• HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Saturday, January 16, 2021
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Satellite tracking finds turtle foraging areas in Australia’s north-west

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
December 8, 2020
in Biology, Ecology/Environment, Marine/Freshwater Biology
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Mapping previously unknown green turtle foraging grounds and migratory routes supports their conservation

IMAGE

Credit: Kellie Pendoley

Marine scientists have mapped previously unknown foraging grounds and migratory routes of Western Australia’s green turtles to support conservation of the iconic threatened species.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science-led study also examined where turtles spent time during the nesting season which will allow researchers to identify the area’s most important to them and to determine where this overlaps with industrial activity.

The project saw researchers tag 20 female green turtles nesting at WA beaches and track them with satellites.

They then combined their data with that from a further 76 turtles tagged in previous studies.

AIMS marine ecologist Dr Luciana Ferreira said the ultimate goal in mapping the green turtle distribution was to provide the knowledge to help reduce the species’ potential interactions with human activities in the resource rich areas of Australia’s north-west.

“Existing spatial protections underestimate the foraging distribution of green turtles and are missing some important areas. It’s really essential for the turtles’ protection if we know where they go and what they do,” Dr Ferreira said.

The study shows while green turtles use existing protected areas during the nesting season, they then migrate to previously unmapped foraging grounds where they spend most of their time.

This information on the turtles’ movement patterns will help scientists, industry and environmental managers protect the species in areas that are important to Australia’s economic development.

Most turtles foraged within Australian coastal waters, with only two per cent of the tagged green turtles crossing international boundaries.

“We had one turtle that swam to foraging areas in Indonesia,” she said. “And two turtles tagged in WA travelled all the way to the Torres Strait.

“One turtle in the study travelled more than 3000 kilometres from her nesting area.

“Interestingly, 14 per cent remained in their nesting areas–instead of migrating away they just stayed there.”

Despite the differences in where the turtles migrated to at the end of the nesting season, the team found two common migratory corridors for green turtles, one in the Pilbara and one in the Kimberley.

AIMS ecologist Dr Michele Thums said collaboration was crucial to the success of the project.

“Satellite tracking is expensive and tracking only a few turtles would not have provided an accurate distribution map,” she said.

“Instead, working with industry and turtle scientists in WA we were able to compile data from almost 100 tracked turtles for our analysis.”

The research drew on studies from the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, INPEX, Woodside Energy and Pendoley Environmental.

DBCA research scientist Dr Sabrina Fossette said turtles hold cultural, spiritual and economic importance for Indigenous Australians and the results are also of enormous interest to them.

“Turtles feature in many stories, ceremonies, traditions and contemporary activities of Indigenous people,” she said.

Dr Fossette said the research will help inform the management of green turtles, which are listed as endangered by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

“We have a good idea of where green turtles nest in Western Australia but until now we didn’t know a lot about where they go when they leave those areas,” she said.

###

This study was conducted as part of AIMS’ North West Shoals to Shore Research Program and was supported by Santos as part of the company’s commitment to better understand Western Australia’s marine environment.

Media Contact
John Liston
[email protected]

Original Source

https://www.aims.gov.au/news-and-media/satellite-tracking-finds-turtle-foraging-areas-north-west

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13197

Satellite tracking finds turtle foraging areas in Australia’s north-west

Share12Tweet7Share2ShareShareShare1

Related Posts

IMAGE

Biodistribution of AAV gene transfer vectors in nonhuman primate

January 15, 2021
IMAGE

Basis for the essential cellular powerhouses

January 15, 2021

Divergences between scientific and Indigenous and Local Knowledge can be helpful

January 15, 2021

Eating omega-3 fat helps hibernating Arctic ground squirrels warm up during deep cold

January 14, 2021
Next Post
IMAGE

How the brain remembers right place, right time

IMAGE

How poor oral hygiene may result in metabolic syndrome

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

POPULAR NEWS

  • IMAGE

    The map of nuclear deformation takes the form of a mountain landscape

    53 shares
    Share 21 Tweet 13
  • Blood pressure drug may be key to increasing lifespan, new study shows

    44 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 11
  • New drug form may help treat osteoporosis, calcium-related disorders

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10
  • New findings help explain how COVID-19 overpowers the immune system

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Tags

Climate ChangeChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesBiologyInfectious/Emerging DiseasesTechnology/Engineering/Computer ScienceMedicine/HealthEcology/EnvironmentMaterialsGeneticscancerPublic HealthCell Biology

Recent Posts

  • Better diet and glucose uptake in the brain lead to longer life in fruit flies
  • Rapid blood test identifies COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease
  • Conductive nature in crystal structures revealed at magnification of 10 million times
  • Howard University professor to receive first Joseph A. Johnson Award
  • Contact Us

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In