Marine Turtles, Malaysia
OBJECTIVES
1. The objectives of this project are to provide in-water population structure data to streamline management and conservation practices for marine turtles in Sabah.
2. Capture turtles in foraging grounds over three seasons and conduct laparoscopic examinations of the gonads to determine reproductive status and gender (turtles can generally not be sexed through external characteristics).
SPECIFIC CONSERVATION AIMS
The project will use the accumulation of these data sets to impact management actions and decisions at the Government level.
Research and conservation of marine turtles through laparoscopy studies at the Mantanani islands, Sabah (Borneo), Malaysia
TURTLE SCIENTIST
Nicolas Pilcher
In association with the Marine Research Foundation.
THE NEED FOR RESEARCH
Marine turtles in the region are threatened through fisheries bycatch, egg poaching, and habitat loss. These pressures have driven many populations to the brink of local extinction.
PROJECT SUMMARY
This project addresses the lack of information on foraging populations of endangered marine turtles, and provides the data sets needed to develop effective conservation strategies in the region. It will provide, through novel laparoscopy and in-water studies, crucial population dynamics data for effective marine turtle conservation in Sabah, Malaysia, and the results will be applicable throughout Southeast Asia. Without such data sets authorities will always be unaware of wild sex ratios, recruitment rates into juvenile and adult life stages, and thus lack understanding of the impacts of long-term conservation and management measures on marine turtles. Initial results from this work suggest there is a significant impact to turtles from nearby hatchery practices, and the results from this work are expected to streamline management interventions to better suit turtle biology and ecology.
TURTLE SCIENTIST
Nicolas Pilcher
In association with the Marine Research Foundation.
THE NEED FOR RESEARCH
Marine turtles in the region are threatened through fisheries bycatch, egg poaching, and habitat loss. These pressures have driven many populations to the brink of local extinction.
PROJECT SUMMARY
This project addresses the lack of information on foraging populations of endangered marine turtles, and provides the data sets needed to develop effective conservation strategies in the region. It will provide, through novel laparoscopy and in-water studies, crucial population dynamics data for effective marine turtle conservation in Sabah, Malaysia, and the results will be applicable throughout Southeast Asia. Without such data sets authorities will always be unaware of wild sex ratios, recruitment rates into juvenile and adult life stages, and thus lack understanding of the impacts of long-term conservation and management measures on marine turtles. Initial results from this work suggest there is a significant impact to turtles from nearby hatchery practices, and the results from this work are expected to streamline management interventions to better suit turtle biology and ecology.
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| Turtles are caught using a 'rodeo'style in-water capture, whereby a catcher jumps form a chase boat and catches the turtles by hand. The turtle in this case can be seen as a dark shadow under the catcher's arms. | |
A successful catch! A research assistant holds up a juvenile green turtle after capture. Many of these herbivorous green turtles are juveniles, and stay in residence for a couple of ears before moving on to greener pastures. | |
Dr. Pilcher (left) initiates a laparoscopic procedure with a 1 cm
incision. The turtle is inverted to eliminate the risk of damage to
internal organs, and the surgical procedure is usually complete in two
to three minutes.
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With a fiberoptic light source, the laparscope provides a view of internal reproductive organs. Turtles of this size can only be definitively sexed using laparoscopy, and researchers can gather critical population demographic data through these studies. |
1. The objectives of this project are to provide in-water population structure data to streamline management and conservation practices for marine turtles in Sabah.
2. Capture turtles in foraging grounds over three seasons and conduct laparoscopic examinations of the gonads to determine reproductive status and gender (turtles can generally not be sexed through external characteristics).
SPECIFIC CONSERVATION AIMS
The project will use the accumulation of these data sets to impact management actions and decisions at the Government level.