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Sea Turtles of Bonaire

SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION BONAIRE. Sea Turtles of Bonaire. Research, Conservation & Education. info@bonaireturtles.org www.BonaireTurtles.org tel. 717 2225 - 790 0433. What are sea turtles? How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? Where around Bonaire do the turtles live?

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Sea Turtles of Bonaire

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  1. SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION BONAIRE Sea Turtles of Bonaire Research, Conservation & Education info@bonaireturtles.org www.BonaireTurtles.org tel. 717 2225 - 790 0433

  2. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  3. What are sea turtles? • Reptiles: • vertebrates • air breathing • have waterproof skin • lay eggs on land

  4. What are sea turtles? • Reptiles • Evolved from terrestrial • turtle (tortoise) • Archelon ischyros, • largest marine turtle, • known to have lived • 70 million years ago • Turtle species we see now have existed • for about 20 million years Archelon ischyros

  5. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  6. Worldwide 7 sea turtle species Bonaire 3 regularly seen species 2 rarely seen species Found elsewhere Kemp’s Ridley Flatback turtle Hawksbill Loggerhead Green turtle Olive Ridley Leatherback

  7. Green turtle Turtuga blanku Chelonia mydas Hawksbill turtle Turtuga karet Eretmochelys imbricata

  8. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  9. Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • Some survey and tagging program objectives: • make an accurate count of turtles by species • locate the foraging habitats most used by turtles • measure how fast individual turtles are growing • determine how much turtles move around

  10. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  11. Sea turtle general life history

  12. Turtle diving behavior • turtles living on reefs are active during day, mostly resting at night • surfacing every 20-60 min • depth range of juvenile hawksbills to 50 meters, adults to 200 meters • leatherback turtles can dive to depths >1000 m Depth (m)

  13. Sea turtle behaviors Photo by Ellen Muller • Resting • Feeding Photo by Ellen Muller • Mating • other behaviors

  14. Turtle migratory behavior • where do turtles go after they are done laying nests on Bonaire? • two hawksbill turtles tracked in 2003 with satellite transmitters • two hawksbills, one green and one loggerhead tracked in 2004 with satellite transmitters

  15. ‘Extra’ ‘Funny’ ‘Nautila’ ‘STINAPA’ ‘Schillie’ ‘Tom’ Satellite Tracking 2003 & 2004

  16. Turtle Migratory Behavior Satellite Tracking 2003 and 2004

  17. Satellite Tracking 2005 • ‘Albert’ - male hawksbill fitted with transmitter 09 June • Captured off Ebo’s Reef • Sponsored by the cruise ship Freewinds Photo by Steve Jarrad

  18. Satellite Tracking 2005 • ‘Happy’ - female loggerhead fitted with transmitter on 24 June at SW Corner • Departed 29 June • Arrived Vieques Passage 18 July • Swam over 1100 km • Sponsored by the Rotterdam Zoo

  19. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  20. Sea turtle longevity • Sea turtles are slow growing • 15-30 years to maturity is typical • Adult turtles that we see may be • 15-60 years old

  21. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  22. For juvenile turtles you cannot tell males from females by looking at them • Only when adult do the males have long tails and claws on their front flippers

  23. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire?When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  24. Playa Benge Playa Chikitu BONAIRE No Name Lagoen KLEIN BONAIRE Main sea turtle nesting areas around Bonaire “Pocket Beaches”

  25. Klein Bonaire’s “No Name” nesting beach

  26. Hurricane “Lenny” damaged manyBonaire nesting beaches

  27. Bonaire sea turtle nesting calendar Primarybeaches• Chikitu W.P.• Benge W.P.• No Name K.B. • No Name K.B.• Pocket Beaches

  28. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  29. Sea turtle nestcharacteristicsGreen turtle: ~100 eggs per nest ~80 cm deep prefers open beachLoggerhead: ~120 eggs per nest ~60 cm deep prefers base of duneHawksbill turtle: ~150 eggs per nest ~50 cm deep prefers under vegetation

  30. Sea turtle nests hatch after about two months incubation

  31. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  32. Turtles vulnerable to predation, especially when small Survival ratio example for stable population: Hawksbill turtle female: lays 150 eggs per nest 4 nests per season one season every 3 years 12 year reproductive life (5 seasons) -> 3000 eggs produced during lifetime successful hatch rate of about 75% -> 2250 hatchlings produced during lifetime needs to produce 2 replacement adults (1 female and 1 male) -> stable population survival ratio: 2250:2= 1125:1

  33. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  34. Turtles threatened by: • exploitation at sea (turtle meat, shell) • exploitation on the nesting beach (eggs, turtle meat) • habitat destruction (such as coastal development) • disease (such as fibropapillomatosis) • fisheries by-catch • pollution (such as entanglement) Fibropapillomatosis occurs in green turtles at Lac Bay and Lagoen

  35. What are sea turtles? • How many species are there? How many around Bonaire? • Where around Bonaire do the turtles live? • How do turtles live? What is their behavior? • How old can sea turtles become? • How can you tell the difference between male and female turtles? • Where do turtles nest on Bonaire? When is the breeding season? • How big is a turtle nest? How long until a nest hatches? • What proportion of hatchlings will survive? • What threats do sea turtles face? • What can I do to help?

  36. What you can do to help: • Don’t pollute the sea • Keep vehicles off the beaches • Never buy sea turtle products, such • as “tortoise shell” jewelry • Report any turtles in trouble around • Bonaire to us immediately • Help out as a volunteer in our • research, conservation and educational • activities • Become a member or make a donation Visit us at www.BonaireTurtles.org Support Bonaire www.SupportBonaire.org

  37. SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION BONAIRE Sea Turtles of Bonaire Research, Conservation & Education info@bonaireturtles.org www.BonaireTurtles.org tel. 717 2225 - 790 0433 Support Bonaire Inc. www.supportbonaire.org

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