Browsing by Subject "Sea turtle"

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Open Access
Are we working towards global research priorities for management and conservation of sea turtles?
(Endangered Species Research, 2016-12-30) Rees, AF; Alfaro-Shigueto, J; Barata, PCR; Bjorndal, KA; Bolten, AB; Bourjea, J; Broderick, AC; Campbell, LM; Cardona, L; Carreras, C; Casale, P; Ceriani, SA; Dutton, PH; Eguchi, T; Formia, A; Fuentes, MMPB; Fuller, WJ; Girondot, M; Godfrey, MH; Hamann, M; Hart, KM; Hays, GC; Hochscheid, S; Kaska, Y; Jensen, MP; Mangel, JC; Mortimer, JA; Naro-Maciel, E; Ng, CKY; Nichols, WJ; Phillott, AD; Reina, RD; Revuelta, O; Schofield, G; Seminoff, JA; Shanker, K; Tomás, J; van de Merwe, JP; Van Houtan, KS; Vander Zanden, HB; Wallace, BP; Wedemeyer-Strombel, KR; Work, TM; Godley, BJ
© The authors 2016. In 2010, an international group of 35 sea turtle researchers refined an initial list of more than 200 research questions into 20 metaquestions that were considered key for management and conservation of sea turtles. These were classified under 5 categories: reproductive biology, biogeography, population ecology, threats and conservation strategies. To obtain a picture of how research is being focused towards these key questions, we undertook a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature (2014 and 2015) attributing papers to the original 20 questions. In total, we reviewed 605 articles in full and from these 355 (59%) were judged to substantively address the 20 key questions, with others focusing on basic science and monitoring. Progress to answering the 20 questions was not uniform, and there were biases regarding focal turtle species, geographic scope and publication outlet. Whilst it offers some meaningful indications as to effort, quantifying peer-reviewed literature output is ob viously not the only, and possibly not the best, metric for understanding progress towards informing key conservation and management goals. Along with the literature review, an international group based on the original project consortium was assigned to critically summarise recent progress towards answering each of the 20 questions. We found that significant research is being expended towards global priorities for management and conservation of sea turtles. Although highly variable, there has been significant progress in all the key questions identified in 2010. Undertaking this critical review has highlighted that it may be timely to undertake one or more new prioritizing exercises. For this to have maximal benefit we make a range of recommendations for its execution. These include a far greater engagement with social sciences, widening the pool of contributors and focussing the questions, perhaps disaggregating ecology and conservation.
Open Access
The potential of unmanned aerial systems for sea turtle research and conservation: A review and future directions
(Endangered Species Research, 2018-01-01) Rees, Alan F; Avens, Larisa; Ballorain, K; Bevan, E; Broderick, Annette C; Carthy, RR; Christianen, MJA; Duclos, G; Heithaus, Michael R; Johnston, David W; Mangel, J; Paladino, F; Pendoley, K; REINA, RD; Robinson, NJ; Ryan, R; Sykora-Bodie, Seth T; Tilley, D; Varela, R; Whitman, ER; Whittock, PA; Wibbels, T; Godley, Brendan J
© The authors 2018. The use of satellite systems and manned aircraft surveys for remote data collection has been shown to be transformative for sea turtle conservation and research by enabling the collection of data on turtles and their habitats over larger areas than can be achieved by surveys on foot or by boat. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are increasingly being adopted to gather data, at previously unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions in diverse geographic locations. This easily accessible, low-cost tool is improving existing research methods and enabling novel approaches in marine turtle ecology and conservation. Here we review the diverse ways in which incorporating inexpensive UAVs may reduce costs and field time while improving safety and data quality and quantity over existing methods for studies on turtle nesting, at-sea distribution and behaviour surveys, as well as expanding into new avenues such as surveillance against illegal take. Furthermore, we highlight the impact that high-quality aerial imagery captured by UAVs can have for public outreach and engagement. This technology does not come without challenges. We discuss the potential constraints of these systems within the ethical and legal frameworks which researchers must operate and the difficulties that can result with regard to storage and analysis of large amounts of imagery. We then suggest areas where technological development could further expand the utility of UAVs as data-gathering tools; for example, functioning as downloading nodes for data collected by sensors placed on turtles. Development of methods for the use of UAVs in sea turtle research will serve as case studies for use with other marine and terrestrial taxa.