Turtles of Sabah
Project Leader: Nicolas Pilcher
Background
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. Marine turtles in the region are threatened through fisheries bycatch, egg poaching and habitat loss, and these pressures have driven many populations to the brink of local extinction. This project 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 lacking the most valuable early-warning systems for understanding 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 be more in keeping with turtle biology and ecology.
Aims & objectives
The objectives of this project are to provide in-water population structure data to streamline management and conservation practices for marine turtles in Sabah.
The project will 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). The project will use the accumulation of these data sets to impact management actions and decisions at the Government level.
This project will conduct four field trips over the course of one year (at approximately quarterly intervals). The project aims to perform 50-100 laparoscopy procedures and the following outcomes are expected:
The project will 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). The project will use the accumulation of these data sets to impact management actions and decisions at the Government level.
This project will conduct four field trips over the course of one year (at approximately quarterly intervals). The project aims to perform 50-100 laparoscopy procedures and the following outcomes are expected:
- Successful in-water capture of 50-100 marine turtles of varying life stages and sexes;
- Collection and analysis of in-water data from turtles including tagging, GPS location, date, time and notable physical features;
- Re-tagging and release of previously sampled individuals;
- 50-100 laparoscopic investigations of maturity and gender of all turtles;
- Collection and analysis of DNA material to determine population origin;
- An analysis of data with regard to maturity stages and gender ratios, and
- Results disseminated to donor agency, government departments including Sabah Parks and Sabah Fisheries, and eventually publication in a peer reviewed journal.