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Eckert Et Al 1999 General Research
Eckert Et Al 1999 General Research
Edited by
Karen L. Eckert
Karen A. Bjorndal
F. Alberto Abreu-Grobois
M. Donnelly
Reproduction for commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the
copyright holder.
ISBN 2-8317-0364-6
I
n 1995 the IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist being accidentally captured in active or abandoned
Group (MTSG) published A Global Strategy for fishing gear. Oil spills, chemical waste, persistent plas-
the Conservation of Marine Turtles to provide a tic and other debris, high density coastal development,
blueprint for efforts to conserve and recover declin- and an increase in ocean-based tourism have dam-
ing and depleted sea turtle populations around the aged or eliminated important nesting beaches and
world. As unique components of complex ecosystems, feeding areas.
sea turtles serve important roles in coastal and ma- To ensure the survival of sea turtles, it is impor-
rine habitats by contributing to the health and main- tant that standard and appropriate guidelines and cri-
tenance of coral reefs, seagrass meadows, estuaries, teria be employed by field workers in all range states.
and sandy beaches. The Strategy supports integrated Standardized conservation and management tech-
and focused programs to prevent the extinction of niques encourage the collection of comparable data
these species and promotes the restoration and sur- and enable the sharing of results among nations and
vival of healthy sea turtle populations that fulfill their regions. This manual seeks to address the need for
ecological roles. standard guidelines and criteria, while at the same time
Sea turtles and humans have been linked for as acknowledging a growing constituency of field work-
long as people have settled the coasts and plied the ers and policy-makers seeking guidance with regard
oceans. Coastal communities have depended upon sea to when and why to invoke one management option
turtles and their eggs for protein and other products over another, how to effectively implement the cho-
for countless generations and, in many areas, continue sen option, and how to evaluate success.
to do so today. However, increased commercializa- The IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group be-
tion of sea turtle products over the course of the 20th lieves that proper management cannot occur in the
century has decimated many populations. Because sea absence of supporting and high quality research, and
turtles have complex life cycles during which indi- that scientific research should focus, whenever pos-
viduals move among many habitats and travel across sible, on critical conservation issues. We intend for
ocean basins, conservation requires a cooperative, in- this manual to serve a global audience involved in
ternational approach to management planning that the protection and management of sea turtle resources.
recognizes inter-connections among habitats, sea turtle Recognizing that the most successful sea turtle pro-
populations, and human populations, while applying tection and management programs combine traditional
the best available scientific knowledge. census techniques with computerized databases, ge-
To date our success in achieving both of these netic analyses and satellite-based telemetry techniques
tasks has been minimal. Sea turtle species are recog- that practitioners a generation ago could only dream
nized as “Critically Endangered,” “Endangered” or about, we dedicate this manual to the resource man-
“Vulnerable” by the World Conservation Union agers of the 21st century who will be facing increas-
(IUCN). Most populations are depleted as a result of ingly complex resource management challenges, and
unsustainable harvest for meat, shell, oil, skins, and for whom we hope this manual will provide both train-
eggs. Tens of thousands of turtles die every year after ing and counsel.
Karen L. Eckert
Karen A. Bjorndal
F. Alberto Abreu Grobois
Marydele Donnelly
Editors
Table of Contents
1 . Overview
An Introduction to the Evolution, Life History, and Biology of Sea Turtles ....................................... 3
A. B. Meylan and P. A. Meylan
Designing a Conservation Program ............................................................................................... 6
K. L. Eckert
Priorities for Studies of Reproduction and Nest Biology ................................................................. 9
J. I. Richardson
Priorities for Research in Foraging Habitats ................................................................................. 12
K. A. Bjorndal
Community-Based Conservation ................................................................................................. 15
J. G. Frazier
i
4 . Data Collection and Methods
ii
5 . Reducing Threats
Ranching and Captive Breeding Sea Turtles: Evaluation as a Conservation Strategy .................... 197
J. P. Ross
Rehabilitation of Sea Turtles ...................................................................................................... 202
M. Walsh
Infectious Diseases of Marine Turtles ......................................................................................... 208
L. H. Herbst
Tissue Sampling and Necropsy Techniques ................................................................................ 214
E. R. Jacobson
iii
Research and Management Techniques for the Conservation of Sea Turtles
K. L. Eckert, K. A. Bjorndal, F. A. Abreu-Grobois, M. Donnelly (Editors)
IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group Publication No. 4, 1999
Recording Data the emergence crater. The tracks should form a wide
There is a minimum set of information that should “V” with the point at the emergence crater (when the
be collected from each clutch examined (Table 1). sand is damp, the crater is obvious). Rubber gloves
Data sheets should be designed to include the mini- should be worn when excavating nests because nests
mum data set. A set of headings with blank boxes on regularly contain rotten eggs and petrified, dead
the same data sheet used to record information about hatchlings. Sand in the neck of the nest (the channel
the nesting female is the optimal place to record clutch through which the hatchlings traveled to the surface)
count, egg measurements and other data (e.g., sand will be loose and soft compared to the surrounding
temperature) recorded at the time of oviposition. beach. Care should be taken not to disturb adjoining
clutches that are still incubating.
Field Equipment After the hatchlings have emerged from a nest and
Basic field equipment should include: data sheets, the nest has been excavated, the data contained on the
clipboard, pencils, calipers, balance (metric scale), nest tag, if present, should be recorded (Table 2).
thermometer, 2 m tape measure (flexible, non metal),
25-100 m flexible tape measure (for nest location), Categorizing Nest Contents
headlight (for hands free recording of data), a bag for Nest contents should be examined and divided
field equipment, and a suitable bag for routine or into categories (Table 3). These categories may be
emergency transport of eggs. All measuring equip- further subdivided to provide finer definition of the
ment should be routinely calibrated. nest contents; however, the extra work involved is
probably not worth the result, unless specific ques-
Locating a Nest after Emergence of the tions are being addressed. For example, a skilled ob-
Hatchlings server may require several hours to find evidence to
When hatchling tracks are encountered on the distinguish early embryonic death from infertility or
beach, the emergence crater can usually be located intra-oviducal death, all of which are contained in the
by turning away from the water and following the undeveloped category (see Miller, 1985, for detailed
hatchling tracks back up the beach to the vicinity of descriptions of sea turtle embryonic development).
Table 2. Recommended data entries after the hatchlings have emerged from the nest.
Tag Number Tag number of nesting female (from the nest tag)
Date Laid Date (from the nest tag)
Date Emerged Date when hatchlings emerged
Time of Emergence Time hatchlings were observed
Incubation Length Date emerged – Date laid
The other categories assist with identifying potential or, if all hatchlings were not captured, estimate E
problems that might have occurred during incubation. for use in the equation above by: E = (S - (L + D))
For example, if a high proportion of the eggs con-
tained UHT embryos, sub-sand flooding of the nest Determining Hatching Success and
from a recent high tide (that cut off the oxygen prior Emergence Success
to pipping) might be the problem. Infertility is diffi- Assessing incubation success is a two stage pro-
cult to demonstrate; even a skilled observer may miss cess consisting of determining hatching and emer-
a fragment of the embryonic disk (the presence of gence success. Hatching success refers to the number
which indicates fertility) in an unhatched egg exhumed of hatchlings that hatch out of their egg shell (equals
from a nest at the end of incubation. the number of empty egg shells in the nest); emer-
Counting empty egg shells is difficult and con- gence success refers to the number of hatchlings that
tains counting error depending on the skill of the per- reach the beach surface (equals the number of empty
son counting. Only shells that make up more than 50% egg shells minus the number of live and dead
of the egg size should be counted; shell fragments hatchlings remaining in the nest chamber). Hatching
should not be counted. An estimate of the counting success is often 1% or more higher than emergence
error can be made by counting the shells in clutches success. Both hatching and emergence success should
in which the number of eggs was counted at oviposi- be reported when presenting data on incubation suc-
tion. The error is the percentage of the difference be- cess.
tween the two counts.
A researcher may choose to have the category UH Hatching
include UHT embryos; if so, field notes should be #shells
Success (%) = _________________________ x 100
used to identify dead, pipped embryos to aid the iden- #shells + #UD+#UH+#UHT+#P
tification of the cause(s) of death. The shells of eggs
depredated in the nest (P) seldom resemble the torn Emergence
shells from which hatchlings have emerged; the shells #shells – (#L + #D)
Success (%) = _________________________ x 100
of depredated eggs (P) usually have holes or small #shells + #UD+#UH+#UHT+#P
torn areas and contain a quantity of egg material. When
eggs have been exhumed by predators and scattered Simply counting hatchlings on the beach is not
on the beach, counting is difficult and obtaining an accurate enough to assess emergence success because
accurate count may be impossible. some hatchlings may escape before being counted or
After categorising and counting the contents of may be eaten by predators or some hatchlings may be
the nest, the number of eggs in the clutch may be cal- slow in emerging from the nest. When excavating
culated using one of the following formula (see sym- nests, live hatchlings just below the beach surface (i.e.,
bols above): not trapped by vegetation or debris) should be included
if all hatchlings were intercepted: in the count of hatchlings that successfully reached
Clutch = E + L + D + UD + UH + UHT + P; the beach surface.