Data from: High accuracy tracking reveals how small conservation areas can protect marine megafauna

Hays GC, Mortimer JA, Rattray A, Shimada T, Esteban N. 2021. Data from: High accuracy tracking reveals how small conservation areas can protect marine megafauna. Movebank Data Repository. https://doi.org/10.5441/001/1.r72ph75f

Abstract

Space use estimates can inform conservation management but relaying high-accuracy locations is often not straightforward. We used Fastloc-GPS Argos satellite tags with the innovation of additional data relay via a ground station (termed a “Mote”) to record high volumes (typically > 20 locations per individual per day) of high accuracy tracking data. Tags were attached in the Chagos Archipelago (Indian Ocean) in 2018-2019 to 23 immature turtles of two species for which there have been long-standing conservation concerns: 21 hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and two green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Over long tracking durations (mean 227.6 days per individual), most turtles moved very little. For example, 17 of 21 hawksbill turtles remained continuously in the lagoon where they were equipped, with 95% and 50% Utilisation Distributions (UDs) averaging only 1.03 and 0.18 km2 respectively. Many individuals, and both species, could use the same small spaces, i.e., individuals did not maintain unique home ranges. However, three hawksbill turtles travelled 100s of km from the tagging site. Our results show that for some large marine vertebrates, even small protected areas of only a few km2 can encompass the movements of a large proportion of individuals over long periods. High accuracy tracking may likewise reveal the details of space use for many other animals that move little and/or use important focal areas and where previous low-accuracy tracking techniques have tended to overestimate space use.

Keywords

Chelonia mydas,Eretmochelys imbricata,animal tracking,Argos,Chelonia mydas,conservation biology,Eretmochelys imbricata,green sea turtle,hawksbill sea turtle,Indian ocean,marine protected areas,satellite telemetry,sea turtles

Taxa

Taxon

Chelonia mydas

Green Sea Turtle, common green sea turtle

Taxon

Eretmochelys imbricata

Hawksbill, Hawksbill Sea Turtle, carey

Sensors

Sensor

GPS

DOIs of related Publications

https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2418

URI

https://datarepository.movebank.org/handle/10255/move.1347

BibTex

@misc{001/1_r72ph75f,
  title = {Data from: High accuracy tracking reveals how small conservation areas can protect marine megafauna},
  author = {Hays, GC and Mortimer, JA and Rattray, A and Shimada, T and Esteban, N},
  year = {2021},
  URL = {http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.r72ph75f},
  doi = {doi:10.5441/001/1.r72ph75f},
  publisher = {Movebank data repository}
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
ID  - doi:10.5441/001/1.r72ph75f
T1  - Data from: High accuracy tracking reveals how small conservation areas can protect marine megafauna
AU  - Hays, Graeme C.
AU  - Mortimer, Jeanne A.
AU  - Rattray, Alex
AU  - Shimada, Takahiro
AU  - Esteban, Nicole
Y1  - 2021/07/21
KW  - Chelonia mydas
KW  - animal movement
KW  - Eretmochelys imbricata
KW  - animal tracking
KW  - Argos
KW  - Chelonia mydas
KW  - conservation biology
KW  - Eretmochelys imbricata
KW  - green sea turtle
KW  - hawksbill sea turtle
KW  - Indian ocean
KW  - marine protected areas
KW  - satellite telemetry
KW  - sea turtles
KW  - Chelonia mydas
KW  - Eretmochelys imbricata
PB  - Movebank data repository
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5441/001/1.r72ph75f
DO  - doi:10.5441/001/1.r72ph75f
ER  -

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