Lhe WhlLe 1ern (D54$% (#=(), Lesser noddy (<2/+% )"2+$,/%),$%) and
8rldled 1ern (E)",2( (2(")-")+%) can glve an lndlcaLlon of Lhe healLh of Lhe marlne park (8urger and
Lawrence 2003). ln addlLlon, Lhe presence of shore blrds and mlgraLory blrd specles, such as Lhe
Crey lover (F#+;$(#$% squaLarola) and 8uddy 1urnsLone (<,"2(,$( $2)",0,"%) glve an lndlcaLlon of Lhe
lmporLance of Curleuse as a wlnLerlng ground and as a sLopover durlng mlgraLlon.
1he comparlson of blrd dlverslLy beLween hablLaLs wlll enable Lhe ldenLlflcaLlon of any parLlcularly
specles rlch and dlverse hablLaLs on Curleuse, provldlng concluslve [usLlflcaLlon as Lo Lhe
conservaLlon lmporLance of such hablLaLs. So far Lhe blrd-monlLorlng pro[ecL has hlghllghLed Lhe


9

lmporLance of Lhe mangrove foresL, whlch ls currenLly a LhreaLened hablLaL on Curleuse. 1hls
lnformaLlon wlll undoubLedly ald ln declslon-maklng as SnA moves Lo Lhe nexL phase of an on-golng
mangrove sLudy. AddlLlonally, Lhls pasL year a reporL on Lhe 8lrds of Curleuse lsland by aLrlck
Woods (a prevlous Cvl sLaff member) was accepLed and posLed onllne on Lhe S88C webslLe whlch
hlghllghLs Lhe lmporLance of conLlnued monlLorlng LhroughouL Lhe lsland.
A|ms
1he maln alm of Lhe blrd-monlLorlng programme ls Lo esLabllsh basellne daLa on Lhe blrd specles
LhaL vlslL and lnhablL Curleuse lsland. 1he Seychelles 8lrd 8ecords CommlLLee (S88C), as of 1
sL

!anuary 2014, had documenLed 39 dlfferenL specles on Curleuse. 1he long-Lerm goal of collecLlng
daLa on blrds ls Lo gauge and monlLor Lhe sLaLus and changes ln Lhe sLaLus of blrdllfe on Curleuse,
parLlcularly specles endemlc Lo 1he Seychelles.
A key ob[ecLlve of a regular blrd-monlLorlng programme on Curleuse ls Lo ldenLlfy how key hablLaLs
such as Lhe beaches, lnLer-Lldal areas and mangroves are used by dlfferenL blrd specles. Specles
rlchness wlll be used as a measure of alpha dlverslLy Lo assess blrd dlverslLy wlLhln each hablLaL. ln
addlLlon, any seablrd breedlng acLlvlLy found on Curleuse wlll be shared wlLh Lhe Seychelles Seablrd
Croup (SSC). As Lhls pro[ecL wlll be on-golng, any long-Lerm changes ln Lhe blrdllfe of Curleuse wlll
be monlLored.
Methodo|ogy
1here are Lwo maln hablLaLs on Curleuse LhaL were lnlLlally surveyed, Lhe coasLllne along Lhe
souLhern and easLern faclng beaches and Lhe area of mangroves aL 8ale Larale. 1he palm foresLs and
elevaLed areas were also surveyed for slx monLhs from Aprll Lo SepLember (llgure 2).
1he survey meLhod used was polnL counLs. olnL counLs were chosen over llne LransecLs because
polnL counLs are beLLer sulLed Lo blrd-hablLaL sLudles, ln addlLlon polnL counLs sulL dense hablLaLs,
such as mangroves and are more useful for hlgh denslLy, specles rlch populaLlons (Cregory eL al.
2006).
Along Lhe coasLllne, vanLage polnLs were poslLloned along Lhe LurLle nesLlng beaches and ad[olnlng
coasLllne where paLhs and Lralls already exlsL, allowlng for relaLlvely easy access. vanLage polnLs
were spaced 230m aparL, or as near Lo 230m as posslble, Laklng lnLo accounL physlcal barrlers and
shade for observers Lo slL ln. 1he dlsLance, 230m, beLween vanLage polnLs was chosen as Lhe areas


10

Lo be surveyed have dense vegeLaLlon, llmlLlng Lhe fleld of vlew. lurLhermore, 230m ls far enough so
lndlvldual blrds wlll noL fly beLween vanLage polnLs regularly and Lhus be recorded Lwlce, whlle noL
so far as Lo wasLe survey Llme by walklng beLween polnLs. vanLage polnLs were glven a number A1-
A12 (llgure 2) and marked wlLh flagglng Lape ln Lhe fleld, a waypolnL was also Laken wlLh a CS. 1he
CS used was accuraLe Lo 4m. 1he Lrlp odomeLer Lool on Lhe CS was used Lo record Lhe dlsLance
beLween vanLage polnLs. 1he dlsLance beLween vanLage polnLs was recorded as Lhe walklng
dlsLance, noL as a sLralghL-llne measuremenL due Lo Lhe Lerraln belng lnaccesslble ln places. 1he
dlsLances beLween vanLage polnLs varled sllghLly, due Lo physlcal obsLacles, Lhe dlsLance beLween
vanLage polnLs can be found ln 1able 1.
1he dlsLance beLween polnLs A3 and A6 was large because Lhe Cvl base ls slLuaLed beLween Lhese
polnLs on Lhe coasLllne, so Lhe dlsLance beLween polnLs was exLended Lo prevenL dlsLurbance Lo Lhe
survey caused by acLlvlLles aL Lhe base. 1he mangroves are locaLed beLween polnLs A8 and A9,
Lherefore Lhe dlsLance beLween Lhese polnLs ls also larger Lhan 230m. Powever, Lhls dlsLance ls noL
recorded, as Lhere was an addlLlonal and separaLe survey efforL ln Lhe mangroves. olnLs A9-A12
were all slLuaLed on LurLle nesLlng beaches (Anse Larale, Anse apale and Crande Anse). Anse Larale
and Anse apale are shorLer Lhan 230m and Lhe enLlre beach can be vlewed from one polnL so only
one vanLage polnL was used on each beach. Crande Anse ls approxlmaLely 360m long and ls curved
ln shape, so one vanLage polnL was noL sufflclenL Lo survey Lhe whole beach, Lherefore Lwo polnLs
were placed on Crande Anse 200m aparL.
ermanenL LransecLs were already seL up ln Lhe mangroves relaLed Lo a separaLe planL sLudy. 1here
were 28 LransecLs (81,A1, A-Z), 10m aparL, wlLh waypolnLs along each LransecL every 30m. 1he blrd
polnL counL surveys used some of Lhe same LransecLs as Lhe mangrove sLudy. vanLage polnLs were
seL up on LransecLs LhaL were 30m aparL l.e. LransecLs A,L,!,C,1,? and counLs carrled ouL 100m aparL
along each LransecL. 1here were Lhree vanLage polnLs on LransecLs A, L, C and 1 and Lwo vanLage
polnLs on LransecLs ! and ? glvlng a LoLal of 16 polnL counL surveys ln Lhe mangroves. vanLage polnLs
were glven a number M1-M16 (llgure 2) and marked wlLh flagglng Lape ln Lhe fleld, a waypolnL was
also Laken wlLh a CS. 1he smaller dlsLance beLween vanLage polnLs ln Lhe mangroves versus Lhe
coasLal vanLage polnLs was due Lo Lhere belng more dense vegeLaLlon ln Lhe mangroves. 1hls
resLrlcLs Lhe fleld of vlew aL each vanLage polnL ln Lhe mangroves Lo a greaLer exLenL.
olnL counLs were carrled ouL bl-weekly along Lhe coasLllne and ln Lhe mangroves. 1o avold blas Lhe
vanLage polnLs were surveyed on dlfferenL days each week and ln dlfferenL orders on each day. AfLer
prellmlnary blrd surveys from !anuary - March 2013 where surveys were underLaken aL dlfferenL


11

Llmes LhroughouL Lhe day, lL became apparenL LhaL blrd acLlvlLy peaked before 8 am, and
subsequenLly all surveys lefL base camp aL 6 am.
Lach survey Leam conslsLed of Lhree lndlvlduals, Lwo observers and a recorder. 1he recorder was
solely responslble for fllllng ouL all flelds ln Lhe daLa sheeL and ensurlng all daLa was recorded for
each observaLlon. 1he daLa recorded for each observaLlon ls lllusLraLed ln 1able 2.
8efore each observaLlon began Lhere was a 2 mlnuLe seLLllng Llme Lo allow for any dlsLurbance
caused by Lhe arrlval of Lhe survey Leam. A 10 mlnuLe observaLlon perlod Lhen lmmedlaLely followed
where observers recorded all lndlvlduals presenL. 1he dlsLance from Lhe polnL was recorded Lo allow
specles by specles denslLy esLlmaLlon.
1o avold pseudorepllcaLlon, observers were Lralned noL Lo counL Lhe same blrd as each oLher durlng
Lhe observaLlon Lhrough good communlcaLlon. ln addlLlon, observers were careful Lo avold
recounLlng Lhe same lndlvlduals more Lhan once. Powever, some pseudorepllcaLlon ls unavoldable,
as blrds were noL lndlvldually marked.
kesu|ts
1he daLa presenLed ln Lhls reporL was collecLed beLween 1/04/2013 and 31/03/2014. uaLa collecLlon
aL coasLal slghLs and ln Lhe mangroves was underLaken LhroughouL Lhls Llme perlod. uaLa collecLlon
ln palm foresL and upland areas were surveyed from 01/04/2013 Lo 03/09/2013. Cver Lhe pasL year,
a LoLal of 3432 observaLlons were recorded and 38 dlfferenL specles were encounLered on Curleuse
and over Lhe ocean surroundlng Curleuse (1able 3). CoasLal and Mangrove areas seemed Lo have
more of an overlap ln specles observed, wlLh 34 and 31 specles seen respecLlvely. Lleven specles
were noL found ln boLh hablLaLs. 1he four specles LhaL were only seen ln Lhe mangroves were 8arn
Cwl, 8lack Crowned nlghL Peron, 8ed-fooLed 8ooby (E+#( %+#() and 1erek Sandplper (G"2+%
'$2","+%). 1he seven specles observed ln coasLal observaLlon and noL wlLhln Lhe mangrove foresL
lnclude 8ar-Lalled CodwlL (6$1/%( #(00/2$'(@, 8rown noddy (<2/+% %)/#$:+%@, Crab lover (H,/1(%
(,:"/#(), 8oseaLe 1ern (E)",2( :/+4(##$$@, Saunders/LlLLle 1ern (E)",2+#( %(+2:",%$IE)",2+#(
(#=$9,/2%) SooLy 1ern (J25'-/0,$/2 9+%'()+%@ and Wedge-Lalled ShearwaLer (F+99$2+% 0('$9$'+%@. Cnly
19 specles were observed ln upland areas, all of whlch were also observed on Lhe coasL or ln Lhe
mangroves.
1he mosL commonly recorded specles on Curleuse was Lhe Seychelles Sunblrd (7$225,$% :+%%+1$",$@,
followed by Lhe Common Myna (<',$:/)-","% ),$%)$%@ and Madagascar lody (!/+:$(


12

1(:(4(%'(,$"2%$%@. 1he mosL commonly recorded shore blrd was Lhe 8uddy 1urnsLone and Lhe mosL
commonly recorded seablrd was Lhe WhlLe Lern (llgure 3). 1he Lwo mosL common specles were
recorded ln all Lhree hablLaL Lypes wlLh Lesser noddys Lhe Lhlrd mosL common ln coasLal
observaLlons and Lhe Seychelles 8lue lgeon (<#"'),/"2(% 0+#'-",,$1() Lhe Lhlrd mosL common ln
boLh mangrove and upland observaLlons (llgure 4).
Cf Lhe 38 specles recorded on Curleuse, 23 are known Lo be annual vlslLors Lo Curleuse, 9 resldenL,
whereas only 2 specles are endemlc and 2 vagranL (1able 4). Powever, Lhe mosL commonly observed
caLegory were resldenLs, followed by annual vlslLors. ln addlLlon, endemlcs are comparaLlvely
common conslderlng Lhey are only represenLed by 2 specles. An endemlc specles, as deflned by
S88C, ls a specles conflned Lo Lhe Seychelles (SkerreL and ulsley 2011). A resldenL ls a non-endemlc
specles LhaL breeds on Curleuse. 1wo specles, Lhe Crey Peron (<,:"( '$2","() and Lhe WhlLe Lern
are currenLly llsLed on S88C as annual vlslLors, alLhough boLh were observed breedlng on Lhe lsland
ln Lhe pasL year and have been caLegorlzed as resldenL ln Lhls reporL. An annual vlslLor ls a mlgraLory
specles LhaL does noL breed on Curleuse, buL appears every year ouLslde lLs normal breedlng season.
1wo vagranL specles were ldenLlfled and recorded lncludlng Lhe LlLLle LgreL, Lhe flrsL observaLlon was
recorded on Lhe 23/1/2013 wlLh 19 more slghLlngs LhroughouL Lhe survey Llmeframe of Lhls paper
and Lhe 8lack Crowned nlghL Peron, Lhe flrsL and only observaLlon on 02/01/14. A vagranL specles ls
deflned as one LhaL on Lhe basls of currenL knowledge ls noL known Lo occur each year on Curleuse
(SkerreL and ulsley 2011).
8esldenL specles were seen LhroughouL Lhe year wlLh Lhe excepLlon of Lhe 8arn Cwl whlch was seen
only once ln Aprll. AlLhough no nlghL surveys were done whlch could explaln Lhe lack of 8arn Cwl
slghLlngs (1able 3). Seven of Lhe 23 annual vlslLors were presenL year round whlle Len were presenL
for one or Lwo monLhs only. 1he Lwo endemlcs were seen year round and Lhe LlLLle LgreL, a vagranL,
was seen ln Aprll 2013 and !anuary/lebruary 2014. 1he Saunders 1ern and LlLLle 1ern are very
dlfflculL Lo Lell aparL when ln non-breedlng plumage (Aprll-SepLember) (SkerreLL and ulsley 2011).
1he Saunders/LlLLle 1ern was spoLLed ln uecember and lebruary.
Whlle Curleuse ls noL known for lLs seablrd breedlng acLlvlLy, 7 WhlLe 1ern nesLs and chlcks were
found LhroughouL 2013. 1hree nesLs were found on Anse SL. !ose, Lhree ln Lhe mangrove foresL and
one on Crand Anse. 1hree of Lhe chlcks successfully fledged. AddlLlonally, a palr of WhlLe 1alled
1roplc 8lrds (F-(")-/2 #"0)+,+%@ was observed looklng for a nesL and occupylng a poLenLlal nesL


13

cavlLy on Lhe rocky headland beLween Anse apale and Crand Anse. Powever, furLher observaLlons
revealed no egg and nesLlng acLlvlLy could noL be conflrmed.
D|scuss|on
1he Curleuse blrd-monlLorlng programme ls a new addlLlon Lo Lhe Cvl 1erresLrlal LxpedlLlon and was
only esLabllshed ln !anuary 2013. ln llne wlLh Lhe parameLers of Lhls reporL, Lhe resulLs descrlbed
here only Lake lnLo accounL Lhe perlod beLween 01/04/2013 and 31/03/2014. A large number of
observaLlons were recorded ln Lhls Llme perlod (3432). 1hls monlLorlng programme ls deslgned Lo
provlde basellne daLa for fuLure sLudy and long Lerm monlLorlng of populaLlon Lrends.
Specles rlchness was used as a measure of alpha dlverslLy Lo assess Lhe dlverslLy of blrdllfe on
Curleuse. 1wo of Lhe hablLaLs surveyed, Lhe coasL and Lhe mangroves, demonsLraLed slmllar specles
rlchness, alLhough, Lhe specles composlLlon beLween Lhe hablLaLs ls dlfferenL. Shoreblrds and
waders were far more commonly observed ln Lhe mangroves, for example Whlmbrel (>+1"2$+%
0-("/0+%@ and Crey lover. 1hese specles are annual vlslLors, mlgraLlng from Lhelr breedlng grounds
ln Lhe norLhern hemlsphere. 1helr presence ln Lhe mangrove hablLaL lndlcaLes Lhe mangroves Lo be
an lmporLanL wlnLerlng and feedlng ground. ln addlLlon, a large proporLlon of all Lhe specles
recorded on Curleuse were annual vlslLors, perhaps provldlng furLher evldence for Lhe lmporLance of
Curleuse as a wlnLerlng ground. Cn Lhe coasL, Lesser noddys were seen ln large foraglng flocks
durlng Lhelr breedlng season (May Lo AugusL). Whlle Lhey do noL breed on Curleuse, an esLlmaLed
37,304 palrs bred on Cousln lsland ln 2013 (8urL 2013). Lesser noddys also breed on Couslne and
Arlde, Lhese Lhree breedlng lslands are llsLed as lmporLanL 8lrd Areas (8ocamora and SkerreLL 2001)
and are ln close proxlmlLy Lo Curleuse lsland. AddlLlonally, Lhe Lesser noddy ls Lhe mosL abundanL
seablrd specles ln Lhe lnner granlLlc Seychelles lslands (8urger and Lawrence 2003). 1herefore, lL ls
unsurprlslng such large numbers, wlLh flocks ranglng from 30-810 lndlvlduals, were seen regularly
durlng coasLal monlLorlng. 1he foresLed and upland areas were specles poor, compared wlLh coasLal
and mangrove hablLaLs, llkely due Lo hablLaL degradaLlon caused by flre and eroslon (Plll 2002).
1wo of Lhe mosL commonly observed blrd specles, Lhe Seychelles Sunblrd and Lhe Seychelles 8lue
ldgeon are boLh endemlcs and were seen regularly ln all hablLaL Lypes. noLably, Lwo oLher specles
endemlc Lo Lhe Seychelles were noL observed. 1he Seychelles 8lack arroL (7/,('/0%$% =(,K#5$) has
reporLedly been seen on Cureluse ln Lhe pasL (Plll 2002). noLably, Lhe Seychelles 8ulbul LM50%$0")"%
',(%%$,/%),$%@ a very common specles on oLher lslands, does noL vlslL Curleuse whlch was unknown
and unconflrmed before Cvl daLa was publlshed by Woods (2013)N 1he WhlLe 1erns were anoLher


14

common specles and are currenLly llsLed as annual vlslLors Lo Curleuse, uesplLe breedlng
observaLlons by Plll (2002) and Woods (2013), Lhe hlgh presence of raLs (*())+% ,())+%) do noL make
Curleuse an ldeal hablLaL for nesLlng seablrd chlcks (Plll 2002). 1wo specles, known as pesLs on oLher
Seychelles lslands, Lhe Common Myna and Lhe Madagascan lody are llsLed as resldenL by Lhe S88C
and were overLly common ln all Lhree hablLaL Lypes. 1helr presence on Curleuse lsland should
conLlnue Lo be monlLored. CurrenLly, Lhe poLenLlal damage Lhey could cause would be llmlLed as
Lhere are no Seychelles Magple-roblns (7/0%5'-+% %"'-"##(,+1@ or Seychelles lodys (!/+:$(
%"'-"##(,+1@ and few nesLlng seablrds. Powever, Lhere ls a currenL survey belng underLaken Lo
assess Curleuse as a posslble LranslocaLlon for Lhe Seychelles aradlse-flycaLcher (B",0%$0-/2"
'/,;$2(@ Lpers.Comms).
AnoLher annual vlslLor, Lhe 8uddy 1urnsLone was frequenLly observed on Lhe coasL and ln Lhe
mangroves. lndlvlduals were also spoLLed durlng sprlng and summer ln Lhe norLhern hemlsphere,
showlng LhaL Curleuse could be a feedlng area for maLurlng, non-breedlng lndlvlduals. 1he quallLy of
wlnLerlng grounds has been shown Lo affecL reproducLlve success aL breedlng grounds (norrls eL al.
2004) showlng Lhe lmporLance of Lhe mangrove foresL ln parLlcular. ConLlnulng Lo monlLor Lhe
presence of each blrd specles LhroughouL Lhe year wlll ald ln slmllar observaLlons and sLress Lhe
lmporLance of hablLaLs around Curleuse. AddlLlonally, long-Lerm monlLorlng wlll help esLabllsh
seasonal cycles of abundance.
1he new specles record of Lhe LlLLle LgreL menLloned ln lasL year's annual reporL, and Lhls year's
addlLlon of Lhe 8arn Cwl and 8lack Crowned nlghL Peron ls an lmporLanL [usLlflcaLlon for Lhe blrd
monlLorlng programme on Curleuse. Cnly 2 of Lhe specles recorded on Curleuse are endemlc Lo Lhe
Seychelles, Lhe Seychelles Sunblrd and Lhe Seychelles 8lue lgeon, and 6 ouL of 8 of Lhe resldenL
specles are lnLroduced, demonsLraLlng Lhe lmpacL of man on Curleuse.
Conc|us|on
1he daLa collecLed so far has made a good sLarL Lo Lhe Curleuse monlLorlng programme, however
conLlnued daLa collecLlon ls needed Lo esLabllsh accuraLe and preclse basellne daLa and Lo ldenLlfy
long Lerm Lrends ln populaLlons. As 38 specles of Lhe posslble 38 specles known Lo vlslL Curleuse
based on Lhe S88C webslLe, more monlLorlng wlll lmprove Lhe daLaseL. lurLher monlLorlng wlll mosL
llkely also reveal addlLlonal mlgraLory and vagranL specles (Woods 2013).
A key ob[ecLlve for Lhe fuLure of Lhe blrd monlLorlng on Curleuse wlll be Lo ensure LhaL Lhe
monlLorlng conLlnues wlLh Cvl sLaff changeover. 1hls wlll requlre Lhe programme Lo be sLreamllned


15

as much as posslble Lo ensure LhaL Lhe handover ls slmple and compleLed Lo a saLlsfacLory sLandard.
1here ls also poLenLlal, wlLh Lhe help of SnA for furLher expanslon lnLo Lhe marlne park surroundlng
lle Cocos. 1hls marlne park ls also managed by SnA and prevlous reporLs have shown evldence of
breedlng seablrds. 1hus, lle Cocos may provlde an ldeal opporLunlLy for SnA Lo conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe
Seychelles Seablrd Croup (SSC) by esLabllshlng, wlLh Lhe help of Cvl, a regular seablrd census on lle
Cocos. 1hls daLa when shared wlLh Lhe SSC wlll Lhen conLrlbuLe Lo Lhe monlLorlng and conservaLlon
of seablrds across Lhe whole of Lhe Seychelles. ln regards Lo mangrove rehablllLaLlon, Lhe dlverslLy
and abundance of blrds should be lncluded ln any declslon-maklng as Lhe foresL of 8ale Larale ls
uLlllzed year round by numerous specles.


Coco de Mer
Meanlng 'coconuL of Lhe sea', Coco de Mer (6/:$'"( 1(#:$;$'() ls an endemlc palm carrylng Lhe
largesL seedpod ln Lhe world. lL ls classlfled as endangered accordlng Lo luCn crlLerla (llelscher-
uogley eL al. 2011). 1aklng 20-40 years Lo reach reproducLlve maLurlLy, Lhese palms, whlch can reach
up Lo 30m hlgh, have a slow reproducLlve raLe (Ldwards eL al. 2003). 1he Coco de Mer foresL on
Curleuse ls one of Lhree remalnlng populaLlons. 8enowned as a flagshlp specles for Lhe Seychelles
Lhls palm provldes revenue Lhrough conservaLlon Lourlsm, nuL harvesLlng and sale.
Coco de Mer nuLs classlcally resemble Lhe female form and Lake beLween 6-7 years Lo maLure,
welghlng up Lo 20kgs and are popularly sold Lo LourlsLs for beLween 130-400 from llcensed sellers.
ln an aLLempL Lo deLer poachers, lL ls lllegal Lo collecL unllcensed seeds. 1he Seychelles governmenL
ls Lrylng Lo proLecL Lhe geneLlc herlLage of Lhe lslands by keeplng sLrlcL conLrol of Lhe Lrees. Powever,
Lhese nuLs sLlll have a hlgh demand on Lhe black markeL. lnLeresLlngly, proLecLlng Lhe Coco de Mer
foresL from Lhleves was Lhe lnsplraLlon behlnd placlng a leper colony on Curleuse lsland. 8eLween
1827 and 1833, governmenL agenL Ceorge Parrlson suggesLed LhaL Lhe governmenL purchase
Curleuse lsland ln order Lo preserve Lhe foresL and LhaL a leper seLLlemenL would help keep
Lrespassers away (llelscher-uogley 2006).




16

A|ms
A flve-year census commenced ln 2009 wlLh Lhe alm of harmonlslng daLa collecLlon beLween Lhe
Lhree wlld populaLlons as Coco de Mer Lrees on Curleuse show dlsLlncL dlfferences Lo Lhe Lwo
populaLlons on raslln. Coco de Mers have been Lhe sub[ecL of many sLudles, however, a compleLe
census on Curleuse has noL prevlously been done. Whlle hlsLorlcal records reference Curleuse as an
lsland covered ln Coco de Mer Lrees, currenL surveys show an lsland wlLh sparse clusLers mosL llkely
due Lo foresL flres and subsequenL soll eroslon. Mapplng Lhe dlsLrlbuLlon of Coco de Mer Lrees wlll
ensure Lhe record of baslc lnformaLlon. Mapplng dlsLrlbuLlon may also help ln undersLandlng Lhe
dlspersal of seedllngs and polllnaLlon, boLh characLerlsLlcs LhaL are currenLly a mysLery Lo sclenLlsLs.
An addlLlonal goal ls Lo learn more abouL Lhe populaLlon and planL sLrucLure as well as sex raLlo and
reproducLlon raLes.
Methodo|ogy
A populaLlon census of Lhe Coco de Mer palms on Curleuse sLarLed ln 2009 wlLh an alm of
compleLlon wlLhln flve years. 1eams sysLemaLlcally hlked LhroughouL Lhe lsland and recorded daLa
and CS locaLlons for all Coco de Mer Lrees. Cnce a palm was found lL was ldenLlfled as a [uvenlle,
male or female and glven an lndlvldual ldenLlfylng code whlch was palnLed on Lhe Lrunk or young
leaf (when Lrunk had noL yeL formed) for fuLure recognlLlon.
!uvenlles were subdlvlded lnLo 'seedllng', '[uvenlle' and 'lmmaLure'. Seedllngs are Lrees LhaL have
produced Lhree or fewer leaves, [uvenlles have more Lhan Lhree leaves buL no Lrunk, whllsL Lrees
wlLh a Lrunk buL no sex (nelLher female nor male lnflorescences) were classed as lmmaLure. 1hese
caLegorles are used Lo analyse Lhe developmenL sLage of llfe hlsLory.
AdulL Coco de Mer Lrees are Lhose LhaL have reached reproducLlve age and dlsplay male or female
lnflorescences, whlch were also recorded. Male lnflorescences are known as caLklns and flower
LhroughouL Lhe year. 1he number of flowerlng caLklns on each male Lree was recorded. 1he number
of lnflorescences, known as an lnfrucLescence once lL bears frulL, along wlLh Lhe number of nuLs on
each female Lree, was recorded. AddlLlonally, Lhe LoLal number of prlmary, maLurlng, rlpe, aborLed
and double nuLs were noLed. rlmary nuLs are small and have a whlLe or yellow rlm aL Lhe base.
MaLurlng nuLs are larger and lack a whlLe or yellow rlm aL Lhe base. 8lpe nuLs hang low on Lhe Lree
and change colour Lo yellow/red/brown. AborLed nuLs have long lnfrucLescences, whlch falled Lo
develop lnLo proper nuLs. uouble nuLs lnclude Lrl-lobed or quadrl-lobed nuLs where Lhe kernels have
3 or 4 lobes lnsLead of Lhe usual Lwo.


17

lor every llfe sLage, Lhe number of green and dead leaves was recorded, as was Lhe lengLh of Lhe
longesL leaf. lor adulL and lmmaLure Lrees Lhe helghL and glrLh of Lhe Lrunk aL breasL helghL (130 cm)
was measured.
ln Lhe resulLs, 'n' refers Lo Lhe LoLal number of observaLlons used Lo deLermlne Lhe prevlous
calculaLlon.
kesu|ts
uurlng Lhe pasL year 2433 Coco de Mer palms were surveyed whlch brlngs Lhe LoLal number
surveyed by Cvl Lo 4391. llgure 3 shows a large lncrease ln survey efforL over Lhe pasL Lwo years, as
Lhe expedlLlon LranslLloned from a mosLly marlne program Lo a LerresLrlal focused slLe.
ulmenslons for boLh male and female Lrees are very slmllar buL on average, female Lrees have Laller
Lrunks (4.703m, n=372) Lhan males (4.136m, n=399) (llgure 6). Leaf lengLhs seem Lo be slmllar
beLween female (3.388m, n=369) and male Lrees (3.376m, n=602). 1he average number of nuLs per
female ls 0.797 (n=346), buL over half of Lhe female Lrees had 0 nuLs (n=338) (llgure 7).
1he sex raLlos remaln equal as sLaLed ln prevlous reporLs wlLh 606 females and 612 males currenLly
surveyed. !uvenlles make up 34 (n=2476) of Lhe populaLlon, Lhe proporLlon of seedllngs recorded
ls relaLlvely low (13, n=386) reflecLlng an unequal balance among llfe sLages (llgure 8). 1he
dlsLrlbuLlon of Lhe Coco de Mer Lrees across Lhe lsland can be seen ln llgure 9. A clusLer of [uvenlle
Lrees Lyplcally surrounds females whlle males are more commonly found away from oLher Coco de
Mers. AlLhough, by Anse Mandarln Lhere are sLandalone male and female Lrees buL almosL no
[uvenlles. norLhwesL of 8ale Larale, Coco de Mers appear Lo be dense ln llne formaLlons whlch
mosLly llkely correspond Lo valleys. 1he norLh-faclng slope ls very populaLed by Coco de Mers of all
age classes. 1he ouLer, norLhwesL and norLheasL edges of Lhe lsland are Loo sLeep for Cvl volunLeers
Lo safely survey, SnA has agreed Lo compleLe Lhe survey of Lhese areas.
D|scuss|on
1he expanslon of Lhe Cvl Curleuse lsland conservaLlon pro[ecL has lncreased Lhe capaclLy of Lhe
fleldwork and Laken Lhe LoLal of Coco de Mer palms surveyed up Lo 4391. 1hls ls a subsLanLlal sample
slze and can be used Lo begln Lo undersLand Lhe Curleuse lsland populaLlon furLher. A comparlson of
Curleuse daLa wlLh Lhe Lwo raslln populaLlons, lond lerdlnand (ll) and vallee de Mal (vM) shows
some dlsLlncL dlfferences. lrom vlsual observaLlons alone lL ls obvlous LhaL Curleuse palms are
smaller Lhan Lhe ll and vM populaLlons, a slmllar observaLlon was made ln 1864 by Mr. Swlnburne


18

Ward, a Clvll Commlssloner who wroLe Lhe Coco de Mer Lrees on Curleuse 'never aLLaln [Lhe] slze
and perfecLlon of Lhe oLhers [raslln],' (llelscher-uogley 2006). 1he Coco de Mer Lrees on Curleuse
are also slower growlng and produce fewer seeds (llelscher-uogley ") (#. 2011). As of now, no
sLudles have been able Lo prove lf Lhe dlfferences beLween populaLlons are due Lo envlronmenLal or
geneLlc dlfferences.
Coco de Mer Lrees on raslln are, on average Laller Lhan Lhe Curleuse populaLlon. A sLudy done ln
1997, by llelschman eL al. (2003) surveyed Coco de Mer Lrees uslng boLh Lrall LransecLs and 20m x
20m ploLs ln all Lhree wlld populaLlons. ln LhaL sLudy Lhe LallesL male Lree found on raslln was 40m
hlgh and Lhe LallesL female Lree reached 29m (llelscher-uogley 2006). ln conLrasL, Lhe LallesL Lree
recorded on Curleuse was a female aL 12m. ln our sLudy, Lhe LallesL Lree recorded was also a female
aL 12m. 1he average helghL of Lhe male and female Lrees on Curleuse ln Lhe 1997 sLudy ls Laller Lhan
our flndlngs. 1hls dlfference could be due Lo Lhe facL LhaL Lhe Lrees surveyed ln 1997 were near Lralls
and ln Lwo 20m x 20m ploLs and noL as accuraLe a represenLaLlon of Lhe whole populaLlon.
Cne ma[or dlfference beLween Lhe wlld populaLlons of Coco de Mer Lrees ls Lhe average helghL of
female and male Lrees. Cn Curleuse, Lhe female Lrees are Lyplcally Laller Lhan Lhe male Lrees,
alLhough only by 0.3m accordlng Lo our currenL daLa. 1he opposlLe ls Lrue on raslln, where Lhe male
Lrees are known Lo conslsLenLly Lower over Lhe female Lrees by up Lo 11m (llelscher-uogley 2006).
ln Lhe sLudy from 1997, by llelschman eL al. (2003) Lhe mean helghLs of male Lrees aL ll were
18.43m and ln vM, 16.9m. 1he same sLudy found Lhe average helghL of male Lrees on Curleuse Lo be
6.47m, less Lhan half of Lhe oLher Lwo populaLlons. Meanwhlle, female Lrees ln ll measured 14.6m
and ln vM, 14.43m. 1he average helghL for female Lrees on Curleuse was 6.77m (llelscher-uogley
2006). 1hls sLudy ls conslsLenL wlLh our flndlngs LhaL female Lrees on Curleuse are on average Laller
Lhan Lhe male Lrees.
1he average number of nuLs seen on female Lrees on Curleuse (0.797, n=346) ls low especlally when
compared wlLh ll and vM populaLlons. Cver half of Lhe female Lrees surveyed by Cvl had 0 nuLs
(n=338). ln Lhe Lrall LransecL sLudy from 1997, Lhe average number of nuLs found on female Lrees ln
vM was 6.38 and 8.86 aL ll. llelscher-uogley (2006) dldn'L record Lhe average number of nuLs found
on Curleuse buL does wrlLe 'Lhe mean number of nuLs on female Lrees [on Curleuse] was far lower
Lhan aL Lhe raslln slLe.' AddlLlonally, Lhe sLudy looked aL Lhe nuL producLlon raLe for raslln whlch ls
1.2 nuLs per year ln ll whlch ls much hlgher Lhan Lhe 0.3 nuLs produced per year on Curleuse
(llelscher-uogley 2006). 1he dlfference ln number of nuLs produced per year from raslln
populaLlons Lo Curleuse populaLlons ls worLhy of furLher sLudy.


19

1he populaLlon sLrucLure of Curleuse shows Lhe raLlo of male Lo female Lrees ls almosL 1:1 wlLh 612
males and 606 females recorded. revlous sLudles, whlch focused on Lhe raslln populaLlons,
showed Coco de Mer foresLs Lo have more male Lhan female Lrees. ln vM Lhe raLlo of males Lo
females was 1:0.76 and ln ll 1:0.63 (llelscher-uogley 2006). ln a sLudy by Savage and AshLon (1983)
lL was sLaLed LhaL male Coco de Mer palms grow Laller Lhan female Lrees and are more promlnenL ln
Lhe populaLlon due Lo a dlfference ln age and survlval. A re-lnLerpreLaLlon of Lhls daLa by SllverLon
(1987) argues LhaL Lhe dlfference ln average slze may acLually be a consequence of sexual
dlmorphlsm due Lo slower growLh raLes, a resulL of energy expended ln seed growLh, or LhaL hlgher
female morLallLy selecLs for smaller sLaLure. Ldwards eL al. (2003) belleve Lhe earller morLallLy of
females may be an aLLempL Lo allow offsprlng Lo survlve. 1he selecLlon for reduced fecundlLy would
mean LhaL a female dles afLer produclng enough seeds Lo occupy her area. Males, on Lhe oLher hand
would beneflL from a long llfespan because, accordlng Lo Ldwards eL al. (2003) Lhe LallesL Lrees
probably dlsperse Lhelr pollen mosL effecLlvely. Powever, all of Lhese argumenLs only hold Lrue for
Lhe raslln populaLlons and furLher sLudy on Curleuse ls worLhwhlle.
1he dlsLrlbuLlon of developmenLal sLages of Coco de Mer Lrees ls boLh under and over represenLed,
whlch ls mosL llkely a reflecLlon of human explolLaLlon. Accordlng Lo our currenL survey only 6
(n=271) of Lhe Lrees on Curleuse are lmmaLure. 1hls ls a small percenLage of Lhe populaLlon, whlch
may noL be able Lo fully replace Lhe currenL reproducLlve male and female Lrees (8lsL eL al. 2010). A
slmllar low level of recrulLmenL mosL llkely Look place 70-80 years ago ln vM as Lhe lmmaLure Lrees
Lhere also accounL for a small porLlon of Lhe LoLal (8lsL eL al. 2010). 1he mosL predomlnaLe class are
[uvenlles wlLh 2476 recorded or 34 of Lhe populaLlon. ln recenL surveys, [uvenlles have frequenLly
been Lhe domlnanL developmenLal sLage. ln a sLudy done by 8lsL eL al. (2010) 83.3 of Lhe Lrees
surveyed ln vM were [uvenlles. ln Lhe 1997 Lrall LransecL and ploL sLudy by llelschman eL al. (2003)
[uvenlles made up 79.6 and 76.6 of Lhe vM and ll populaLlons respecLlvely. 1hls lndlcaLes a
Lrend ln Coco de Mer populaLlons where Lyplcally Lhere are a large number of [uvenlles, whlch
perhaps also face a hlgh chance of morLallLy before reachlng reproducLlve age (llelscher-uogley
2006). AlLernaLlvely, Lhls Lrend could lndlcaLe a downLurn ln nuL harvesLlng ln Lhe pasL (8lsL eL al.
2010). Seedllngs accounLed for 13 of Lhe populaLlon wlLh 386 presenL. 1hls ls a relaLlvely low
number, showlng low recrulLmenL, hlgh levels of nuL harvesLlng or boLh. Some of Lhese seedllngs are
marked wlLh vC plpe and are a producL of an lnlLlaLlve by Lhe World 8ank Lo planL 300 seeds on
Curleuse from 1996-1998. 8y 2002, success varled from 46.2 ln Anse 8adamler Lo 83.8 ln one
secLlon of 8ale Larale, whlch was spllL lnLo Lwo secLlons for surveylng purposes (llelscher-uogley
2006). 1he dlfference of success raLes was llnked Lo lengLh of exposure Lo sunshlne per day,


20

alLhough lL ls noLed LhaL resurvey efforLs were dlspersed over Llme and younger seedllngs had a
hlgher success raLe (llelscher-uogley 2006).
1he dlsLrlbuLlon of Coco de Mer Lrees around Curleuse lsland ls of greaL lnLeresL. Coco de Mer
populaLlons have been exposed Lo human explolLaLlon slnce Lhe mld 1700's. Curleuse has been
sub[ecLed Lo some human explolLaLlon, buL lL has noL been sub[ecLed Lo as much Lree cuLLlng,
burnlng, planLlng and seed harvesL as vM. 1herefore, lL has been suggesLed LhaL Lhe populaLlon on
Curleuse ls ln a more 'naLural' sLaLe (llelscher-uogley 2006). Powever, Curleuse lsland has been
exposed Lo foresL flres, deforesLaLlon and subsequenL soll eroslon, whlch means Lhe Coco de Mer
populaLlon, ls more scaLLered and reduced Lhan lL once was (llelscher-uogley 2006). PlsLorlcal
accounLs show LhaL Coco de Mer Lrees used Lo lnhablL Lhe slopes, rldges and valleys on Curleuse.
now, valleys remaln dense wlLh Coco de Mer Lrees buL slopes and rldges are domlnaLed by
lnLroduced specles (8lackmore eL al. 2011). llgure 9 shows Lhe locaLlon of female, male and [uvenlle
Lrees around Lhe lsland. lL shows female Lrees are ofLen surrounded by [uvenlles, presumably Lhe
female's offsprlng, as Lhe heavy nuLs do noL fall far from Lhe moLher Lree unless on a sLeep lncllne.
Male Lrees appear Lo be more separaLed from oLher Coco de Mers. noLably, Lhere are many female
and male Lrees near Anse Mandarln buL few [uvenlles. 1here ls a hlgh probablllLy Lhls area has been
LargeLed by poachers and 100 of nuLs have been collecLed. AddlLlonally, Lhere are on-golng sLudles
relaLed Lo Lhe geneLlcs and polllnaLlon of Coco de Mer Lrees, whlch may also show why Lhese
separaLlons occur. As of now, Lhese paLLerns can'L be explalned.
Conc|us|on
1he Coco de Mer Census on Curleuse was lnlLlally seL up as a flve-year plan. SnA ls worklng closely
wlLh Cvl Lo flnlsh surveylng Lhe lsland so Lhe compleLe populaLlon can be mapped. 1he number of
nuLs presenL on Lhe lsland along wlLh a full represenLaLlon of Lhe populaLlon sLrucLure and
developmenLal sLage of Lrees should allow lsland auLhorlLles Lo deLermlne how besL Lo manage Lhe
populaLlon and esLabllsh a susLalnable harvesL of nuLs. Accordlng Lo 8lsL eL al. (2010) a scheme of
replanLlng 20 of Coco de Mer nuLs ln vM ls recommended, as lL would ensure a sLable populaLlon
wlLh a slowly lncreaslng growLh raLe. 1he number of nuLs seen on female Lrees on Curleuse
(n=0.797) ls low especlally when compared wlLh ll and vM populaLlons. 1hls low number should
ldeally be consldered when decldlng how many nuLs could be susLalnably collecLed for sale Lo
LourlsLs. oachlng remalns a concern for all Lhree populaLlons and accordlng Lo 8lsL eL al. (2010)
when lnfrucLescences are cuL off female Lrees, lL Lakes 3-3 years before Lhey produce new
lnflorescences. 1he varlaLlon ln slze class dlsLrlbuLlon mosL llkely reflecLs hlsLory ln relaLlon Lo


21

socleLles' lnLeresL ln Lhe Lrade of nuLs. 1he currenL growLh of so many [uvenlles whlch llelscher-
uogley (2006) polnLs ouL are noL guaranLeed Lo reach maLurlLy ls 'superflclally a poslLlve slgn'. 1he
very low number of seedllngs reflecLs a recenL growLh ln Lhe Lrade of nuLs and mosL reLrlevable nuLs
on raslln and Curleuse are reporLedly removed from Lhe sLaLe foresL (llelscher-uogley 2006). Cver-
explolLaLlon LhreaLens Lhe vlablllLy of Lhe wlld populaLlon, however, proper managemenL and a
susLalnable nuL harvesL could secure Lhe populaLlon's fuLure.

G|ant torto|ses
CurrenLly, Lhe only wlld populaLlons of Lhe Aldabran glanL LorLolse ls belleved Lo be found on Lhe
Aldabra aLoll (8ourne and Coe 1978). MosL lslands ln Lhe WesLern lndlan Ccean, lncludlng Lhe lnner
granlLlc lslands of Lhe Seychelles, hosLed wlld populaLlons of glanL LorLolses ln Lhe pasL (SLoddarL eL
al. 1979). ln Lhe 1700s and 1800s, populaLlons decllned as seLLlers explolLed Lhe glanL LorLolses for
food and Lrade and exporLed Lhem aboard shlps.

8eLween 1978 and 1982, '1he Curleuse LxperlmenL' Lransferred approxlmaLely 230 Aldabra glanL
LorLolses (<#:(=,('-"#5% 4$4(2)"(@ from Aldabra Lo Curleuse lsland, ln an aLLempL Lo boosL Lourlsm,
encourage sclenLlflc sLudles and proLecL a specles LhaL ls currenLly llsLed as vulnerable by Lhe
lnLernaLlonal unlon for Lhe ConservaLlon of naLure (luCn 2012). Slnce Lhe glanL LorLolses were
relocaLed Lo Curleuse, several populaLlon censuses have been compleLed wlLh varylng resulLs. ln
1986, Lhe Zoologlcal SocleLy of London found 144 LorLolses buL a few monLhs laLer a survey by Lhe
warden only locaLed 102 LorLolses and aLLrlbuLed Lhe decllne ln numbers Lo LhefL and raL predaLlon
(Samour eL al. 1987). ln 1990, 117 LorLolses were re-spoLLed durlng a census by Pambler (1994), and
ln 1997 a less compleLe census coordlnaLed by MorLlmer (1998) found 110 LorLolses. 1he daLa
lndlcaLes LhaL slnce 1982 some of Lhe orlglnal Aldabran LorLolses were buLchered on Lhe lsland and
oLhers were sLolen. Cn Lhe oLher hand, Lhere ls evldence LhaL Lhe LorLolses are reproduclng well on
Curleuse lsland.
A|ms
lnlLlally, Lhe glanL LorLolses were released on Curleuse near Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon on 8ale Larale.
Whlle a ma[orlLy of Lhe LorLolse populaLlon remalns near Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon, some LorLolses have
wandered away and lndlvlduals can be found LhroughouL Lhe lsland (Samour eL al. 1987). 1he new
annual glanL LorLolse surveys wlll produce a yearly census of Lhe populaLlon reveallng Lhe number of


22

lndlvlduals, populaLlon dynamlcs and dlspersal. Cver Llme, Lhls census wlll also show LorLolse growLh
raLes, home range and Lhe age and slze aL whlch LorLolses reach sexual maLurlLy. Aldabran LorLolses
have been exLenslvely researched on Aldabra ALoll, however, Lhe cllmaLlc dlfferences beLween Lhe
aLoll and Lhe lnner granlLlcs mosL llkely has an lmpacL on Lhe hablLs and growLh raLes of Lhe LorLolses
and musL be reassessed Lo fully undersLand Lhe lmpllcaLlon of '1he Curleuse LxperlmenL.' 1hls
census wlll also provlde basellne daLa LhaL can be expanded upon Lo furLher lnvesLlgaLe food
preferences and acLlvlLy cycles. 1he dlspersal of glanL LorLolses also hlghllghLs key hablLaLs on Lhe
lsland.
Methodo|ogy
ln order Lo conducL a populaLlon census, each Llme a new LorLolse was encounLered lLs locaLlon was
recorded uslng a CS, lL was measured, vlsual sexual characLerlsLlcs were ldenLlfled and Lags were
applled. Searchlng for LorLolses was concenLraLed ln seven locaLlons where Lhey have been known Lo
wander ln prevlous surveys lncludlng: 8anger's sLaLlon, Anse apale, lond 8lanc, Crand Anse, olnL
8ouge, Mangroves and 8adamler. AddlLlonal locaLlons were surveyed ad hoc and ln comblnaLlon
wlLh oLher surveys conducLed by Cvl. 1he ouLer, norLhwesL and norLheasL edges of Lhe lsland are
lnaccesslble Lo survey and mosL llkely also lnaccesslble Lo LorLolses. 1eams walked around each
locaLlon for a mlnlmum of Len hours, wlLh Leams ofLen spllLLlng up ln order Lo lncrease survey efforL.
lf Lhe number of new LorLolses encounLered had noL dropped afLer Len hours Lhen survey Leams
conLlnued Lhelr search ln LhaL area unLll 'new' LorLolses were no longer encounLered.

1he flrsL Llme a LorLolse was encounLered, Lhe day, monLh and Llme were fllled ouL. 8ecorders fllled
ouL Lhelr name as well as any addlLlonal sLaff [olnlng Cvl, oLher names were noL added Lo Lhe daLa
sheeL as all survey members were recorded on a separaLe sheeL aL base ln order Lo keep Lrack of
survey efforL. A name was only wrlLLen down under '1agger' lf a new l1 Lag was lnserLed LhaL day.

Cne concenLraLlon durlng Lhls census was on Lhe effecLlveness of Lagglng LorLolses. 1hree meLhods
were used. Lach LorLolse was glven a unlque lu number sLarLlng from 001 and followed a
chronologlcal order. Lach number was palnLed on Lhe carapace of Lhe LorLolse uslng a yellow Sharple
MeanSLreak permanenL marklng sLlck on Lhe 4
Lh
dorsal scuLe (llgure 10). Cn Lhe same scuLe a plasLlc
dlsc wlLh a 'C' and Lhe number maLchlng Lhe yellow lu# was aLLached uslng araldlLe. lor example, a
LorLolse wlLh palnL lu# '007' also had a plasLlc dlsc# 'C007'. asslve lnLegraLed 1ransponder (l1) Lags
were also lmbedded ln Lhe skln of each LorLolse. 1hese l1 Lags are a small, rlce-slzed elecLronlc
ldenLlflcaLlon sysLem. Some LorLolses were Lagged ln a prevlous sLudy (MorLlmer 1998) and already


23

had a l1 Lag. Lach LorLolse was scanned uslng a 1rovan scanner ln order Lo locaLe any prevlous Lags.
lf a LorLolse was already Lagged, Lhe l1 number was wrlLLen down. lf a LorLolse dld noL have a Lag,
Lhan a new l1 Lag was ln[ecLed by Cvl sLaff or rangers only. l1 Lags lmbedded ln Lhe 1997 census
were placed under Lhe lefL hlp. As Lhese Lags seemed Lo have moved over Lhe years, especlally ln
LorLolses LhaL showed marked growLh, Lags lmbedded durlng Lhls census were placed [usL above Lhe
Lall ln hopes of locaLlng a more ldeal spoL LhaL wlll be easy Lo re-scan wlLhouL needlng Lo fllp Lhe
LorLolse. ln order Lo ald fuLure surveys, Lhe 'l1 1ag LocaLlon', where Lhe l1 Lag was plcked up by
Lhe 1rovan scanner l.e. lefL rear hlp or Lall and 'Scan MeLhod', how Lhe readlng was obLalned, l.e.
Lurnlng Lhe LorLolse over or slmply movlng Lhe scanner under Lhe LorLolse were also recorded.

When LorLolses were lnlLlally relocaLed Lo Curleuse, and Lhen agaln durlng a census on Curleuse, a
meLal dlsc was aLLached Lo Lhe LorLolse carapace. lf elLher Lype of meLal dlsc was sLlll presenL, Lhe
number was recorded. lf lL was obvlous Lhere once was a Lag, due Lo lefL over glue even Lhough Lhe
dlsk was mlsslng Lhan 'Mu' for mlsslng dlsc was wrlLLen down. lf no meLal Lag and no glue from
elLher Aldabra or Lhe Curleuse Census were presenL Lhan an 'n' for never was recorded. When Lhe
LorLolses were broughL Lo Curleuse from Aldabra, Lhere were Lhree groups and ln one group Lhe
dlscs were placed on Lhe cenLre llne of Lhe carapace, ln anoLher group Lhe dlscs were placed on Lhe
lefL hand slde and on Lhe oLher group on Lhe rlghL slde of Lhls llne. So for Aldabra Lags, Lhe poslLlon
of Lhe dlsc 'L', '8' or 'C' was also wrlLLen down. lf any of Lhe meLal dlscs were noL on scuLe u4, Lhen
Lhe scuLe lL was placed on was recorded.

1he locaLlon of each LorLolse encounLer was recorded uslng a Clobal oslLlonlng SysLem (CS).
AddlLlonally, Lhe locaLlon was maLched Lo an ''Area' number' on a map from a prevlous census ln
1990 (llgure 11) ln order Lo allow currenL daLa Lo be collaLed wlLh old daLa.

MeasuremenLs were Laken Lo lnlLlaLe growLh sLudles. 1he wldLh of Lhe 3
rd
dorsal scuLe, Lhe Cver Lhe
Curved Carapace LengLh (CCCL) along Lhe mlddle of Lhe LorLolse were measured (llgure 10).

1hree caLegorles (1all, lasLron, 1oenalls) can be lndlcaLlve of sex. Males wlll Lyplcally have long Lalls,
concave plasLrons and shorL Loenalls. lemales Lhe opposlLe. lmmaLure LorLolses were classlfled as
havlng an lndeLermlnaLe Lall lengLh and a sllghLly concave plasLron. !uvenlles on Curleuse were
consldered Lo have an CCCL of less Lhan 70cm. ln order Lo ald ln deLermlnlng sex, Lhe lengLh of a
LorLolses' Lall was recorded. lf Lhe Lall passed Lhe mldllne of Lhe marglnal scuLe, Lhen lL was
deLermlned Lo be long. lf Lhe Lall dld noL pass Lhe mldllne Lhen lL was shorL and when Lhe Lall hlL Lhe


24

mldllne exacLly lL was recorded as an 'l' for lndeLermlnaLe (llgure 10). 1he plasLron of Lhe LorLolse
was checked and wrlLLen down as concave, sllghLly concave or flaL. A measuremenL of Lhe second
Loenall Lo Lhe rear (llgure 12) was Laken. 1he apparenL sex of a LorLolse ls deLermlned by Lhe crlLerla
deflned ln 1able 6. Powever, lL should be noLed LhaL only males can be sexed by vlsual
characLerlsLlcs alone. A LorLolse LhaL appears Lo be a female could sLlll grow and show male
characLerlsLlcs ln Lhe fuLure. Cnly a female LhaL has been seen dlgglng a nesL or laylng eggs or
cooperaLlvely engaglng ln copulaLlon could be consldered a 'reproducLlve female.' 1hese evenLs are
noL seen ofLen and aL Lhe momenL none of Lhe females ln Lhe Curleuse populaLlon ls consldered Lo
be a 'reproducLlve female'.

A scale Lo deLermlne Lhe lnLenslLy of Lhe whlLe llne beLween scuLes was developed as a Lhlck whlLe
llne shows LhaL Lhe LorLolse sLlll has growlng Lo do and a lack of a whlLe llne may lndlcaLe LhaL Lhe
LorLolse wlll no longer grow.

AfLer all Lagglng was compleLe, a phoLo of Lhe 4
Lh
dorsal scuLe was Laken. AddlLlonal phoLos of
dlsLlngulshlng marks and ln[urles were also Laken and caLalogued.
kesu|ts
ln Lhe populaLlon survey, a LoLal of 123 glanL LorLolses were encounLered. 8ased on exLernal
characLerlsLlcs alone, Lhe populaLlon lncludes a LoLal of 61 full males, 6 sllghL males, 17 full females,
13 sllghL females, 22 lmmaLures and 6 [uvenlles (llgure 13). A ma[orlLy of LorLolses (n=104, 83.9)
were locaLed aL Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon. LlghL LorLolses were encounLered aL Crand Anse, Lhree
LorLolses were found ln each Anse apale and Lhe norLhern secLlon of Lhe mangrove foresL. 1wo
LorLolses were found ln boLh Lhe lower slopes of ML. Llblne and lond 8lanc. Cne LorLolse was found
norLh of Crand Anse and one ln Lhe lowland area of Lhe norLh 8ldge (1able 7).
1orLolses relocaLed Lo Curleuse from Aldabra were ouLflLLed wlLh a LlLanlum dlsc on Lhelr 4
Lh
dorsal
scuLe. Slx LorLolses sLlll have Lhelr meLal dlsc and 33 sLlll have lefLover glue on Lhelr carapace provlng
LhaL Lhey were parL of Lhe 'orlglnal' populaLlon on Curleuse. ln 1997, a census was conducLed by
MorLlmer (1998) where a second seL of LlLanlum dlscs were agaln placed on Lhe 4
Lh
dorsal scuLe. 29
LorLolses sLlll have Lhls dlsc and 33 more have lefLover glue, whlch ls easlly dlscernable and a
dlfferenL colour from Lhe glue used on Aldabra. l1 Lags from Lhe 1997 Census were found ln 69
glanL LorLolses.


25

1he average carapace lengLh of full females (97.0 cm, n=17) ls smaller Lhan full males (130.9, n=60)
(1able 8). lmmaLure LorLolses had an average CCCL of 102.9cm (n=22). !uvenlles are classlfled as
such by havlng an CCCL of less Lhan 70cm, Lhelr carapaces ranged from 20.0cm Lo 68.2cm. lL was
posslble Lo calculaLe lndlvldual growLh for Lhe 69 LorLolses LhaL had old l1 Lags. lull female, full
male and lmmaLure growLh are shown ln llgure 14.
Cf Lhe 123 LorLolses, 9 had vlslble slgns of peellng on Lhelr carapace. ScuLe u3 was spllL on 13
LorLolses and Lwo LorLolses had spllLs ln oLher scuLes. 24 LorLolses had puncLures on Lhelr carapaces
descrlbed as holes, denLs, and cracks. CLher dlsLlngulshlng marks lncluded a mlsslng fronL leg #003,
mlsslng Loenalls on Lhe rear lefL leg #032, a deformed neck #066, a benL Lall #086 and a deformed
posLerlor carapace #023.
D|scuss|on
1he alm of Lhls sLudy was Lo conducL a populaLlon census of Lhe feral glanL LorLolse populaLlon on
Curleuse lsland. 1he populaLlon lncludes 61 full males, 6 sllghL males, 17 full females, 13 sllghL
females, 22 lmmaLures and 6 [uvenlles. Powever, Lhere are lssues wlLh vlsually sexlng glanL LorLolses.
lL ls only posslble Lo sex large LorLolses LhaL show male characLerlsLlcs of longer Lalls and a deeply
concave plasLron. 1hese sexual characLerlsLlcs only appear ln adulLs and are compleLely absenL ln
LorLolses wlLh an CCCL below 60cm on Aldabra (Caymer 1968). 1he weL condlLlons and dlverse food
sources on Curleuse have lncreased Lhe growLh raLe of glanL LorLolses. Accordlng Lo 8ourn and Coe
(1978), a LorLolse of 3 years on Aldabra has an CCCL of 30cm wlLh a 3
rd
dorsal scuLe of 11cm.
Powever, Lwo LorLolses from Lhe nursery on Curleuse were reporLedly around 3 years old and
released ln 2013. 1orLolse #096 had an CCCL of 68.2cm and a 3
rd
dorsal of 20.7cm, whlle #122 had
an CCCL of 71.0cm and a 3
rd
dorsal of 24.4cm. 1herefore any LorLolse wlLh an CCCL of less Lhan 70cm
was consldered a [uvenlle. no concluslve sLudy has proven Lhe slze aL whlch LorLolses reach maLurlLy
on Curleuse. lmmaLure LorLolses had a Lall of lndeLermlnaLe lengLh and a sllghLly concave plasLron
maklng lL lmpracLlcal Lo class Lhem as male or female. none of Lhe female LorLolses ln Lhls sLudy
were seen laylng a nesL or cooperaLlng durlng copulaLlon, boLh acLs whlch would have fully verlfled
Lhelr 'apparenL sex' classlflcaLlon.
1here are probably few adulLs LhaL were mlssed durlng Lhe 10 monLhs census as Leams dld a
sysLemaLlc search and few LorLolses were found afLer Lhe flrsL few hours ln each area. 1he locaLlon
of lnlLlal encounLers has varled durlng pasL populaLlon census', lncludlng survey daLa from 1986
(Samour eL al.), 1991 (Lewls eL al.) and 2013. A dlfferenL map was used ln Lhe 1986 census Lhan ln


26

1991 and 2013. LocaLlons presenLed ln 1able 9 were maLched up Lo area dlvlslons presenL ln Lhe
Cxford LxpedlLlon map, lnlLlally used ln 1991, and are as accuraLe as posslble, Lhough approxlmaLe.
ln each survey, a ma[orlLy of LorLolses, 71-84 of Lhe populaLlon, were presenL aL Lhe 8anger's
SLaLlon. Cnly a small proporLlon of Curleuse lsland seems Lo be used regularly by Lhe LorLolses
(Pambler 1994). ln Lhe pasL, uneven dlsLrlbuLlon of LorLolses has been aLLrlbuLed Lo rocky Lerraln and
poachlng losses (Samour eL al. 1987, Pambler 1994). Powever, any LorLolse LhaL has lefL Lhe 8anger's
SLaLlon has had Lo Lransverse sLeep, rocky ground showlng LhaL movemenL around Cureluse ls
posslble and LorLolses have negoLlaLed much more of Lhe lsland Lhan was lnlLlally lmaglned posslble
(SLoddarL eL al. 1982, Samour eL al. 1987, Pambler 1994). ln each census, LorLolses were observed on
Anse apale and ln Lhe norLh Mangroves, Lhese Lwo secLlons are ln close proxlmlLy Lo Lhe 8anger's
SLaLlon alLhough by land Lhey are boLh separaLed from lL by sLeep, rocky Lerraln. Cccaslonally,
LorLolses were observed on Lhe beach LhaL appears beLween Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon and Lhe norLh
Mangroves aL especlally low Lldes. Powever, swlmmlng from Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon Lo Anse apale or
even Crand Anse, Lhough posslble, ls unllkely and was noL observed. erhaps Lhe mosL surprlslng
locaLlon LhaL LorLolses have regularly been known Lo vlslL ls Anse 8adamler, whlch ls separaLed from
Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon by Lhe norLh 8ldge, a sLeep rldge wlLh lLs Lop peak, ML. Curleuse, reachlng
172m. ln 1986, no LorLolses were observed aL Anse 8adamler, alLhough Lhey were observed on Lhe
plaLeau [usL Lwo years afLer relocaLlon (SLoddarL eL al. 1982). ln 1990, Lhree LorLolses were
encounLered on Anse 8adamler (Lewls eL al. 1991). Whlle no LorLolses were aL Anse 8adamler for
Lhelr lnlLlal encounLer ln 2013, one LorLolse was observed on Lhe plaLeau as parL of a mark/recapLure
survey, whlch wlll be lncluded ln a separaLe publlcaLlon. All Lhree censuses found one LorLolse on Lhe
norLh 8ldge. ln 1986, Lhe LorLolse locaLed on Lhe norLh 8ldge was classlfled as a sub-adulL female, ln
1990 a [uvenlle and ln 2013 an lmmaLure. Whlle none of Lhese censuses lnlLlally encounLered a
LorLolse aL Anse SL. !ose, one female seeklng a nesL slLe was observed on Lhe plaLeau for one week
by Pambler (1994). AnoLher LorLolse was reporLed Lo regularly move beLween Lhe SouLh Mangroves
and Anse SL. !ose by Lewls eL al (1991). no LorLolse slghLlngs or scaL were observed on Anse SL. !ose
ln 2013. ln each census, some LorLolses were also seen ln Lhe sLeep, rocky secLlons norLh of Lhe
8anger's SLaLlon lncludlng ML Llblne, lond 8lanc, Lhe norLh CoasL and norLh of Crand Anse, alLhough
LorLolses were noL encounLered ln each of Lhese secLlons durlng each census.

!uvenlle glanL LorLolses are noLorlously dlfflculL Lo locaLe because of Lhelr Lendency Lo burrow Lo resL
and Lhelr small slze (Swlngland and Coe 1979, Mcfarland eL al. 1974, Crubb 1971). 1he populaLlon on
Curleuse ls LhoughL Lo have healLhy reproducLlon raLes as Lhe flrsL haLchllngs were observed ln 1980,
[usL Lwo years afLer LranslocaLlon (SLoddarL eL al. 1982). 1he percenLage of haLchllngs emerglng from


27

nesLs on Curleuse ls slmllar Lo Lhe success raLe on Aldabra, Lhough sllghLly lower whlch has been
aLLrlbuLed Lo soll acldlLy (Pamber 1992). AddlLlonally, Lhe weLLer condlLlons on Curleuse have been
llnked Lo larger cluLches, larger eggs and a prolonged maLlng season, whlch ls baslcally conLlnuous
LhroughouL Lhe year as opposed Lo Aldabra where maLlng ls rare ln Lhe dry season (Pambler 1994,
Lewls eL al. 1991, Swlngland 1977). Powever, Lhe abundance of fresh waLer has also been llnked Lo
an lncrease ln Lhe lmpacL of feral mammals on Curleuse (Pambler 1994) and Lhe low number of
[uvenlles could reflecL Lhe hlgh morLallLy raLes glanL LorLolse haLchllngs face ln Lhelr flrsL flve years
(Clbson and PamllLon 1984). 1here are currenLly no known morLallLy raLes on Cureluse, however,
Swlngland and Coe (1979) reporLed 81 morLallLy raLe on Malabar and 94 on Crande 1erre lslands
ln Aldabra durlng a haLchllng's flrsL year. Curleuse ls home Lo an unknown number of feral caLs (!"#$%
'()$%) and a large populaLlon of raLs (*())+% ,())+%), boLh specles have been llnked Lo causlng Lhe
exLlncLlon of glanL LorLolse populaLlons on lslands ln Lhe WesL lndlan Ccean and ln Lhe Calapagos
(Pambler 1992, Swlngland and Coe 1984, Mcfarland eL al. 1974). Cne haLchllng was found on
Curleuse wlLh a raL blLe ouL of lLs carapace ln uecember 2012 (pers. Cbs), slmllar observaLlons
regardlng raL predaLlon on LorLolse haLchllngs on Curleuse were reporLed by Lewls eL al. (1991) and
Pambler (1994). Aldabra also has a large populaLlon of raLs, however, SLoddarL (1971) dld noL Lhlnk
Lhelr predaLlon was a huge LhreaL Lo LorLolse survlval. CaLs may be a dlfferenL lssue. ln uecember
1994 a feral caL was kllled durlng a cull of Lhe feral goaLs ('(0,( -$,'+%) on Crand 1erre ln Aldabra.
1he adulL male caL had Lhe remalns of four glanL LorLolse haLchllngs ln lLs sLomach. leral caLs are also
known Lo predaLe on glanL LorLolse haLchllngs ln Lhe Calapagos and on green sea LurLles haLchllngs
(7-"#/2$( 15:(%) on Aldabra (8alnbolL 1996). uue Lo Lhe facL LhaL LorLolses on Curleuse are
esLlmaLed Lo lay a maxlmum of one cluLch per year (Lewls eL al. 1991), predaLlon by raLs and caLs
could negaLe Lhe reproducLlve ouLpuL of glanL LorLolses (8alnbolL 1996). lL was esLlmaLed LhaL by
1993, a probable 2100-3900 LorLolses had haLched on Curleuse and LhaL losses could be explalned by
predaLlon alone (Pambler 1994). revlous glanL LorLolse census' carrled ouL on Curleuse have also
found a low number of [uvenlles and have dlfferlng oplnlons regardlng Lhelr slgnlflcance. Lewls eL al.
(1991) found flve [uvenlles below 30cm CCCL, and belleved Lhe low number polnLed Lo a 'very low
abundance' of [uvenlles on Curleuse. 1wo of Lhe [uvenlles were re-slghLed Lwlce. ln 1994, Pambler
recapLured Lhree [uvenlles and belleved LhaL Lhe [uvenlles found 'represenL an unknown buL noL
Lrlvlal proporLlon of Lhe cohorL below flve years of age.' 1he 6 [uvenlles on Curleuse ln 2013, for Lhe
mosL parL, were seen aL hlgher elevaLlons Lhan adulLs and were ofLen separaLed from oLher
LorLolses. Pambler (1992) belleves Lhe young Lyplcally walk up hllls on Lhelr own as Lhe hlghesL nesL
slLe found was below 40m. Land crabs of numerous specles have been seen Lo predaLe on haLchllngs
ln Aldabra (Swlngland and Coe 1979), buL Lhe same specles are only found on coasLal plaLeaus on


28

Curleuse and may be a reason for Lhe haLchllngs Lo move uphllls. ln Aldabra, Lhe young have been
hypoLheslzed Lo flnd food ln small crevlces LhaL would be lnaccesslble Lo Lhe larger-headed adulLs
(Samour eL al. 1987), on Curleuse Lhere lsn'L as much compeLlLlon for food and shade. lL ls posslble
[uvenlles slmply survlve beLLer uphlll (Pambler 1994) and move back Lo coasLal plaLeaus when Lhey
reach maLurlLy.

1hree Lagglng Lechnlques were uLlllzed ln Lhls sLudy and meLal Lags from prevlous surveys were also
recorded. Some of Lhe meLal dlscs glven Lo each LorLolse before deparLlng from Aldabra remaln
lnLacL. Powever, many of Lhe dlscs are mlsslng as evldenced by lefLover glue. lf Lhe Lags were placed
on Lhe lasL group of LorLolses LranslocaLed over ln 1982, Lhen some Lags have lasLed 31 years.
Powever, as many more Lags are no longer on Lhe carapace, lL ls safe Lo assume LhaL a meLal dlsc
applled Lo a LorLolse carapace has an approxlmaLe shelf llfe of less Lhan 30 years, whlch ls noL ldeal
ln comparlson Lo a glanL LorLolses' long llfespan. lssues wlLh Lhe meLal dlscs used on Aldabra and Lhe
need for a more permanenL Lagglng Lechnlque are dlscussed by lrazler 1986. As parL of Lhe 2013
census, plasLlc dlscs were aLLached uslng araldlLe. Some of Lhese dlscs lasLed no longer Lhan 1-4
weeks, whlle oLhers have lasLed for one year and are belng recorded as parL of Lhe 2014 census. Cf
Lhose sLlll on Lhe LorLolses, many are heavlly scraLched maklng Lhem unreadable. no plasLlc dlsc was
aLLached Lo LorLolse #124 as lL was Lhe end of Lhe census and a declslon was made noL Lo conLlnue Lo
use Lhe plasLlc dlscs ln Lhe 2014 census. AnoLher Lagglng meLhod was flrsL used ln Lhe 1997 census
(MorLlmer 1998). asslve lnLegraLed Lransponder (l1) Lags are Lhe slze of a graln of rlce and
LransmlL a unlque numerlc or alphanumerlc code when lnducLlvely powered by a reader placed
wlLhln a few cm of Lhe Lag. l1 Lags have an esLlmaLed llfe span of up Lo 73 years and allow
ldenLlflcaLlon wlLhouL havlng Lo capLure and handle Lhe anlmal afLer lnlLlal ln[ecLlon. 1he drawbacks
of l1 Lags lnclude Lhe hlgh cosL of Lags, reader and Lhe posslble movemenL of Lags (lummer and
lerner 2012). ln Lhe 1997 census, l1 Lags were ln[ecLed lnLo Lhe LorLolses lefL rear hlp, however, aL
Lhe beglnnlng of Lhe census ln 2013, lL was apparenL LhaL Lags moved as LorLolses grew. ln order Lo
read l1 Lags, many LorLolses needed Lo sLand up ln order for Lhe Lag scanner Lo flL under Lhelr
carapace. 1herefore, lL was declded Lo ln[ecL new l1 Lags above Lhe Lall buL below Lhe carapace.
1hls locaLlon means LhaL Lags can be scanned wlLh llmlLed dlsLurbance Lo a glanL LorLolse. l1 Lag
numbers are 10 characLers long, ln order Lo ald Lhe census Lhls year and for Lhe fuLure, each LorLolse
was glven an lndlvldual ldenLlflcaLlon number sLarLlng from '001.' 1hls number was palnLed on uslng
a Sharple MeansLreak ?ellow Marker. 1hese numbers were perlodlcally Louched up as Leams passed
by LorLolses. 1he yellow numbers alded ln separaLe feedlng and acLlvlLy observaLlons conducLed for
anoLher sLudy where Lhey were useful as an observer dld noL have Lo approach a LorLolse Lo know


29

whlch one lL was. Accordlng Lo emberLon and CllchrlsL (2009), human presence dlsLurbed glanL
LorLolses wlLhln 3m so all observaLlons were lnlLlally made aL a dlsLance of 10m. lL ls recommended
Lo conLlnue Lo use l1 Lags and Lhe yellow lu numbers ln con[uncLlon for fuLure sLudles.

WlLh one year of daLa, Lhe growLh of females, males and lmmaLure LorLolses can be compared Lo
daLa collecLed ln Lhe 1997 census compleLed by MorLlmer (1998). WlLhouL deLalled records of when
a LorLolse was born, lL ls lmposslble Lo know Lhe age of a llvlng LorLolse. Powever, lL ls llkely LhaL Lhe
lmmaLure, female and male LorLolses shown Lo have grown subsLanLlally slnce 1997 were relaLlvely
young compared wlLh Lhe LorLolses LhaL showed llLLle Lo now growLh. vlsually sexlng adulL male
LorLolses ls easy and sLandard. Powever, vlsually sexlng female LorLolses ls less clear-cuL as Lhey
could poLenLlally grow and show Lhe vlsual characLerlsLlcs of a male laLer one. ln llgure 14, 6 full
females are shown Lo have noL grown slnce 1997. ln Lhe conLexLs of Lhls census, only females seen
cooperaLlvely copulaLlng or nesLlng are classlfled as reproducLlve, or conflrmed females. Powever, lL
could be argued LhaL Lhe 'full females' LhaL have shown no growLh ln 16 years are conflrmed
females. lL mlghL be worLh looklng over Lhe apparenL sex crlLerla and addlng ln a clause abouL lack of
growLh afLer 'x' number of years as more daLa ls collecLed and more ls known abouL growLh raLes on
Curleuse. MosL lmmaLure LorLolses lncluded ln llgure 14 (n=6) show growLh raLes of 40-70cm. Whlle
no growLh raLe sLudles have been conducLed on glanL LorLolses on Curleuse ln Lhe pasL, lL ls llkely
LhaL an lmmaLure LorLolse ls sLlll developlng and would show a subsLanLlal lncrease ln growLh.
Powever, one lmmaLure LorLolse #024, showed no lncrease ln growLh ln 16 years. lL mlghL be worLh
double-checklng hls/her vlsual characLerlsLlcs and seelng lf lL ls posslble Lo asslgn a sex as Lhls
LorLolse may be fully maLure.
Conc|us|on
1he alm of Lhls sLudy was Lo census Lhe glanL LorLolse populaLlon on Curleuse lsland. A LoLal of 123
LorLolses were locaLed wlLh a ma[orlLy remalnlng near Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon. 1here are plans Lo make
Lhe census an annual endeavour, Lhls wlll creaLe accuraLe records regardlng Lhe dlsLrlbuLlon, healLh
and slze of Lhe populaLlon as well as provlde basellne daLa for furLher sLudles, whlch could lnclude,
buL are noL llmlLed Lo, acLlvlLy cycles, feedlng surveys, haLchllng and adulL survlvorshlp.

A head-sLarLlng program ln Lhe form of a LorLolse nursery ls locaLed aL Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon, wlLh Lhe
ldea LhaL any haLchllngs under flve years old would be safe from predaLors. ln november and
uecember 2012, elghL haLchllngs were found. ln 2013, a few dled from unexplalnable causes,
posslbly over-handllng, buL a few dlsappeared and were mosL llkely sold (pers.comm). Slmllar lssues


30

have occurred ln Lhe pasL as Lwo groups of haLchllngs wenL mlsslng overnlghL as reporLed by Samour
eL al. (1987). An endeavour Lo boLh raL-proof and human-proof Lhe nursery occurred ln 2013 wlLh a
new haLchery bullL. WlLh Lhe exLra precauLlons puL ln place, Lhe head-sLarLlng program could easlly
ald ln lncreaslng Lhe LorLolse populaLlon. ln november and uecember 2013, 11 haLchllngs were
found leavlng nesLs and placed lnLo Lhe haLchery. 1he 6 [uvenlles found ln Lhe wlld elude Lo, aL Lhe
very leasL, a few more LorLolses and, aL besL, a loL more LorLolses ln Lhe wlld. uesplLe feral raLs and
caLs, Lhe populaLlon ls dolng well (Pambler 1994) and Lhe new LorLolse nursery, whlch ls raL proof
and human proof, should ald ln bumplng populaLlon numbers as long as poachlng and selllng of
LorLolses ls sLopped. 1he nursery ls a greaL lnlLlaLlve as [uvenlles LhaL are head-sLarLed ln capLlvlLy are
llkely Lo have hlgh survlval raLes even ln Lhe presence of lnLroduced predaLors (Pansen eL al. 2010).

1he glanL LorLolse dlsbursal may change ln Lhe nexL year as Lhe vegeLaLlon sLrucLure on Lhe lsland ls
abouL Lo change. A Clobal CllmaLe Change lnlLlaLlve by Lhe Seychelles naLlonal arks AuLhorlLy wlll
see 10,000 naLlve Lrees planLed around Lhe lsland ln 2014. ln addlLlon Lo planLlng naLlve specles, a
scheme Lo geL rld of lnvaslve allen planLs may help keep LorLolses from rulnlng resLoraLlon efforLs.
Pambler (1994) noLed LhaL Lhe glanL LorLolses have been dlsburslng seeds of 7-,5%/=(#(2+% $'('/, an
exoLlc shrub, whlch smoLhers naLlve vegeLaLlon around Curleuse. CpposlLely, glanL LorLolses have
been champloned for Lhelr 'free help' ln dlsperslng naLlve vegeLaLlon and LorLolse re-lnLroducLlons
have been descrlbed as an lmporLanL conservaLlon Lool on varlous lslands (Pansen eL al. 2010,
emberLon and CllchrlsL 2009). Cn Couslne, LorLolses are sald Lo help plaLeau vegeLaLlon by openlng
up some areas Lhrough grazlng and Lrampllng (Samways eL al. 2010). 1he way LorLolses lnLeracL wlLh
landscapes, planL seeds and change food webs make Lhem a keysLone specles ln many ecosysLems
(Pansen eL al. 2010). WlLh an addlLlonal 10,000 planLs and Lhe shade Lhey provlde, LorLolses may
spend more Llme ln upland areas. WlLh new vegeLaLlon around Lhe lsland, lL wlll be lmporLanL Lo
monlLor how Lhe LorLolses adapL and lnfluence Lhe dlspersal of Lhe naLlve vegeLaLlon.


Mangroves
Seven specles of mangrove are presenL ln Lhe Seychelles, of whlch slx were once presenL on Curleuse
(SnA 2012). Mangrove sysLems play an lmporLanL parL ln ensurlng a hlgh level of waLer quallLy and
clarlLy, essenLlal for corals Lo Lhrlve ln, by Lrapplng sedlmenLaLlon and land run-off. Mangroves are


31

vlLal nurserles for flsh, sharks and crusLaceans and Lhey are an lmporLanL hablLaL for blrds, algae and
bryozoans. Mangroves supply essenLlal nuLrlenLs for marlne creaLures such as flsh and
shrlmp. AddlLlonally, Lhey are a cruclal buffer zone for proLecLlng lnland areas from hlgh wave acLlon
- such as Lsunamls (Lewls 2003, ?oshlhlro eL al. 2002).
1he mangrove foresL on Curleuse ls of parLlcular lnLeresL. ln 1910, a causeway was bullL aL 8ale
Larale ln a falled endeavour Lo rear sea LurLles. 1he wall had a lasLlng poslLlve lmpacL on Lhe bay as lL
reduced wave lnLenslLy, provldlng a sulLable envlronmenL for mangrove seedllngs Lo seLLle and grow.
ln uecember 2004, a Lsunaml damaged Lhe wall allowlng blgger waves Lo enLer Lhe bay more
frequenLly, causlng an lnflux of sedlmenL. 1hls ls alLerlng Lhe mangrove populaLlon sLrucLure by
decreaslng abundance and specles rlchness (SnA 2012).
A|ms
Mangrove monlLorlng ln 8ale Larale conLlnues ln preparaLlon Lo lmprove abundance and blodlverslLy
Lhrough a nursery program. 1hls ls lmporLanL because Lhe foresL ls ln a sLaLe of flux and changes Lo
Lhe sLrucLure of Lhe mangrove populaLlon are happenlng very qulckly. 1he maln alm of Lhe surveys ls
Lo provlde basellne daLa, whlch wlll help faclllLaLe declslon-maklng regardlng Lhe placemenL of
mangrove nurserles ln Lhe near fuLure. Mangroves are known Lo be dlfflculL Lo rehablllLaLe and
selecLlng Lhe opLlmal slLe for planLlng each specles ls essenLlal. CurrenL surveys were developed ln an
efforL Lo deLermlne Lhe mangrove dlsLrlbuLlon paLLern ln relaLlon Lo hydrology and sallnlLy.
Mangrove nurserles are needed Lo rehablllLaLe Lhe mangrove foresL on Curleuse, as Lhe populaLlon
ls currenLly decreaslng ln abundance and specles rlchness.
Methodo|ogy
ln lebruary 2013, 28 permanenL LransecLs were placed ln Lhe mangroves and monLhly daLa
collecLlon began ln March 2013. 1wenLy-elghL LransecLs were placed 10m aparL, spannlng 8ay Larale
ln a norLh-wesLerly dlrecLlon perpendlcular Lo Lhe coasLllne (llgure 13). Along each LransecL vC
plpes mark waypolnLs every 30m. A proposed LoLal of 164 lnlLlal waypolnLs Lurned lnLo 137 physlcal
waypolnLs on permanenL LransecLs, as some waypolnLs were lnaccesslble due Lo mud ponds and
large rocks. 1he placemenL of LransecLs and marklng of waypolnLs was compleLed by 13
Lh
March
2013. Slnce Lhen, a furLher slx waypolnLs have been uprooLed due Lo weaLher damage and LorLolse
Lrampllng. WaypolnLs have noL been replaced once fallen over due Lo plans Lo reduce Lhe number of
waypolnLs afLer an lnlLlal daLa seL has been collecLed.


32

SallnlLy, LemperaLure and lnundaLlon were measured monLhly ln order Lo monlLor changes over
Llme, a process LhaL can Lake up Lo Lwo weeks. 1o measure sallnlLy, a 10cm hole was dug nexL Lo
each waypolnL. A soll sample from Lhe boLLom of Lhe hole was placed ln a syrlnge flLLed wlLh fllLer
paper and Lhe waLer was squeezed onLo Lhe sllde of a refracLomeLer Lo geL a clear sallnlLy readlng.
Soll LemperaLure readlngs commenced ln november 2013. lnlLlally, sevenLy-four waypolnLs,
represenLlng Lhe sLarL, mlddle and end of each LransecL, were surveyed monLhly. A 1m x 1m quadraL
was placed wlLh Lhe waypolnL marker ln Lhe souLhwesL corner. A LemperaLure readlng was Lhen
Laken aL each corner of Lhe quadraL and all four readlngs were averaged. AfLer an lnlLlal assessmenL
of daLa, lL was deLermlned Lo alLer Lhe meLhodology and commence Laklng [usL one LemperaLure aL
every waypolnL. 1he new sysLem was lmplemenLed ln lebruary 2014. AL Lhe momenL, LemperaLure
daLa ls noL exLenslve enough Lo calculaLe noLable resulLs and are Lherefore noL dlscussed furLher ln
Lhls reporL.
lnundaLlon was measured each monLh ln Lhe 30 mlnuLes proceedlng and followlng sprlng Llde, Lhe
hlghesL Llde of Lhe monLh, along seven LransecLs only. 1eams wenL Lo each waypolnL on LransecLs C,
l, l, L, n, and 8 and measured from subsLraLe level Lo Lhe surface of Lhe waLer. 1hese LransecLs
were chosen speclflcally by SnA ln order Lo sample areas LhaL covered all ma[or mangrove specles,
as well as ralsed, bare areas of Lhe mangrove foresL. 1hese LransecLs should reveal Lhe relaLlonshlp
beLween lnundaLlon, specles and abundance of mangroves. 1lme consLralnLs ln relaLlon Lo
monlLorlng durlng Lhe relaLlvely small wlndow of hlgh Llde lead Lo Lhe declslon Lo only monlLor seven
LransecLs for lnundaLlon.
Annual surveys commenced ln March 2013 and were compleLed on !uly 7, 2013. 1hese surveys
lnclude quadraL counLs relaLlng Lo abundance and specles of mangroves and glrLh aL breasL helghL
(C8P) growLh measuremenLs. 1o underLake quadraL counLs, 1m x 1m quadraLs were placed aL each
waypolnL wlLh Lhe waypolnL marker ln Lhe souLhwesL corner. 1he number of seedllngs (under 1m)
lnslde Lhe quadraL was counLed. Any sapllngs (over 1m hlgh, < 4cm C8P) and Lrees (over 1m hlgh, >
4cm C8P) were counLed and measured when posslble aL a helghL of 130 cm. When no seedllngs,
sapllngs or Lrees were presenL lnslde of Lhe quadraL, Lhe specles of rooLs presenL were wrlLLen down
or, ln some cases, Lhe lack of mangroves was noLed.
AL each waypolnL, Lhe glrLh aL breasL helghL (C8P) of one mangrove Lree locaLed wlLhln 4m of Lhe
waypolnL marker was measured and marked. Cnce a Lree was chosen, a nall was placed 120cm up
Lhe Lrunk and made more vlslble wlLh a bowLle. 10cm up from Lhe nall, Lhe glrLh of Lhe Lree Lrunk


33

was measured. ln all lnsLances, Lhe bowLles and nalls were placed on Lhe Lree faclng waypolnL
markers ln an efforL Lo make Lhem easler Lo re-spoL Lhe followlng year. ln 2013, Lhe C8P of 107 Lrees
were surveyed.
kesu|ts
1he monlLorlng of mangrove dlsLrlbuLlon ln relaLlon Lo hydrology and sallnlLy sLarLed ln March 2013.
1he annual surveys, C8P and CuadraLs wlll provlde more comprehenslve lnformaLlon when a second
year of daLa ls complled Lo make comparlsons. lor now, lL can be reporLed LhaL 107 Lrees were
measured as parL of C8P sLudy lncludlng 29 <;$'"22$( 1(,$2(, 21 3,+4+$",( 4512/,-$.(, 16
6+12$).",( ,('"1/%(, 29 *-$./0-/,( 1+',/2()( and 12 G5#/'(,0+% %0. CuadraLs were compleLed aL
136 waypolnLs. Powever, Lhe slze of Lhe quadraL, 1m x 1m, proved Lo be small and only 26 Lrees
were counLed lnslde quadraLs (1able 10). Powever, Lhe lnformaLlon from quadraLs ln relaLlon Lo Lhe
presence of rooLs alded ln maklng a map showlng Lhe dlsLrlbuLlon of mangrove specles LhroughouL
Lhe foresL (llgure 16). *N 1+',/2()( domlnaLes Lhe seaward zone wlLh 3N 4512/,-$.( and 6N
,('"1/%( presenL ln Lhe landward edge of Lhe mangrove foresL. <N 1(,$2( ls more common ln Lhe
mlddle of Lhe foresL and lnhablLs areas near non-mangrove specles lncludlng 7/'/% 2+'$9",( and
7(%+(,$2( "8+$%")$9/#$(. G5#/'(,0+% %0"'$"%, whlle presenL, are noL as common as oLher specles.
AddlLlonally, a few dead Lrees were observed and lncluded ln Lhe map.
Average sallnlLy readlngs near Lhe seaward slde are much hlgher Lhan waypolnLs on Lhe landward
edge of Lhe mangrove foresL (llgure 19). 1he average sallnlLy of Lhe waypolnL closesL Lo Lhe waLer's
edge on each LransecL ls 27.3. Many waypolnLs 30m away from Lhe seaward zone had soll LhaL was
Loo dry Lo obLaln a readlng. Powever, of Lhe readlngs LhaL were posslble, sallnlLy dropped Lo 20.6.
1hen a sLeady decrease ln sallnlLy occurred as waypolnLs moved furLher from Lhe ocean own Lo
1.9. llgure 17 ls a more graphlc represenLaLlon of Lhe sallnlLy resulLs ln map form. 1he map
demonsLraLes LhaL Lhe sallnlLy of Lhe subsLraLe on each LransecL varles conslderably beLween
waypolnLs near Lhe seaward slde and Lhose waypolnLs furLhesL away from Lhe seaward edge.
lnundaLlon measuremenLs were collecLed on seven LransecLs only lncludlng C, l, l, L, n, and 8
durlng sprlng Llde when Lhe hlgh Lldes varled from 1.7 - 2.0m. 8esulLs show a correlaLlon ln waLer
helghL durlng sprlng Llde and areas of ralsed ground, whlch are Lyplcally colonlzed by palms, and
mangrove assoclaLes (llgure 18). WaLer helghL aL waypolnL 1 on each lnundaLlon LransecL reached
an average beLween 39cm (LransecL C) Lo 92cm (LransecL n). 1ransecL C experlenced Lldal floodlng all
Lhe way Lo Lhe landward edge where an average of 17cm of waLer reached waypolnL 8. 1ransecLs l


34

and l had no waLer reach Lhe landward edge, whlle LransecLs n, and 8 had an average lnflux of
beLween 6-7cm.
8ased on sallnlLy, lnundaLlon and specles presence from each waypolnL, lL ls posslble Lo deLermlne
Lhe condlLlons each specles of mangrove currenLly grows ln LhroughouL Lhe foresL (1able 11). <N
1(,$2( and G5#/'(,0+% %0. grow ln all levels of sallnlLy whlle 6N ,('"1/%( does noL grow ln any area
wlLh a more Lhan 20 sallnlLy. <N 1(,$2( and *N 1+',/2()( grow ln areas wlLh lnundaLlon reachlng
helghLs over 81cm whereas G5#/'(,0+% %0 were noL presenL ln any area where lnundaLlon levels
were hlgher Lhan 40cm.
D|scuss|on
1he map (llgure 16) produced from daLa collecLed Lhrough Lhe quadraL surveys shows Lhe layouL of
mangrove specles ln relaLlon Lo each waypolnL. 1he mangroves on Curleuse do noL adhere Lo an
expecLed zonaLlon paLLern mosL llkely due Lo lnundaLlon channels and areas of ralsed ground, whlch
are colonlzed by palms, and mangrove assoclaLes. Powever, Lhe 1m x 1m quadraLs were llmlLed ln
Lerms of lnformaLlon galn. 1he mangrove Lrees are spaced ouL far enough LhaL aslde from rooLs, noL
many seedlngs, sapllngs or Lrees were presenL lnslde quadraLs. AL Lhe momenL, 1m x 1m quadraLs
are belng repeaLed ln order Lo galn enough lnformaLlon Lo compare Lwo years worLh of daLa ln Lhe
annual reporL due ln 2013 as annual surveys have already commenced for 2014. AddlLlonally, 3m x
3m quadraL counLs wlll be conducLed. PenceforLh, 1m x 1m quadraLs wlll be dlsconLlnued and 3m x
3m quadraLs wlll be conLlnued. ldeally, Lhe larger quadraLs wlll reveal a more accuraLe deplcLlon of
Lhe foresL showlng yearly changes regardlng Lhe presence/absence of specles and levels of
recrulLmenL.
Slmllarly, daLa from Lhe annual C8P survey wlll show Lree growLh afLer a second year of daLa ls
collecLed. C8P surveys for 2014 have also commenced and whlle Lhe daLa ls ouLslde Lhe parameLers
of Lhls reporL, Lwo <N 1(,$2( Lrees near Lhe seaward edge (WaypolnLs C1 and l1) have dled slnce
measuremenL ln 2013, whlch may show Lhe speed aL whlch Lhe mangrove foresL ls changlng.
Whlle Lhe dlsLrlbuLlon of specles LhroughouL Lhe foresL does noL seem Lo adhere Lo expecLed
zonaLlon, looklng aL Lhelr placemenL ln comblnaLlon wlLh average soll sallnlLy and lnundaLlon sLarLs
Lo show a paLLern. 1ransecLs C, n, and 8 had seawaLer reach Lhe back edge of Lhe mangroves
reveallng lnundaLlon channels LhaL mosL llkely accounL for paLches wlLh hlgher sallnlLy readlngs
furLher from Lhe sea edge. Areas where soll was Loo dry Lo geL a sallnlLy readlng are lnhablLed by
non-mangrove specles. lL ls posslble Lhe non-mangrove specles are ouL-compeLlng Lhe mangrove


35

Lrees ln Lhese secLlons. 1hese areas have llLLle or no waLer presenL aL hlgh Llde. LnvlronmenLal
facLors lncludlng lnundaLlon channels and paLches of ralsed ground are mosL llkely Lhe reason for Lhe
seemlngly paLchlness of specles dlsLrlbuLlon Lhrough Lhe foresL.
Mangroves perform many envlronmenLal servlces. 1hese lnclude provldlng vlLal nursery grounds for
flsherles, ensurlng a hlgh waLer quallLy, supplylng essenLlal nuLrlenLs for surroundlng sea grass beds
and coral reefs and mlLlgaLlng coasLal eroslon (Manson eL al. 2003). Allowlng Lhe mangroves Lo
degrade and dlsappear ls Loo cosLly Lo conslder, as ls rebulldlng Lhe wall. ln uecember 2004, a
Lsunaml damaged Lhe wall allowlng more frequenL, blgger waves Lo enLer Lhe bay causlng an lnflux
of sedlmenL. Slnce Lhe esLabllshmenL of Lhe wall allowed Lhe mangrove foresL Lo flourlsh, lL ls Lo be
expecLed LhaL Lhe mangroves are now changlng wlLhouL lLs proLecLlon. 1he dlsrupLlon Lo Lhe
mangrove foresL wlll mosL llkely also show cascadlng effecLs ln Lerms of Lhe abundance, number of
specles and composlLlon of faunal communlLles LhaL uLlllze Lhe area (Manson eL al. 2003).
MonlLorlng Lhe mangroves wlll conLlnue Lo Lrack changes Lo Lhe foresL. Powever, Lhe monlLorlng
program was lnlLlally seL up wlLh a vlew Lo rehablllLaLe Lhe foresL. 1he daLa seL as of now should be
large enough Lo make some plans regardlng a nursery program. A proposal was wrlLLen ln 2012 Lo
planL *N 1+',/2()(A 3N 4512/,-$.(A <N 1(,$2( and GN 4,(2()+1 uslng a varleLy of meLhods (SnA
2012). 1he lssue wlLh mangroves ls LhaL Lhey are noLorlously dlfflculL Lo successfully replanL uslng
boLh convenLlonal meLhods and planLlng meLhods alLered speclflcally for mangroves. lor example,
Sanyal (1998) reporLed a 1.32 success raLe ln replanLlng 9030ha of mangroves ln WesL 8engal,
lndla beLween 1989 and 1993. AnoLher pro[ecL ln Lhe hlllpplnes had an 18.4 success raLe four
years afLer planLlng 1000ha (Lewls 2003). lL has been recommended LhaL resLoraLlve plannlng should
flrsL look aL removlng sLress before aLLempLlng resLoraLlon (Lewls 2003). ln 8ale Larale, Lhe wall ls no
longer affordlng Lhe mangrove foresL Lo flourlsh. CreaLlng mangrove nurserles LhroughouL Lhe foresL
wlLhouL Lhe proLecLlon of Lhe wall would mosL llkely resulL ln a low success raLe as Lhe foresL seems
Lo be adapLlng Lo new sLresses. Cne opLlon would be Lo allow Lhe mangrove foresL Lo reLurn Lo Lhe
sLaLe lL was mosL llkely ln before Lhe wall was bullL ln 1910. Powever, as hlghllghLed ln Lhe blrd and
glanL LorLolse secLlons of Lhls reporL, Lhe mangrove foresL on Curleuse ls an lmporLanL hablLaL on
Curleuse showlng a hlgh level of blodlverslLy. So, Lo slmply waLch and monlLor as Lhe foresL goes lnLo
a sLaLe of decllne seems lnadequaLe. 1here mlghL be a way Lo comblne rehablllLaLlon efforLs wlLh a
cosL-effecLlve plan Lo buffer Lhe mangrove foresL from Lhe large waves. A few clumps of *N
1+',/2()( Lrees have esLabllshed on Lhe remnanLs of Lhe seawall, perhaps, wlLh help, more
seedllngs would grow along Lhe wall. *N 1+',/2()( ls Lyplcally a ploneerlng specles of mangrove LhaL
adapLs Lo areas wlLh hlgh lnundaLlon and hlgh levels of sallnlLy. lanLlng hypocoLyls from *N


36

1+',/2()( uslng Lhe 8lley's LncasemenL MeLhod (8LM) as ouLllned by SnA (2012) could creaLe a
naLural 'seawall', ln Lurn, allowlng Lhe foresL Lo naLurally recover. 8LM was developed Lo faclllLaLe
planLlng where shorellnes have hlgh-energy waves and ln an efforL Lo overcome Lhe llmlLaLlons of
oLher mangrove planLlng schemes (!ohnson and Perren 2008). 8esLorlng Lhe buffer zone near Lhe
wall, wlLh *N 1+',/2()(, lf successful, would resLore Lhe hydrology of Lhe mangrove sysLem, whlch
wlll allow Lhe foresL Lo naLurally recrulL mangrove propagules. ln resLoraLlon slLes ln SouLh llorlda,
black and whlLe mangrove specles were seen Lo naLurally recrulL 10 years afLer Lhe successful
resLoraLlon of red mangroves (!ohnson and Perren 2008).
ln con[uncLlon wlLh movlng forward wlLh Lhe mangrove rehablllLaLlon scheme, lowerlng Lhe number
of waypolnLs surveyed each monLh ls recommended. ln order Lo access 136 waypolnLs each monLh,
Lhe dellcaLe rooL sysLem of Lrees near Lhe waypolnLs are ofLen walked over. Whlle Cvl sLrlves Lo
keep survey Leam numbers low, paLhs Lo each waypolnL are vlsually openlng up where rooLs are
dlsappearlng. Plgh Lrafflc ln oLher mangroves lncludlng areas where boardwalks have been bullL
were llnked Lo less compacL sedlmenL and a lower proporLlon of rooL maLerlal ln Lhe sedlmenL
(Manson eL al. 2003). erhaps surveylng LransecLs every oLher monLh would be more genLle on Lhe
foresL whlle malnLalnlng a subsLanLlal daLaseL. AddlLlonally, Lhe LransecLs LhaL are monlLored for
lnundaLlon levels could be swlLched Lo allow for maxlmum waLer level helghLs Lo be undersLood ln
areas of Lhe foresL currenLly noL surveyed.
Conc|us|on
CurrenL mangrove monlLorlng ls parL of a long-Lerm regeneraLlon pro[ecL almed aL malnLalnlng Lhe
ecologlcal funcLlon of Lhe mangrove hablLaL. ln 8ale Larale Lhere has been an lnflux of sedlmenL,
whlch has covered rooL sysLems and alLered Lhe mangrove populaLlon, by decreaslng abundance and
specles rlchness. Lnough daLa has been collecLed from currenL surveys LhaL lL ls Llme Lo creaLe a plan
regardlng furLher rehablllLaLlon work. Mangroves are repuLably dlfflculL Lo rehablllLaLe Lhough noL
lmposslble (Lewls 2003). A cosL effecLlve and naLural way Lo creaLe Lhe same effecL Lhe seawall once
had, would be Lo encourage Lhe growLh of *N 1+',/2()(, whlch ls already growlng ln some parLs of
Lhe damaged wall, across Lhe remnanLs of Lhe enLlre wall. 1he foresL ls an lnLegral landscape for
mulLlple faunal communlLles as well as nelghbourlng ecosysLems llke Lhe ad[acenL sea grass beds
and coral reefs. AddlLlonally, Lhe area ls also heavlly vlslLed by LourlsLs. MosL lsland vlslLors walk
Lhrough Lhe mangroves on a paLh from Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon aL Anse Larale Lo Lhe uocLor's Pouse aL
Anse SL. !ose. 1here are educaLlonal slgns along Lhe boardwalk and many Lour guldes sLop Lhelr
groups ln Lhls area Lo polnL ouL flora and fauna of lnLeresL. 1he area ls an ldeal ouLdoor classroom for


37

local school groups who vlslL Curleuse on fleld Lrlps. Mangrove monlLorlng should conLlnue and Lhe
nexL phase of rehablllLaLlon should be lnlLlaLed.

Sea 1urt|es
1he Seychelles hosLs globally lmporLanL populaLlons of marlne LurLles lncludlng one of Lhe flve
largesL nesLlng populaLlons of Lhe crlLlcally endangered Pawksblll 1urLle (C,")1/'-"#5% $1=,$'()()
remalnlng ln Lhe world (MorLlmer and uonnelly 2008). Creen 1urLles (7-"#/2$( 15:(%) also nesL ln
Lhe Seychelles wlLh mosL of Lhelr nesLs lald ln Aldabra and a few ln Lhe lnner granlLlcs. CLher sea
LurLle specles LhaL can be found ln Seychelles waLers lnclude Lhe LeaLherback (H",1/'-"#5%
'/,$('"(), Loggerhead (7(,"))( '(,"))() and Cllve 8ldley (6"0$:/'-"#5% /#$;('"().
1he largesL hawksblll populaLlons remalnlng ln Lhe WesLern lndlan Ccean occur ln 1he Seychelles,
where an esLlmaLed 1230-1740 females nesLed annually ln Lhe early 1980s (MorLlmer 1984). Slnce
Lhen populaLlons have suffered decllnes due Lo Lhe nearly compleLe harvesL of nesLlng females LhaL
occurred aL mosL lslands durlng Lhe 30 years prlor Lo 1994 (MorLlmer 1998). A LoLal ban on LurLle
harvesLlng was lmplemenLed ln 1994. An excepLlon Lo Lhe downward Lrend has been recorded aL
Cousln lsland, whlch has been well proLecLed slnce 1970. 1he Cousln lsland populaLlon ls showlng
slgns of lncrease (MorLlmer and 8resson 1994, MorLlmer 1993, MorLlmer and 8resson 1999), buL
represenLs only 2-7 of Lhe esLlmaLed LoLal number of Pawksbllls LhaL nesLed ln 1he Seychelles
durlng Lhe early 1980s (MorLlmer 1984). 1he explolLaLlon of Pawksblll LurLles ln 1he Seychelles
became parLlcularly lnLense afLer Lhe mld-1960s wlLh Lhe advenL of Lhe mask and snorkel, spear
guns, underwaLer llghLs, ouLboard englnes, and Lhe hlgh prlces pald for raw shell (MorLlmer 1984).
MorLlmer (1984) esLlmaLed LhaL 47-71 of Lhe LoLal esLlmaLed annual nesLlng populaLlon ln Lhe
granlLlc Seychelles lslands was kllled durlng Lhe 1980-82 nesLlng seasons. uesLrucLlon of breedlng
and foraglng hablLaL, especlally ln Lhe granlLlc Seychelles, ls an lncreaslngly serlous problem
(MorLlmer 1998).
ln 1he Seychelles, Lhere are also slgnlflcanL nesLlng populaLlons of Lhe endangered Creen 1urLle
(Semlnoff 2004). Creen 1urLles have been heavlly explolLed for Lhelr meaL ln Lhe lnner lslands of 1he
Seychelles slnce Lhe 17
Lh
cenLury and are a now very rare ln Lhe area (MorLlmer 1984).
unforLunaLely, Lhe few Creen 1urLles remalnlng ln Lhe lnner lslands are sLlll lnLensely explolLed and
may well dlsappear compleLely lf LhaL Lrend ls noL reversed. 8oLh Creen and Pawksblll LurLles are


38

naLlonally proLecLed ln 1he Seychelles and were granLed full legal proLecLlon ln Lhe 1994 1urLles
roLecLlon 8egulaLlons.
1he ocean surroundlng Curleuse lsland ls home Lo boLh Creen and Pawksblll LurLles as Lhe
surroundlng reefs and sea grass beds provlde ample food sources. 1he beaches also provlde a
nesLlng hablLaL for boLh specles, parLlcularly Lhe Pawksbllls. 1hls alone ls enough Lo hlghllghL Lhe
lmporLance of Lhe lsland. CurrenL daLa collecLed by Cvl suggesLs an lncrease ln nesLlng acLlvlLy on
Curleuse for Pawksbllls. lL ls paramounL Lo conLlnue sLudylng Lhe nesLlng populaLlon and uphold all
conservaLlon measures Lo proLecL Lhls globally lmporLanL specles.
Pawksblll 1urLles ln 1he Seychelles and along Lhe LasL Afrlcan coasL nesL prlmarlly durlng dayllghL
hours compared Lo Pawksblll 1urLle populaLlons elsewhere, whlch Lend Lo nesL elLher sLrlcLly or
prlmarlly aL nlghL (MorLlmer and 8resson 1999). Creen 1urLles, on Lhe oLher hand, nesL prlmarlly aL
nlghL (MorLlmer 1984). PlsLorlcal daLa gaLhered ln 1he Seychelles shows LhaL boLh Pawksblll and
Creen 1urLles can nesL durlng any monLh of Lhe year. Powever, Pawksblll 1urLles show a
dlsLlncL peak ln nesLlng from CcLober Lo lebruary (MorLlmer 1998).
A|ms
Curleuse lsland ls an lmporLanL sea LurLle nesLlng rookery ln Lhe lnner granlLlc lslands of 1he
Seychelles. Sea LurLle paLrols are carrled ouL ln an efforL Lo ldenLlfy Lhe annual nesLlng female
populaLlon. 1here were few esLlmaLes for Lhe annual number of nesLlng sea LurLles on Curleuse
before Cvl began beach paLrols. AnoLher ob[ecLlve of Lhe sea LurLle surveys ls Lo gauge Lhe haLchllng
success raLe on each of Lhe nesLlng beaches. 1ogeLher, Lhls lnformaLlon ls relevanL Lo oLher lslands
LhaL share slmllar nesLlng sea LurLle populaLlons. Cvl alms Lo conLlnue Lo monlLor nesLlng beaches
and expand on currenL meLhodology.
Methodo|ogy
ln 1he Seychelles, Lhe Pawksblll sea LurLle nesLlng season ls aL lLs helghL from CcLober Lo lebruary
wlLh some nesLlng occurrlng LhroughouL Lhe year. 8each paLrols were conducLed flve days a week
from CcLober Lo lebruary wlLh weekly checks on all nesLlng beaches Lhe resL of Lhe year. 1eams
walked along Lhe hlgh Llde llne and documenLed any sea LurLle Lracks, placed a Lag near nesLs, Look
phoLo ld of any nesLlng females encounLered and excavaLed slnkholes.
lor all nesLlng acLlvlLy Lhe daLe, Llme, recorder, beach and LurLle specles were recorded. 1rack wldLh
was esLlmaLed from Lhe average of Lhree measuremenLs aL Lhe Lrack's wldesL polnL. LsLlmaLed


39

emergence was recorded as 0, 1 or 2 where 0 ldenLlfled Lhe Lrack as havlng been made wlLhln Lhe
pasL 12 hours, 1 equalled 12-24 hours old and 2 Lhe LurLle Lrack had been presenL for longer Lhan 24
hours. 1he Llme of an emergence can be esLlmaLed by looklng aL Lhe clarlLy of Lhe Lrack ln Lhe sand,
knowlng Llde Lables and revlewlng when Lhe lasL paLrol occurred. Lach Lrack was furLher classlfled as
one of nlne emergence Lypes (1able 12).
1he number of aLLempLs aL nesLlng was also recorded. lor lnsLance, lf a body plL or nesL cavlLy was
dug and Lhen aborLed and a subsequenL nesL was dug before Lhe sea LurLle reLurned Lo Lhe sea Lhen
Lhe number of aLLempLs was recorded as Lwo. ln !anuary 2013, beach markers were seL up along all
nesLlng beaches 20m aparL from one anoLher. Marker one ls locaLed on Anse Calmen and marker
111 on Anse 8adamler. Slnce seL up, Lhe lowesL numbered beach marker closesL Lo a LurLle acLlvlLy
was also recorded.
lor all lald nesLs a CS waypolnL was Laken and an ldenLlfylng Lag was placed ln a nearby Lree. Cnce
a Lrack had been recorded lL was erased so LhaL lL could noL be mlsLaken for a new Lrack laLer on. lf a
fleld Leam was nearby whlle Lhe nesL was belng lald, Lhen Lhe Leam used LrlangulaLlon Lo mark Lhe
exacL locaLlon of Lhe nesL.
When a nesLlng LurLle was encounLered on a beach paLrol, expedlLlon members were LaughL
approprlaLe behavlour. 1hey only approached Lhe LurLle from behlnd and remalned low and ouL of
her slghL. 1he lengLh of Lhe over-Lhe-curve carapace lengLh (CCCL), also Lhe longesL polnL on Lhe
shell was measured Lhree Llmes and Lhe average of Lhe Lhree measuremenLs recorded. AddlLlonal
measuremenLs lnclude Lhe lengLh from Lhe Llp of marglnal scuLe 1 Lo Lhe supracaudal scuLes and Lhe
wldLh of Lhe carapace across Lhe Lhlrd dorsal scuLe. 1ag numbers or evldence of a prevlous Lag on lLs
fllpper, evldence of dlsease/scarrlng/ln[urles or oLher dlsLlngulshlng feaLures were also recorded.
WhllsL Lhe LurLle was laylng, phoLographs, wlLhouL a flash, of each cheek were Laken as well as
phoLos of any dlsLlngulshlng feaLures.
*'%2+(&,4 .522"$$
PaLchllng success can be dlfflculL Lo gauge slnce haLchllngs mosLly emerge aL nlghL. Powever,
success raLe can be deLermlned by excavaLlng recenLly haLched nesLs. When haLchllngs emerge Lhey
leave behlnd a slnkhole, Lhe resulL of Lhe sand slnklng down Lo flll Lhe space Lhe eggs had occupled.
1eams monlLored each nesL around lLs due daLe and looked for Lhe slnkhole.


40

When Leams excavaLed a nesL, Lhey recorded Lhe number of eggs LhaL haLched, any plpped
haLchllngs, llve or dead haLchllngs ln Lhe nesL as well as Lhe number of undeveloped eggs.
undeveloped eggs were broken open and recorded as elLher undeveloped, sLage one, sLage Lwo or
sLage Lhree. ueflnlLlons of each excavaLlon caLegory can be found ln 1able 13. PaLchllng success raLe
ls calculaLed by addlng Lhe haLched and llve plpped eggs, subLracLlng Lhe dead ln nesL, Lhen dlvldlng
LhaL number by Lhe LoLal eggs lald. nesL depLh was measured before Lhe conLenLs were replaced and
reburled.
kesu|ts
8esulLs for Lhe 2013-2014 nesLlng season show LhaL boLh Pawksblll and Creen LurLles have nesLed
on Curleuse. 1he LoLal number of emergences recorded was 329 and of Lhese 132 were recorded as
lays or probable lays. 1he daLa shows less acLlvlLy from Lhe prevlous nesLlng season buL shows
slmllarlLles Lo Lhe 2010-2011 season (1able 14). november and uecember are conslsLenLly Lhe peak
monLhs of Lhe nesLlng season wlLh Lhe hlghesL encounLer raLe. Crand Anse remalns Lhe mosL
popular nesLlng beach hosLlng 73.8 (n=97) of all Pawksblll nesLs (llgure 20).
1o galn yearly populaLlon esLlmaLlons, Lhe LoLal number of acLlvlLles was dlvlded by Lhe esLlmaLed
average number of emergences per season by each female. ln 2001-2002 and 2002-2003, Lhe
nesLlng season was lnLensely recorded and Lhe average number of emergences per female were
calculaLed Lo be 3.3 (MorLlmer 2004). We can esLlmaLe LhaL approxlmaLely 33-60 females made 323
nesLlng acLlvlLles durlng Lhe 2013-2014 nesLlng season.
1he 2013-2014 Pawksblll nesLlng season ls Lhe Lhlrd year ln whlch haLchllng daLa has been collecLed.
Mean cluLch slze was obLalned ln Lwo ways, flrsLly a mean cluLch slze was obLalned from personal
observaLlon of nesLlng LurLles and secondly by Lhe excavaLlon of haLched nesLs. 1he mean cluLch
slzes were 139.3 (n=33) and 160.4 (n=33) respecLlvely.
Cverall haLchllng success, recorded as Lhe percenLage of haLchllngs LhaL lefL Lhe nesL, was 87.6 (SL
uev 0.01). Anse apale had Lhe hlghesL success raLe wlLh 98.3 of haLchllngs leavlng Lhe nesL. Anse
SL. !ose had Lhe lowesL and no excavaLlons were compleLed on Anse ClmlLler due Lo coasLal eroslon.
1he mosL popular nesLlng beach, Crand Anse, had a 91.3 success raLe (llgure 21). 1he mean nesL
depLh was 32.28 cm (n=39, SLuev=1.63).
8each sulLablllLy can be measured by calculaLlng Lhe number of Llmes each female emerges ln order
Lo lay one cluLch of eggs. 1he lower Lhe number of emergences per cluLch Lhe more sulLable Lhe


41

beach ls, reflecLlng a lower amounL of aborLed aLLempLs. 1he leasL sulLable beach for laylng ls Anse
ClmlLler/Calman and Lhe mosL sulLable beaches are Crande Anse and Anse Mandarln (llgure 22).
Creen sea LurLles lay nesLs LhroughouL Lhe year ln Lhe lnner granlLlcs buL low numbers of Lracks glve
a poor lndlcaLlon of Lhe nesLlng populaLlon (1able 14). Creen sea LurLles lay aL nlghL and lnfrequenLly
LhroughouL Lhe enLlre year maklng Lagglng and phoLo ldenLlflcaLlon on Curleuse lmpracLlcal. uurlng
Lhe 2013-2014 nesLlng season, 3 green Lracks were encounLered on Crand Anse and 1 on Anse
apale. lour of Lhose emergences were recorded as a lay and one slnk hole was encounLered. 1he
nesL had a 97.0 success raLe and a unA sample was collecLed from a dead haLchllng and passed on
Lo ur. !eanne MorLlmer for furLher analysls. uue Lo deflclenL daLa regardlng how many nesLlng
acLlvlLles an average Creen LurLle would have each year, Lhe same number of average acLlvlLles from
Pawksbllls has been used Lo esLlmaLe Lhe populaLlon slze. 1herefore, esLlmaLes of 1-3 Creen LurLles
nesLlng annually may noL be accuraLe buL Lhe overall deducLlon LhaL few Creen LurLles nesL on
Curleuse each year ls correcL.
6"$%&,4 *'78$9&(( :-",%&/&2'%&3,
Slnce CcLober 2010, 70 females have been encounLered wlLh meLal Lags locaLed ln Lhelr fronL
fllppers. 1he Lag lnformaLlon recorded shows LhaL Lhe ma[orlLy of Lagged LurLles have only been
encounLered once so far (n=33), however, 13 Lagged females were re-encounLered (1able 13). 1he
Llme beLween encounLers varles buL Lhe mosL commonly encounLered female ln Lhe 2013-2014
season (L1830/1831) had 14-day lnLervals beLween encounLers. A ma[orlLy of Lags (n=43) were
lnlLlally boughL for use on Curleuse lsland accordlng Lo Lhe Seychelles 1urLle 1ag ulsLrlbuLlon LlsL
lssued by Lhe 1urLle AcLlon Croup of Lhe Seychelles (1ACS) (1able 16). MeLal Lags lndlcaLe some
LurLles have mlgraLed from oLher lslands lncludlng Aldabra, 8lrd, Cousln, Couslne, Mahe, raslln and
SLe. Anne.
hoLo lu commenced ln 2010. CurrenLly, 138 lndlvldual nesLlng Pawksbllls have been ldenLlfled
uslng lefL and rlghL cheek shoLs (1able 17). ln Lhe 2013-2014 nesLlng season an addlLlonal 31 LurLles
were ldenLlfled. Cu8P8 12 and Cu8P8 19 were boLh seen durlng Lhe 2010-2011 season and agaln ln
Lhe 2013-2014 nesLlng season. Cu8P8 29, Cu8P8 42, Cu8P8 47 was seen durlng Lhe 2011-2012
season and agaln ln Lhe 2013-2014 nesLlng season. hoLo lu comparlsons Lhrough Lhe pasL four
nesLlng seasons have revealed 33 re-encounLered females. 1hls number ls much hlgher Lhan re-
encounLered meLal-Lagged females.
D|scuss|on


42

1he lmporLance of Curleuse lsland as a nesLlng rookery for Pawksblll LurLles was hlghllghLed ln Lhe
Cvl 114 reporL. lL was esLlmaLed LhaL 93-100 lndlvldual Pawksbllls nesLed on Curleuse durlng Lhe
2012-2013 season whlle 2013-2014 season showed an esLlmaLed 33-60 nesLlng females. 1hls year's
esLlmaLe ls low compared Lo lasL year buL shows slmllar numbers Lo Lhe 2010-2011 nesLlng season.
1here ls a marked flucLuaLlon ln Pawksblll nesLlng acLlvlLy slnce Lhe prevlous nesLlng season buL
lnLer-seasonal flucLuaLlons ln nesLlng acLlvlLy are known Lo occur based on Lhe LurLle nesLlng lnLerval
of Lwo or more years (MorLlmer and 8resson 1999). AddlLlonally, some sea LurLles are known Lo nesL
on more Lhan one lsland durlng a nesLlng season and lnLer-lsland nesLlng hablLs were noL accounLed
for ln Lhe equaLlon (MorLlmer and 8resson 1999). AddlLlonally, Lhe average cluLch esLlmaLe of 3.6 ls
based on daLa from Cousln lsland due Lo lnsufflclenL daLa regardlng Curleuse LurLles. As paLrols
lncrease, and more lndlvlduals are re-encounLered on Curleuse lsland, Lhe average cluLch esLlmaLe
can lncrease ln accuracy uslng daLa derlved from Curleuse LurLles.
lewer Creen LurLle emergences were found ln Lhe 2013-2014 nesLlng season (n=6) Lhan ln Lhe
prevlous season (n=9). AlLhough more nesLs were found Lhls season (n=4) compared Lo Lwo nesLs
Lhe prevlous season. 1he lncrease ln acLlvlLy could be due Lo lnLer-seasonal flucLuaLlons. Annual
flucLuaLlon of over 70 LurLles have been recorded on varlous lslands (MorLlmer 2004). lew Creen
LurLles are esLlmaLed Lo nesL ln Lhe lnner CranlLlcs. A sLudy from Lhe 2001-2002 and 2002-2003
nesLlng populaLlon on Curleuse esLlmaLed LhaL 1-2 Creens nesL on Curleuse annually (MorLlmer
2004). Cvl's daLa reflecLs LhaL approxlmaLlon.
Crande Anse conLlnues Lo be Lhe mosL popular nesLlng beach and resulLs of nesLlng aLLempLs and
haLchllng success show lL ls a place for Pawksbllls Lo nesL wlLh Lhe leasL amounL of efforL. Cn
average, nesLlng females emerge 2.4 Llmes Lo lay one cluLch of eggs on Crand Anse. Anse Mandarln
has a slmllar sulLablllLy raLlng of 2.6. 1hese Lwo beaches are less accesslble Lo LourlsLs Lhan oLher
beaches on Curleuse and human dlsLurbance may be relaLed Lo beach sulLablllLy buL furLher sLudles
are needed.
A sLudy of haLchllng success was carrled ouL on Curleuse for Lhe 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 nesLlng
seasons for a selecLlon of nesLs (n=63) overall Lhe haLchllng success (haLched eggs) was
approxlmaLely 60 (MorLlmer 2004). 1hls dlffers somewhaL from Lhe currenL approxlmaLlon
alLhough excavaLlon caLegorles also dlffer sllghLly. 1he overall haLchllng success raLe of 87.3 for Lhe
2013-2014 nesLlng season seems Lo be hlgh when compared wlLh pasL daLa and oLher lslands. A
sLudy by PlLchens eL al. (2004) carrled ouL on Couslne lsland recorded a haLchllng success raLe of
70.9 (over Lhree nesLlng seasons). 1he hlgh success raLe on Curleuse may be aLLrlbuLed Lo Lhe lack


43

of lncluslon of poorly haLched nesLs ln Lhe equaLlon. 1wo nesLs lncluded had a success raLe of 0,
one wash away and Lhe second was flooded. lL ls llkely more nesLs faced Lhe same faLe buL were noL
recorded. nesL depLh has been llnked, albelL weakly, Lo predaLlon and haLchllng success raLes
(MorLlmer 1990, LelghLon eL al. 2009). Curleuse has large crab (varlous specles) and raL populaLlons
as well as feral caLs. As excavaLlons lmprove, lL mlghL be worLh looklng lnLo correlaLlons beLween
nesL depLh and haLchllng success raLes on Curleuse.
hoLo lu seems Lo be a successful meLhod for ldenLlfylng lndlvldual females, as 33 lndlvlduals have
been re-encounLered. 1he Cu8 P8 lu sysLem, however, ls llmlLed as lnformaLlon ls only relevanL Lo
Lhls lsland and based on meLal fllpper Lag lnformaLlon, LurLles clearly move beLween lslands. 1he
2013-2014 nesLlng season ls Lhe flrsL season sLaff members have applled meLal Lags Lo nesLlng
females. 1he hope ls LhaL meLal Lags wlll sLreamllne daLa collecLlon and analysls as well as encourage
oLher lslands Lo reporL LurLles on Lhelr beaches LhaL have been Lagged on Curleuse and as such are
parL of Curleuse's nesLlng populaLlon. 1he hoLo lu sysLem wlll conLlnue ln order Lo compare newly
Lagged females wlLh prevlously ldenLlfled lndlvlduals. Cnce all hoLo lu lndlvlduals are glven meLal
Lags, phoLo lu should supplemenL fllpper Lag numbers as a backup sysLem. 1he Pawksbllls on
Curleuse seem parLlcularly aware of human presence and appear dlsLurbed when approached lf Lhey
are noL ln Lhelr nesLlng Lrance (ers. Cbs). Slnce a female musL be approached ln order Lo check Lag
numbers, hoLo lu ls ldeal when a female does noL lay.
Conc|us|on
roLecLlon aL Lhe nesLlng beaches may be Lhe mosL crlLlcal componenL of any sea LurLle conservaLlon
program (MorLlmer 2000). 1he knowledge LhaL Curleuse may be used by 100 or more female
Pawksbllls annually shows LhaL lL ls essenLlal Lo monlLor Lhls populaLlon and malnLaln hlgh sLandards
of conservaLlon. 1he nesLlng populaLlon esLlmaLlon for 2013-2014 ls a basellne value buL by no
means represenLs whaL occurs yearly. lL ls posslble LhaL large-scale flucLuaLlons occur ln Lhe number
of females arrlvlng aL nesL slLes (Llmpus and nlcholls, 1988) and Lherefore long-Lerm monlLorlng ls
essenLlal Lo documenL Lrue populaLlon change (Meylan and uonnelly, 1999). WlLh Lhls ln mlnd Lhe
followlng recommendaLlons are made:
1) 1he nesLlng beaches conLlnue Lo be monlLored on a regular and conslsLenL basls by boLh Cvl
and SnA rangers Lo enable more LurLles Lo be encounLered for Lag and phoLo ldenLlflcaLlon.
1hls wlll provlde vlLal lnformaLlon on lsland fldellLy and Lhe number of cluLches lald per


44

female. Where posslble beach paLrols should conLlnue Lo lnclude Anse 8adamler and Anse
Mandarln Lo galn a more accuraLe ldea of annual nesLlng populaLlon for Curleuse.
2) Cn Lhe nesLlng beaches accesslble Lo LourlsLs Lhere should be lnformaLlon boards deLalllng
whaL ls Lhe leasL lnLruslve way of vlewlng nesLlng LurLles and personnel avallable Lo enforce
Lhese guldellnes.
3) LnforcemenL of rules wlLh regards Lo LourlsL access onLo Lhe buslesL nesLlng beaches.
CurrenLly aL low Llde LourlsLs can and do walk around Lo flnd a prlvaLe beach - a consLanL
presence by elLher Cvl sLaff and volunLeers or Curleuse ark 8angers would furLher mlLlgaLe
Lhls lssue.
4) uurlng peak nesLlng season Curleuse should be markeLed as a vlLal nesLlng hablLaL ln order
Lo educaLe LourlsLs and creaLe revenue. lL would be beneflclal Lo do a LurLle presenLaLlon
once dally aL elLher Lhe uocLors Pouse or Lhe ranger's sLaLlon. 1he sale of Curleuse lsland L-
shlrLs and oLher merchandlse as well as gulded (small scale) Lours on Lo Lhe prlvaLe nesLlng
beaches (wlLh experlenced personnel) would provlde vlLal revenue for Lhe lsland and [usLlfy
Lhe lncreased focus and resources on proLecLlng Lhe nesLlng Pawksbllls.
3) Cleanlng of beaches, removlng debrls so as Lo provlde a clear paLhway for emerglng LurLles
and encouraglng LurLles Lo nesL furLher ln-land, away from Lhe hlgh waLer mark.
6) A sLudy on eroslon and raLe of degradaLlon of beaches would be beneflclal, Lo lmprove Lhe
undersLandlng of nesL losses and glve an ldea of poLenLlal fuLure lssues. 8each proflllng and
beach accesslblllLy surveys should be carrled ouL Lo esLabllsh a basellne.

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260:611-628.



48

SLoddarL u 8, eake ! l, Corden C and 8urlelgh 8 1979 PlsLorlcal 8ecords of lndlan Ccean ClanL
1orLolse opulaLlons. F-$#N B,(2%N *N E/'N 6/2:. 3 286: 147-161

SLoddarL u 8, Cowx u, eeL C and Wllson ! 8 1982 1orLolses and LourlsLs ln Lhe WesLern lndlan
Ccean: 1he Curleuse experlmenL 3$/#/4$'(# 7/2%",;()$/2 24:67-80

Swlngland l 8 1977 8eproducLlve efforL and llfe hlsLory sLraLegy of Lhe Aldabra ClanL LorLolse.
naLure, Lond. 269 402-404.

Swlngland l 8 and Coe M 1979 1he naLural regulaLlon of glanL LorLolse populaLlons on Aldabra ALoll.
8eproducLlon !. Zool. Lond 186:283-309.

Woods ! 2013 1he 8lrds of Curleuse lsland, Seychelles.
<hLLp://www.seychellesblrdrecordscommlLLee.com/oLher-arLlcles.hLml>
?oshlhlro M, Mlchlmasa M, PlLonorl nanao, MoLohlko k, 1oyohlko M, nobuyukl k and ual[lro k 2002
CoasLal eroslon due Lo long-Lerm human lmpacL on mangrove foresLs. WeLlands Lcology and
ManagemenL 10:1-9

Append|ces
Appendix A. Birds

llgure 2. Curleuse lsland wlLh vanLage polnLs for blrd survey polnL counLs. olnLs A1-A12 are slLuaLed
along low lylng coasLal plaLeau, polnLs 81-824 are slLuaLed lnland or ln elevaLed areas and polnLs
M1-M16 are slLuaLed wlLhln mangroves.


49




llgure 3. 1he LoLal number of Llmes Lhe Lwelve mosL common specles were observed on Curleuse
whlle underLaklng a blrd monlLorlng programme beLween 01/04/2013 and 31/03/2014. n=4667.



llgure 4. 1he LoLal number of Llmes Lhe Lwelve mosL common specles was observed ln 3 dlfferenL
hablLaLs on Curleuse beLween 01/04/2013 and 31/03/2014. 1he whlLe bars show Lhe number of
Llmes each specles was observed ln a coasLal hablLaL, Lhe black bars show observaLlons ln Lhe
mangrove hablLaL and grey bars represenL upland areas. n=4667.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
8
a
r
r
e
d

C
r
o
u
n
d

u
o
v
e

8
r
l
d
l
e
d

1
e
r
n

C
o
m
m
o
n

M
y
n
a

C
r
e
e
n

8
a
c
k
e
d

(
S
L
r
l
a
L
e
d
)

P
e
r
o
n

L
e
s
s
e
r

n
o
d
d
y

M
a
d
a
g
a
s
c
a
n

l
o
d
y

M
a
d
a
g
a
s
c
a
n

1
u
r
L
l
e

u
o
v
e

8
u
d
d
y

1
u
r
n
s
L
o
n
e

S
e
y
c
h
e
l
l
e
s

8
l
u
e

l
g
e
o
n

S
e
y
c
h
e
l
l
e
s

S
u
n
b
l
r
d

W
h
l
m
b
r
e
l

W
h
l
L
e

1
e
r
n

1
o
t
a
|

n
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

n
m
e
s

o
b
s
e
r
v
e
d

Spec|es
0
100
200
300
400
300
600
700
800
8
a
r
r
e
d

C
r
o
u
n
d

u
o
v
e

8
r
l
d
l
e
d

1
e
r
n

C
o
m
m
o
n

M
y
n
a

C
r
e
e
n

8
a
c
k
e
d

(
S
L
r
l
a
L
e
d
)

P
e
r
o
n

M
a
d
a
g
a
s
c
a
n

l
o
d
y

M
a
d
a
g
a
s
c
a
n

1
u
r
L
l
e

u
o
v
e

L
e
s
s
e
r

n
o
d
d
y

8
u
d
d
y

1
u
r
n
s
L
o
n
e

S
e
y
c
h
e
l
l
e
s

8
l
u
e

l
g
e
o
n

S
e
y
c
h
e
l
l
e
s

S
u
n
b
l
r
d

W
h
l
m
b
r
e
l

W
h
l
L
e

1
e
r
n

1
o
t
a
|

n
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

n
m
e
s

o
b
s
e
r
v
e
d

Spec|es


50

1able 1. 1he dlsLances beLween vanLage polnLs along Lhe coasLal polnL counL LransecL.
Vantage o|nt D|stance between po|nts
A1-A2 243m
A2-A3 240m
A3-A4 240m
A4-A3 242m
A3-A6 397m
A6-A7 230m



1able 2. 1he caLegorles Lo be compleLed ln Lhe fleld by Lhe recorder for each observaLlon.



1able 3. 1he specles recorded on Curleuse lsland durlng Lhe monlLorlng programme beLween
01/04/2013 and 31/03/2014. 1he common names and sclenLlflc names are glven. 1he sLaLus of Lhe
specles on Curleuse ls also glven. Lndemlc ls a specles conflned Lo 1he Seychelles. 8esldenL ls a non-
endemlc specles LhaL breeds on Curleuse. Annual vlslLor ls a mlgraLory specles LhaL does noL breed
on Curleuse, buL appears every year ouLslde lLs normal breedlng season. A vagranL ls a specles LhaL
on Lhe basls of currenL knowledge ls noL known Lo occur each year on Curleuse.

Common Name Sc|ent|f|c Name Status on Cur|euse
8ar-Lalled CodwlL 6$1/%( #(00/2$'( Annual vlslLor
8arn Cwl B5)/ (#=( 8esldenL
8arred Cround uove D"/0"#$( %),$()( 8esldenL
8lack Crowned nlghL Peron >5')$'/,(? 25')$'/,(? vagranL
8rldled 1ern E)",2( (2(")-")+% Annual vlslLor
8rown noddy <2/+% %)/#$:+% Annual vlslLor
Common Creenshank B,$24( 2"=+#(,$( Annual vlslLor
Common Moorhen D(##$2+#( '-#/,/0+% 8esldenL
Category Descr|pt|on
WeaLher and 1lde 8rlef weaLher descrlpLlon, Llde helghL checked before leavlng base.
Survey Area L.g. Mangroves, name of Lhe beach
olnL number L.g. A1-A12, M1-22
SLarL 1lme/Lnd 1lme 1lme 10 mlnuLes of observaLlons sLarLs and ends
1lme 1lme of each observaLlon
Specles Specles name ldeally, famlly lf unsure e.g. Lern
number number of lndlvlduals of LhaL specles
ulsLance lrom olnL ulsLance of lndlvldual from observers
CbservaLlon 1ype ldenLlfled uslng slghL or sound
8ehavlour 8esLlng, foraglng, fly over, soclal lnLeracLlon or escaplng
hoLo 1o be encouraged lf unsure of ldenLlflcaLlon
CommenLs Any AddlLlonal lnformaLlon


51

Common Myna <',$:/)-","% ),$%)$% 8esldenL
Common Sandplper <')$)$% -50/#"+'/% Annual vlslLor
Common 1ern E)",2( -$,+2:/ Annual vlslLor
Crab lover H,/1(% (,:"/#( Annual vlslLor
Curlew Sandplper 7(#$:,$% 9",,+4$2"( Annual vlslLor
CreaL lrlgaLeblrd !,"4()( 1$2/, Annual vlslLor
CreaLer CresLed 1ern E)",2( =",4$$ Annual vlslLor
CreaLer Sandplover 7-(,(:,$+% #"%'-"2(+#)$$ Annual vlslLor
Creen 8acked (SLrlaLed) Peron 3+)/,$:"% %),$()( 8esldenL
Crey Peron <,:"( '$2","( 8esldenL
Crey lover F#+;$(#$% %8+()(,/#( Annual vlslLor
Lesser CresLed 1ern E)",2( ="24(#"2%$% Annual vlslLor
Lesser lrlgaLeblrd !,"4()( (,$"# Annual vlslLor
Lesser noddy <2/+% )"2+$,/%),$% Annual vlslLor
LlLLle LgreL C4,"))( 4(,."))( vagranL
Madagascan lody !/+:$( 1(:(4(%'(,$"2%$% 8esldenL
Madagascan 1urLle uove E),"0)/0"#$( 0$')+,()( 8esldenL
8ed looLed 8ooby E+#( %+#( Annual vlslLor
8oseaLe 1ern E)",2( :/+4(##$$ Annual vlslLor
8uddy 1urnsLone <,"2(,$( $2)",0,"% Annual vlslLor
Sanderllng 7(#$:,$% (#=( Annual vlslLor
Saunders/LlLLle 1ern
E)",2+#( %(+2:",%$IE)",2+#(
(#=$9,/2%
Annual vlslLor
Seychelles 8lue lgeon <#"'),/"2(% 0+#'-",,$1( Lndemlc
Seychelles Sunblrd 7$225,$% :+%%+1$",$ Lndemlc
SooLy 1ern J25'-/0,$/2 9+%'()+% Annual vlslLor
1erek Sandplper G"2+% '$2","+% Annual vlslLor
WedgeLalled ShearwaLer F+99$2+% 0('$9$'+% Annual vlslLor
Whlmbrel >+1"2$+% 0-("/0+% Annual vlslLor
WhlLe 1alled 1roplcblrd F-(")-/2 #"0)+,+% Annual vlslLor
WhlLe 1ern D54$% (#=( 8esldenL


1able 4. 1he sLaLus of Lhe specles observed on Curleuse and Lhe number of specles observed LhaL fall
lnLo each caLegory. 1he LoLal number of Llmes annual vlslLors, resldenLs, endemlcs and vagranLs
were observed durlng Lhe monlLorlng programme ls also shown.

Status on
Cur|euse
Number of
Spec|es
Number of
Cbservat|ons
Annual vlslLors 24 1660
8esldenLs 9 2118
Lndemlcs 2 1634
vagranLs 2 20



52

1able 3. 1he presence of blrd specles on Curleuse Lhrough Lhe year, sLarLlng on 01/04/13 and endlng
31/03/14.

A
p
r
-
1
3

M
a
y
-
1
3

!
u
n
-
1
3

!
u
l
-
1
3

A
u
g
-
1
3

S
e
p
-
1
3

C
c
L
-
1
3

n
o
v
-
1
3

u
e
c
-
1
3

!
a
n
-
1
4

l
e
b
-
1
4

M
a
r
-
1
4

8arn Cwl
8ar-Lalled CodwlL
8arred Cround uove
8lack Crowned nlghL Peron
8rldled 1ern
Common Myna
Common Sandplper
Common 1ern
Crab lover
Curlew
Curlew Sandplper
CreaL lrlgaLeblrd
CreaLer CresLed 1ern
CreaLer Sandplover
Creen 8acked Peron
Creenshank
Crey Peron
Crey lover
Lesser CresLed 1ern
Lesser lrlgaLeblrd
Lesser noddy
Lesser Sandplover
LlLLle LgreL
Madagascan lody
Madagascan 1urLle uove
Moorhen
8oseaLe 1ern
8uddy 1urnsLone
Sanderllng
Saunders/LlLLle 1ern
Seychelles 8lue lgeon
Seychelles Sunblrd
SooLy 1ern
1erek Sandplper
WedgeLalled ShearwaLer
Whlmbrel
WhlLe 1alled 1roplcblrd
WhlLe 1ern



53

Appendix B. Coco de Mer


llgure 3. 1he number of Coco de Mer palms surveyed each year beLween 2009 and 2013.



llgure 6. 1he average Lrunk helghL ln meLres for male, female and lmmaLure Coco de Mers, wlLh
error bars showlng Lhe sLandard error. lemale Lrees have Laller Lrunks (4.703m, n=372) Lhan males
(4.136m, n=399).

117 114 123
672
1110
2433
0
300
1000
1300
2000
2300
3000
noL recorded 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

t
r
e
e
s

s
u
r
v
e
y
e
d

ear
0
0.3
1
1.3
2
2.3
3
3.3
4
4.3
3
Male lemale lmmaLure
1
r
u
n
k

n
e
|
g
h
t

(
m
)



54

llgure 7. 1he number of nuLs observed on each female Lree surveyed. 1he average number of nuLs
per female ls 0.797 (n=346). Cver half of Lhe female Lrees had 0 nuLs (n=338) whlle Lwo Lrees had 13
nuLs and one Lree had 14 nuLs.


llgure 8. 1he sex raLlo and breakdown of age classes for Lhe Coco de Mer populaLlon on Curleuse
lsland. !uvenlles make up 34 (n=2476) of Lhe populaLlon, whlle Lhe number of female and male
Lrees remaln even (n=606, n=612 respecLlvely). 13 of Lhe populaLlon surveyed are seedllngs
(n=392) showlng a low level of re[uvenaLlon.
0
30
100
130
200
230
300
330
0 1 2 3 4 3 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

t
r
e
e
s

Number of nuts
606 612
271
2476
386
40
0
300
1000
1300
2000
2300
3000
lemale Male lmmaLure !uvenlle Seedllng noL 8ecorded
N
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

t
r
e
e
s

Age c|ass


55


.

llgure 9. 1he areas of Curleuse lsland whlch have been surveyed for Coco de Mer.
lemales Lrees are shown ln red (n=309) and are Lyplcally surrounded by [uvenlle
Lrees (n=3109) seen ln green. lL ls more common for male Lrees (n=322) Lo be
sollLary, represenLed by blue doLs.



56

Appendix C. Giant tortoises

llgure 10. A dlagram of a LorLolse shell. 1he Cver Lhe Curved Carapace LenLh (CCCL) ls measured as
demonsLraLed by doLLed llne a. AddlLlonally, Lhe wldLh of Lhe 3
rd
dorsal scuLe ls measured, doLLed
llne b. 1all lengLh was deLermlned Lo be long lf lL passed one and a half marglnal scuLes as
demonsLraLed by doLLed llne c on rlghL marglnal scuLe, 8M11. Any dlsLlngulshlng marks on LorLolse
shells were noLed and phoLographed.



llgure 11. Map of Curleuse lsland used by Lhe Cxford LxpedlLlon Leam ln 1990 (Lewls eL al. 1991).
Areas are separaLed accordlng Lo ease of accesslblllLy for glanL LorLolses. 1he seven areas where 10+
hour searches concenLraLed on lnclude: 2 Anse apale , 9 8adamler, 13 lond 8lanc, 1 Crand Anse, 3
Mangroves, 10 olnL 8ouge and Lhe 3 &4 8anger's SLaLlon. CLher areas were surveyed ad hoc and ln
comblnaLlon wlLh oLher Cvl surveys. 1he ouLer, norLhwesL and norLheasL edges of Lhe lsland are
lnaccesslble due Lo sLeep Lerraln and mosL llkely also lnaccesslble Lo LorLolses.


57



llgure 12. 1he second Loenall from Lhe back on a rear leg was measured on each LorLolse for Lhe
populaLlon census. 1oenalls are belleved Lo be one of Lhree vlsual characLerlsLlcs lndlcaLlve of sex.




llgure 13. 1he area ln whlch glanL LorLolses were encounLered. Males are deplcLed by a cross,
females by a llghL grey clrcle, lmmaLure by an open Lrlangle and [uvenlles by a closed, black Lrlangle.
MosL glanL LorLolses were encounLered aL Lhe 8anger's SLaLlon (areas 3 and 4).








58


llgure 14. CCCL growLh raLe for glanL LorLolses over 16 year perlod from 1997-2013.


1able 6. A Lable showlng Lhe vlsual characLerlsLlcs lndlcaLlve of Lhe 'apparanL sex' of glanL LorLolses.
vlsually ldenLlfylng Lhe sex of a LorLolse ls dlfflculL and only LorLolses showlng quallLles of a lull Male
ls guaranLeed Lo sLlll have Lhe same characLerlsLlcs year afLer year.

Iu|| Ma|e S||ght Ma|e Immature
keproduct|ve
fema|e
Iu||
Iema|e
S||ght
Iema|e
Iuven||e
1a|| L=long L=long l=lnd S=shorL S=shorL S=shorL S=shorL
|astron C=concave
SC=sllghL
concave
SC=SllghLly
concave
l=llaL l=llaL l=llaL l=llaL
CCCL-m|d n/a n/a n/a >69.9 cm
>69.9
cm
>69.9 cm
<70.1
cm
A|dabra
d|sc
n/a n/a n/a Mu or ##
Mu or
##
Mu or ## n/a
Wh|te L|ne n/a n/a n/a n/a 0-1 n/a 3-leb
A|d Cr|g
NoGrow
n/a n/a n/a ?es n/a n/a n/a
Iem kepro
Act
n/a n/a n/a *nA or CoCop n/a n/a n/a
* lndlcaLes a characLer LhaL ls deflnlLlve lndependenL of oLher characLers
Crey background - lndlcaLes a supporLlng characLer
nA - nesLlng acLlvlLy ls deflned as nesL dlgglng or egg laylng
CoCop - CooperaLlve copulaLlon deflned by observed peneLraLlon



0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
30.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0 140.0 160.0 180.0
G
r
o
w
t
h

s
|
n
c
e

1
9
9
7

(
c
m
)

Carapace |ength |n 2013 (cm)
lull Male
lull lemale
lmmaLure


59

1able 7. A breakdown of where male, female, lmmaLure and [uvenlle LorLolses were lnlLlally encounLered
around Curleuse lsland.

Cxford Map
Area number Males lemales lmmaLures !uvenlles
Crand Anse 1 4 2 3
Anse apale 2 2 1
8anger's sLaLlon 3+4 63 24 16 1
norLh Mangroves 3 1 1 1
norLh of Crand Anse 11 1
ML Llblne 12 1 1
lond 8lanc 13 2
norLh 8ldge 17 1

1able 8. Mean CCCL and 3
rd
dorsal lengLhs for Lhe glanL LorLolses on Curleuse lsland.
!uvenlle lmmaLure
SllghL
lemale
lull
lemale
SllghL
Male lull Male
CCCL (cm) 49.4 102.9 83 97 118.3 130.9
3rd uorsal (cm) 16.6 30.1 23.9 28.6 32.7 34.9

1able 9. 1he area ln whlch glanL LorLolses were lnlLlally locaLed durlng populaLlon censuses on
Curleuse lsland by Samour eL al. 1986, Lewls eL al. 1991, and Lhls survey 2013.
Cxford Area SecLlon
Cxford
Area
number
Samour eL
al. (1986)
Lewls eL al.
1991
2013 lnlLlal
encounLer
Crand Anse 1 8 0 9
Anse apale 2 1 6 3
8anger's SLaLlon 3+4 109 84 104
norLh Mangroves 3 7 18 3
Anse 8adamler 9 0 3 0
norLh of Crand Anse 11 6 0 1
ML Llblne 12
12
3 2
lond 8lanc 13 0 2
norLh coasL 14 0 1 0
norLh 8ldge 17 1 1 1
1ota| 144 118 12S



60

Appendix D. Mangroves


















llgure 13. (1op LefL) 1wenLy-elghL LransecLs, placed 10 m aparL, span 8ay Larale ln a norLh wesLerly
dlrecLlon perpendlcular Lo Lhe coasLllne.

llgure 16. (1op 8lghL) ulsLrlbuLlon of mangrove specles ln 8ale Larale. Avlcennla marlna ls yellow,
8rugulera gymnnorhlza ls blue, LumnlLzera racemosa ls green, 8hlzophora mucronaLa red and
xylocarpus sp orange. non mangrove specles are brown, sandy paLches are llghL grey and dead Lrees
are black dlamonds.

llgure 17. (8oLLom LefL) Average sallnlLy readlngs LhroughouL Lhe mangrove foresL. 8lack doLs show
hlgh sallnlLy wlLh whlLe doLs showlng no sallnlLy. ?ellow represenLs areas where Lhe ground was Loo
dry Lo geL any readlng.

llgure 18. (8oLLom 8lghL) Average lnundaLlon LhroughouL Lhe mangroves aL sprlng Llde. 8lack shows
areas LhaL experlence hlgh levels of waLer wlLh whlLe doLs showlng areas LhaL do noL have any waLer
durlng Lhe hlghesL Lldal lnflux each monLh.



61



llgure 19. 8esulLs show sallnlLy near Lhe seaward edge (waypolnLs 1-3) Lo be much hlgher Lhan aL
Lhe landward edge of Lhe mangrove foresL (waypolnLs 6-8). 1he average sallnlLy aL waypolnL 1 on
each LransecL, also Lhe waypolnL closesL Lo Lhe waLer ls 27.3. 1here ls a sLeady decrease ln sallnlLy
as waypolnLs are furLher from Lhe ocean. 1ransecLs vary ln lengLh and as such have a dlfferlng
number of waypolnLs.

1able 10. A breakdown of mangrove specles lncluded ln Lhe annual surveys. A LoLal of 107 Lrees were lncluded
ln Lhe C8P survey. A LoLal of 164 quadraLs (1m x 1m) were surveyed. uue Lo Lhe low number of Lrees
encounLered Lhe quadraL slze ls belng expanded for fuLure survey.
Specles
#
measured
for C8P
# measured for
CuadraLs
Avlcennla
marlna
29 8
8rugulera
gymnorhlza
21 4
LumnlLzera
racemosa
16 0
8hlzophora
mucronaLa
29 13
xylocarpus
sp.
12 1




0
3
10
13
20
23
30
33
1 2 3 4 3 6 7 8
M
e
a
n

s
a
|
|
n
|
t
y

(

)

Waypo|nt


62

1able 11. Lach specles of mangrove Lhrlve ln sllghLly dlfferenL envlronmenLal condlLlons. 1hls Lable shows Lhe
sallnlLy and lnundaLlon condlLlons ln whlch Lhe flve specles found wlLhln Lhe 8ale Larale foresL grow.
Specles
A
v
l
c
e
n
n
l
a

m
a
r
l
n
a

8
r
u
g
u
l
e
r
a

g
y
m
n
o
r
h
l
z
a

L
u
m
n
l
L
z
e
r
a

r
a
c
e
m
o
s
a

8
h
l
z
o
p
h
o
r
a

m
u
c
r
o
n
a
L
a

x
y
l
o
c
a
r
p
u
s

s
p
.

S
a
l
l
n
l
L
y

(

)
0 ? ? ?
1 Lo 10 ? ? ? ? ?
11 Lo 20 ? ? ? ? ?
21 Lo 30 ? ? ? ?
31+ ? ? ?
l
n
u
n
d
a
L
l
o
n

(
c
m
)

0cm ?
1 Lo 20 ? ? ? ? ?
21-40 ? ? ? ? ?
41-60 ? ?
61-80 ? ? ?
81+ ? ?



Appendix E. Sea Turtles




llgure 20. 1he percenLage of successfully lald nesLs on Lhe seven nesLlng beaches of Cureluse lsland.
Crey bars represenL nesLlng season 2010-2011, black 2011-2012, whlLe 2012-2013 and dlagonally
sLrlped bars 2013-2014.


0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
30.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
90.00
C
r
a
n
d

A
n
s
e

A
n
s
e

a
p
a
l
e

A
n
s
e

L
a
r
a
l
e

A
n
s
e

S
L
.

!
o
s
e

A
n
s
e

C
l
m
l
u
e
r

A
n
s
e

8
a
d
a
m
l
e
r

A
n
s
e

M
a
n
d
a
r
l
n

e
r
c
e
n
t
a
g
e

o
f

s
u
c
c
e
s
s
f
u
|
|
y

|
a
|
d

n
e
s
t
s

8eaches


63


llgure 21. 1he beach speclflc haLchllng success raLe expressed as a percenLage of haLchllngs LhaL
emerged from Lhe nesL allve. Crand Anse ls Lhe mosL prollflc nesLlng beach and had a mean success
raLe of 91.27 (n=38). Anse apale had Lhe hlghesL success raLe whlle Anse SL. !ose had Lhe lowesL.
1here were no excavaLlons on Anse ClmlLler.




llgure 22. 1he beach speclflc mean number of emergences per female per cluLch.
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
Crand Anse Anse apale Anse Larale Anse !ose Anse
Clmluer
Anse
8adamler
Anse
Mandarln

e
r
c
e
n
t

h
a
t
c
h
|
|
n
g

s
u
c
c
e
s
s

8eaches
0
1
2
3
4
3
6
7
Crand Anse Anse apale Anse Larale Anse !ose Anse Clmluer Anse
8adamler
Anse
Mandarln
L
m
e
r
g
e
n
c
e

p
e
r

c
|
u
t
c
h

8each


64


1able 12. nlne caLegorles of sea LurLle emergence Lypes.

Palf Moon
A. Wanderlng buL no dlgglng below hlgh Llde llne
8. Wanderlng buL no dlgglng above hlgh Llde llne
LS8C. Lmergence sLopped by obsLacle
uld noL Lay
C. Conslderable dlsLurbance, evldence of dlgglng (body plL &
egg chamber) no coverlng.
u. Lvldence of dlgglng, no coverlng.
Lald L. Conslderable dlsLurbance, evldence of dlgglng and coverlng.
varlaLlons
l. rob unL. robably uld noL Lay
C. rob Lald. robably Lald
?. CannoL Lell lf lald or noL



1able 13. nesL excavaLlon caLegorles and deflnlLlons.

PaLched Lgg cases or empLy eggshells.
Llve plpped PaLchllng has broken Lhrough eggshell buL noL enLlrely emerged.
uead plpped As above, Lhough haLchllng ls no longer llvlng.
undeveloped no dlscernable embryo.
SLage one ulscernable embryo, eyes, splne, blood developmenL buL mosLly yolk.
SLage Lwo arLlally developed embryo. ?olk sac ls larger Lhan Lhe LurLle feLus.
SLage Lhree MosLly developed embryo. 1urLle feLus ls larger Lhan yolk sac.
redaLed Lgg obvlously consumed by crabs or dogs.
redaLed
beyond
recognlLlon MaggoL and/or bacLerla predaLlon beyond sLage recognlLlon.

*When a small amounL of maggoLs, bacLerla or fungus ls wlLhln an egg and Lhe
sLage ls sLlll recognlzable, Lhe number of eggs wlLh predaLlon are accounLed for ln
[ ].
Lxample:
SLage one: 3 [2]
*3 ls Lhe LoLal number of eggs wlLhln Lhe sLage one caLegory
*2 of Lhose eggs conLalned maggoLs, fungus and/or bacLerla













65


1able 14. 1he LoLal number of acLlvlLles and nesLs recorded for four nesLlng seasons, 2010-2011
Lhrough 2013-2014.


Nest|ng Season 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014
P
a
w
k
s
b
l
l
l

AcLlvlLles 312 367 324 323
1oLal nesLs 131 186 282 128
opulaLlon esLlmaLlon ~33-60 ~63-70 ~93-100 ~33-60
C
r
e
e
n

AcLlvlLles 8 14 9 6
1oLal nesLs 0 8 2 4
opulaLlon esLlmaLlon ~1-2 ~2-3 ~1-2 ~1-2


1able 13. nesLlng females encounLered on Curleuse wlLh meLal lu Lags on Lhelr fronL fllpper.
1ag numbers uaLe(s) LncounLered 1ag Crlgln
0129/0130 27.10.10 Curleuse 1992
303 6.11.10 ?
4770 11.11.10 Mahe 1999
6303 19.10.10 ?
7309/7308
18.10.10
Curleuse 2004
3.11.10
7343/7340 12.11.10 Curleuse 2004
L1830/1831
8.11.13
Curleuse 1993 22.11.13
6.12.13
L1876/1877 2.10.12 Curleuse 1993
L1886 22.11.12 Curleuse 1993
L1887/1889 4.12.12 Curleuse 1993
L1897 6.12.10 Curleuse 1993


66

L2621 27.11.12 Curleuse 2001
L2626/2627
17.10.11
Curleuse? no record. 2001
16.11.11
L2631/2630 16.11.10 Curleuse 2004
L2634/2633 3.12.11 Curleuse 2007
SCA273 31.10.12 Aldabra 2007
SCA0922/0923
11.11.13
Mahe 2007
26.11.13
SCA0940/0939 9.12.13 raslln 2007
SCA1121/1120 8.11.12 Cousln 2011
SCA1446/1447
28.10.13
Couslne ls 2007
30.10.13
SCA2324/2323 6.12.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2326/SCA2327
30.10.13
Curleuse 2008
28.11.13
SCA2328/2329 3.11.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2330/2331 8.11.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2332/2333 28.11.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2336/2337 26.11.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2338/2339
22.11.13
Curleuse 2008
3.12.13
SCA2340/2341 20.11.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2342/2343
20.11.13
Curleuse 2008
3.12.13
SCA2344/upsldedown 18.11.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2343/2346 13.11.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2347/2348
11.11.13
Curleuse 2008
27.11.13
SCA2349/2330 11.11.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2331/SCA2332 6.12.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2333/SCA2334
6.12.13
Curleuse 2008
21.12.13


67

SCA2333/2336 9.12.13 Curleuse 2008
SCA2337/2338 23.01.14 Curleuse 2008
SCA2339/2360 23.01.14 Curleuse 2008
SCA3739/3738
7.11.12
Cousln 2010
22.11.12
SCA3776/3777 1.2.13 Cousln 2010
SCA4944/4943 14.11.12 Couslne 2011
SL?0130/0129 11.11.13 Curleuse 1996
SL?4070 19.12.13 Couslne ls 1998
SL?4944 18.2.11 Curleuse 2002
SL?4970 27.11.12 Curleuse 2002
SL?6113 22.11.12 Cousln 2002
SL?6302 20.11.11 Curleuse 2002
SL?6304 3.12.11 Curleuse 2004
SL?6329/6328 1.11.12 Curleuse? no record. 2002
SL?6332/6333 29.11.12 Curleuse? no record. 2002
SL?6372 3.11.12 Curleuse? no record. 2003
SL?6763/upsldedown 29.11.13 SLe. Anne ? no record.2003
SL?6767/6768 3.11.13 SLe. Anne ? no record.2003
SL?676?677? 20.11.11 SLe. Anne ? no record.2003
SL?6936/6933
18.1.11
Couslne 2004
3.12.12
SL? 6939 18.1.11 Couslne 2004
SL?6989/6990
28.11.12
Couslne 2004
13.12.12
SL?7466/7467 1.11.12 8lrd 2004
SL?7303 29.11.12 Curleuse? no record. 2004
SL?7310 3.12.11 Curleuse 2004
SL?7361/7360 11.12.13 Curleuse 2004
SL?7398/upslde down Lag
3.12.12
Curleuse 2004 3.12.12
6.12.12


68

SL?8727 18.01.13 Couslne 2003
SL?9431/9432
24.10.11
SL Anne 2006 9.11.11
23.11.11
SL?9432/9431 22.11.13 SLe. Anne 2006
SL?9433/9434 6.12.13 SLe. Anne 2006
SL?9478 8.11.13 SLe. Anne 2006
SL? 9493/9496 18.11.12 SLe. Anne 2006
SL?9497/9498 28.10.13 SLe. Anne 2006
SL?9380 23.10.11 Curleuse 2006

1able 16. 1he number of nesLlng female Pawksbllls wlLh meLal Lags and where LurLles were lnlLlally
Lagged.

lsland of lnlLlal Lagglng
# of LurLles
encounLered
? 2
Aldabra 1
8lrd 1
Cousln 4
Couslne 7
Curleuse 43
Mahe 2
raslln 1
SLe. Anne 9

1able 17. 1he allocaLed code for each phoLo ldenLlfled nesLlng female from CcLober 2010 Lo March
2014.

hoLo lu
number
uaLe/s
LncounLered
8each/s
LncounLered
1ag numbers
Cu8P81 27.10.10 CA
Cu8P82 27.10.10 CA 0129/0130
Cu8P83 27.10.10 CA
Cu8P84 2.11.10 CA
Cu8P83 8.12.10 CA
Cu8P86 18.10.10 CA 7308/7309


69

3.11.10 CA
Cu8P87 6.11.10 CA
Cu8P88
10.11.10 CA

26.11.10 CA
Cu8P89 12.11.10 A 7343/7340
Cu8P810 12.11.10 A
Cu8P811 16.11.10 CA L2631/2630
CUkn812
16.11.10 GA

21.10.13 GA
S.11.13 A
6.11.13 GA
Cu8P813 30.11.10 CA
Cu8P814 6.12.10 AC L1897
Cu8P813 6.12.10 AC
Cu8P816 27.10.10 CA
Cu8P817 6.11.10 CA
Cu8P818 11.11.10 CA 4770
CUkn819
22.11.10 GA
SCA23S1]23S2
6.12.13 GA
CUkn820
14.01.11 CA
28.01.11 CA
18.12.12 CA
Cu8P821 3.02.11 AC
Cu8P822 18.02.11 A
Cu8P823 18.02.11 CA SL?4944
Cu8P824 31.01.11 CA
Cu8P823 23.10.11 A! SL?9380
Cu8P826
30.11.11 CA

16.01.12 CA
Cu8P827 2.12.11 CA
Cu8P828 2.2.12 CA
CUkn829
21.10.11 AL
SCA2328]2329
S.11.13 GA
Cu8P830
24.10.11 CA
SL?9431/9432 9.11.11 CA
23.11.11 A!
Cu8P831
31.10.11 CA

28.11.11 A
Cu8P832
17.10.11 CA
L2626/2627
16.11.11 CA
Cu8P833 11.11.11 A
Cu8P834 14.11.11 A
Cu8P833 14.11.11 CA
Cu8P836 16.11.11 CA


70

2.12.11 CA
Cu8P837 20.11.11 A! SL?6302
Cu8P838 23.11.11 CA
Cu8P839 23.11.11 CA
Cu8P840 23.11.11 A!
Cu8P841 30.11.11 CA
CUkn842
2.11.11 GA
SCA2333]2332
28.11.13 GA
Cu8P843 3.12.11 CA
Cu8P844 3.12.11 CA L2634/2633
Cu8P843 3.12.11 A SL?6304
Cu8P846 3.12.11 A SL?7310
CUkn847
21.10.11 GA
SL9497]9498
28.10.13 GA
Cu8P848 9.11.11 CA
Cu8P849 28.01.11 CA
CUkn8S0
2.11.10 GA

28.11.12 GA
Cu8P831 28.10.11 A!
Cu8P832 30.11.11 CA
Cu8P833 29.01.12 AC
Cu8P834 11.9.12 CA
Cu8P833 28.09.12 CA
Cu8P836 02.10.12 CA L1876/1877
Cu8P837 23.10.12 CA
Cu8P838 31.10.12 CA SCA273
Cu8P839
8.11.12 CA
22.11.12 CA
Cu8P860 1.11.12 CA SL?6329/6328
Cu8P861 1.11.12 CA SL?7466/7467
Cu8P862 3.11.12 CA
Cu8P863 6.11.12 CA
Cu8P864
6.11.12 CA
21.11.12 CA
Cu8P863
7.11.12 CA
SCA3739/3738
22.11.12 CA
Cu8P866 07.11.12 A
Cu8P867 8.11.12 CA SCA1121/1120
Cu8P868
12.11.12 CA
11.12.12 CA
Cu8P869 13.11.12 CA
Cu8P870 14.11.12 CA SCA4944/4943
Cu8P871
14.11.12 CA
28.11.12 CA


71

Cu8P872 18.11.12 A
Cu8P873 18.11.12 A SL?9493/9496
Cu8P874 18.11.12 CA
Cu8P873
19.11.12 A
3.12.12 A
Cu8P876 19.11.12 CA
Cu8P877
20.11.12 CA

4.12.12 A
30.01.12 CA
Cu8P878 18.01.13 CA SL?8726/8727
Cu8P879
21.11.12 CA
22.11.12 CA
Cu8P880 22.11.12 CA
Cu8P881 22.11.12 CA
Cu8P882 22.11.12 CA
Cu8P883 23.11.12 CA
Cu8P884 27.11.12 CA
Cu8P883 27.11.12 CA
Cu8P886
27.11.12 CA
27.11.12 CA
Cu8P887 27.11.12 CA SL?4970
Cu8P888 27.11.12 AM
Cu8P889
28.11.12 CA
SL?6989/6990 13.12.12 A!
Cu8P890 29.11.12 A SL?6332/6333
Cu8P891 29.11.12 A SL?7303
Cu8P892
3.12.12 A
SL?7398 3.12.12 A
6.12.12 CA
Cu8P893
18.01.2011 CA
SL?6933/6936 3.12.12 CA
Cu8P894
3.12.12 CA
4.12.12 CA
Cu8P893 4.12.12 CA
Cu8P896 4.12.12 CA L1887/1889
Cu8P897 4.12.12 CA
Cu8P898 6.12.12 CA
Cu8P899
10.12.12 CA
23.01.13 CA
Cu8P8100 11.12.12 CA
Cu8P8101 24.12.12 A
Cu8P8102 14.01.13 A!
Cu8P8103 30.01.13 CA
Cu8P8104 01.02.13 CA


72

Cu8P8103 01.02.13 CA SCA3776/3777
Cu8P8106 22.02.13 CA
Cu8P8107 13.3.13 CA
Cu8P8108 03.11.2013 A SL?6767/6768
Cu8P8109 23.10.13 CA SL? 473
Cu8P8110 23.10.13 CA
Cu8P8111
28.10.13 CA
SCA1446/1447 11.11.13 CA
Cu8P8112 30.10.13 CA SCA2326/2327
Cu8P8113 31.10.13 A
Cu8P8114 1.11.13 CA
Cu8P8113 3.11.13 CA
Cu8P8116
8.11.13 CA
L1830/1831 22.11.13 CA
6.12.13 CA
Cu88P117 8.11.13 CA SCA2330/2331
Cu8P8118 11.11.13 A SCA2349/2330
Cu8P8119 26.11.13 CA SCA0922/0923
Cu88P120
11.11.13 CA
SCA2347/2348
27.11.13 AL
Cu8P8121 12.11.13 AM
Cu88P122 18.11.13 CA
Cu88P123 18.11.13 CA SCA2344/upsldedown
Cu88P124 19.11.13 A!
Cu88P123
20.11.13 A
SCA2342/2343
3.12.13 CA
Cu88P126 20.11.13 CA SCA2340/2341
Cu8P8127
22.11.13 CA
SCA2338/2339
3.12.13 CA
Cu88P128 22.11.13 CA SL?9432/9431
Cu88P129 29.11.13 CA SL?6763/upsldedown
Cu88P130 6.12.13 CA SCA2324/2323
Cu88P131 6.12.13 CA SCA2333/2334
Cu88P132 6.12.13 A SL?9433/9434
Cu88P133 9.12.13 CA SCA2333/2336
Cu8P8134 9.12.13 CA SCA0940/0939
Cu8P8133 9.12.13 A
Cu8P8136 11.12.13 CA SL?7361/7360
Cu8P8137 9.12.13 CA
Cu8P8138 23.1.14 CA SCA2337/2338