Original provider: The State of the World's Sea Turtles Team

Dataset credits: The State of the World's Sea Turtles Team Oceanic Society IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

Abstract: SWOT - the State of the World's Sea Turtles - is a partnership led by Marine Flagship Species Program at the Oceanic Society and the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG), and supported by the OBIS-SEAMAP project at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL), Duke University. This online database and mapping application is built with sea turtle nesting and telemetry data contributed to SWOT since 2004 and also incorporates earlier efforts that produced the WIDECAST nesting database. Since 2012, the data collection and database management are conducted by the OBIS-SEAMAP team at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University.

Currently, SWOT collects data from a network of more than 550 people and projects (SWOT team) for the only comprehensive, global database of sea turtle nesting sites and satellite telemetry data. The SWOT team has provided global nesting locations and satellite telemetry data of all seven marine turtle species: green, leatherback, loggerhead, hawksbill, flatback, olive ridley, and Kemp's ridley. These data have been highlighted here and in annual SWOT reports, available freely in print and online. Furthermore, SWOT supports recommendations for monitoring effort schemes (minimum data standards or MDS) that will allow for comparison of long-term nesting abundance and trend estimates for regional and global populations of sea turtle species. All data contributed to SWOT must include MDS level information to facilitate a standardized global monitoring system for sea turtles.

In addition to collating sea turtle nesting and telemetry data, SWOT provides other geospatial sea turtle data, including species regional management units, georeferenced sea turtle mtDNA and nDNA sampling sites, and a nesting habitat suitability layer. These files can be viewed and downloaded for analyses from the SWOT mapping application (http://seamap.env.duke.edu/swot) once the OBIS-SEAMAP Terms of Use are agreed upon.

Species identification, morphometrics, tagging information, hooking locations, and gear and interaction characteristics are recorded by fisheries observers and NMFS researchers during incidental encounters with sea turtles. Pelagic longline, shark bottom longline, and driftnet observer data relating to the incidental capture of sea turtles during fishing activity are used in bycatch reports, sea turtle life history research, bycatch mitigation research, and for management purposes.

The ability to correctly and consistently identify sea turtles over time was evaluated using digital imagery of the turtles dorsal and side views of their heads and dorsal views of their carapaces

The database is a summary of records of: sea turtle size tags applied release and capture location are summarized in this database which is derived from paper data sheets submitted to the Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program CMTTP at the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research ACCSTR, University of Florida, Gainesville.

The Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) was formally established in 1980 to collect information on and document the stranding of marine turtles along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts. The network encompasses the coastal areas of the eighteen state region from Maine through Texas, and includes portions of the U.S. Caribbean.

Data are compiled through the efforts of network participants who document marine turtle strandings in their respective areas and contribute those data to the centralized STSSN database.

The publicly available reports from this system provide summary or detailed information about the stranding information for a selected year and other chosen selection criteria.

Radio transmitters attached to sea turtles captured in various fishing gear enabled us to track and measure surfacing time of each turtle. Determining location of each turtle required detection and direction (bearing) of radio signals simultaneously by two or more receivers in the area. From these bearings, the animal's location is determined via triangulation. Furthermore, because radio signals only transmit in the air, duration of detected signals can be used to determine length of time turtles were spending on the surface of the water.

Reason for SelectionAs a keystone species, even at diminished population levels, sea turtles play an important role in ocean ecosystems by maintaining healthy seagrass beds and coral reefs, providing key habitat for other marine life, helping to balance marine food webs, and facilitating nutrient cycling from water to land (Wilson 2010). Sea turtles use large areas of the ocean for feeding and reproduction, making them a good indicator of ocean productivity and overall ocean health. For example, Kemp’s ridley sea turtles nesting in southern Texas consistently forage in areas near the Yucatán Peninsula, the Gulf coast of Florida, the Mississippi River Delta, and the Texas-Louisiana shelf (Gredzens and Shaver 2020).Input DataGulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS) -GoMMAPPS sea turtle spatial density model outputs (version 2.2)Based on ship-based and aerial line-transect surveys conducted in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of America between 2003 and 2019, the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center developed spatial density models (SDMs) for cetacean and sea turtle species for the entire Gulf of America. SDMs were developed using a generalized additive modeling framework to determine the relationship between species abundance and environmental variables (monthly averaged oceanographic conditions during 2015-2019).Southeast Blueprint 2023 subregions– marine (combined Atlantic & Gulf of America)Southeast Blueprint 2023 extent2019 National Land Cover Database(NLCD)Mapping StepsReplace all values of -9999 with 0.Convert to monthly rasters for each species using the following fields: “Jan_n”, “Feb_n”, “Mar_n”, “Apr_n”, “May_n”, “Jun_n”, “Jul_n”, “Aug_n”, “Sep_n”, “Oct_n”, “Nov_n”, and “Dec_n”. Use the marine subregion for pixel size, snap, and extent.Use the loggerhead sea turtle data and the NLCD to create a mask to define the extent of the Zonation analysis. The loggerhead data represents the full sample area for the other species in GoMMAPPS. The area covered by the sea turtle models overlaps with land in a few areas. This mask removes from the analysis all landcover classes that are not open water (not a value of 11 in the NLCD) within the extent of NLCD. The resulting Zonation mask covers open water areas where there is both modeled data for sea turtles and NLCD data to remove land.To identify important areas for each species, use the core area algorithm (CAZMAX) in Zonation 5. Include each monthly density layer as a separate input and weight them equally.Reproject the Zonation results data to Albers Equal Area.Convert from a floating point raster with a range of 0-1 to an integer raster ranging from 0-100.Reclassify to produce the indicator values seen below so that 0-65 is 1, 66-70 is 2, 71-80 is 3, 81-90 is 4, and 91-100 is 5. The variation in values from Zonation below 65 was less helpful than the other higher classes so we classified all values from 65 and below as 1.Use the NLCD and the modeling extent of the source data to identify areas of land not used in the analysis and assign those pixels a value of 0, since they are outside the scope of this marine indicator.As a final step, clip to the spatial extent of Southeast Blueprint 2023.Note: For more details on the mapping steps, code used to create this layer is available in theSoutheast Blueprint Data Downloadunder > 6_Code.Final indicator valuesIndicator values are assigned as follows:5 = >90th percentile of importance for sea turtle index species (across larger analysis area)4 = >80th-90th percentile of importance3 = >70th-80th percentile of importance2 = >65th-70th percentile of importance1 = ≤65th percentile of importance0 = LandKnown IssuesWhile this layer has a 30 m resolution, the source data was coarser than that. We downsampled hexagons with an area of 40 km2 to 30 m pixels.Other Things to Keep in MindWe ran the Zonation analysis across open water areas where there were both sea turtle models and NLCD data present to discriminate between land and water. We did this for multiple reasons. We didn’t run Zonation across the full area covered by the GoMMAPPS data because the full files were very large and required long processing times. We also anticipated that Zonation would not have been able to computationally handle the full area. We extended the Zonation run beyond U.S. waters to try to account for areas of high mammal density just south of the Blueprint’s Gulf of America subregion. As a result, the various classes within the indicator do not cover equal areas within the indicator’s extent, as you might expect with a percentile-based indicator—they cover equal areas within the full analysis area, and then are clipped down to produce the indicator.Disclaimer: Comparing with Older Indicator VersionsThere are numerous problems with using Southeast Blueprint indicators for change analysis. Please consult Blueprint staff if you would like to do this (emailhilary_morris@fws.gov).Literature CitedGredzens C, Shaver DJ. 2020. Satellite tracking can inform population-level dispersal to foraging grounds of post-nesting Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. Frontiers in Marine Science, section Marine Megafauna, Special Theme Issue Research Topic: Advances in Understanding Sea Turtle Use of the Gulf of Mexico. [https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00559].Litz J, Aichinger Dias L, Rappucci G, Martinez A, Soldevilla M, Garrison L, Mullin K, Barry K, Foster M. 2022. Cetacean and sea turtle spatial density model outputs from visual observations using line-transect survey methods aboard NOAA vessel and aircraft platforms in the Gulf of Mexico from 2003-06-12 to 2019-07-31 (NCEI Accession 0256800). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. [https://doi.org/10.25921/efv4-9z56].Moilanen A, Lehtinen P, Kohonen I, Virtanen E, Jalkanen J, Kujala H. 2022.Novel methods for spatial prioritization with applications in conservation, land use planning and ecological impact avoidance. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. [https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.13819].Wilson, E.G., Miller, K.L., Allison, D. and Magliocca, M. 2010. Why Healthy Oceans Need Sea Turtles: The Importance of Sea Turtles to Marine Ecosystems. [https://oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/Why_Healthy_Oceans_Need_Sea_Turtles_0.pdf].

Green Turtle Nesting Sites and Sea Turtle Legislation throughout Oceania

Maps and associated data from the Turtle Research and Monitoring Database System (TREDS). A summary of the database can be found below.

The Turtle Research and Monitoring Database System (TREDS) provides invaluable information for Pacific island countries and territories to manage their turtle resources. TREDS can be used to collate data from strandings, tagging, nesting, emergence and beach surveys as well as other biological data on turtles.

TREDS can also be used to monitor and sustainably manage marine turtle populations as well as their nesting and foraging sites. This database is currently being trialed in Samoa, American Samoa, Vanuatu, French Polynesia and Fiji.

The upgrade and update of the SPREP Regional Turtle Database is an important component of the SPREP Marine Turtle Action Plan 2003-2007, which, in 2003, recommended that the Turtle Research and Monitoring Database System be developed further.

TREDS was developed through a collaborative effort by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, NOAA Fisheries, Queensland Government Environmental Protection Agency, South-East Asia Fisheries Development Centre and the Marine Research Foundation.

The development of TREDS continues with trials in a few SPREP member countries and territories before it is distributed to the wider SPREP region.

SWOT - the State of the World's Sea Turtles Project - is a partnership led by the Oceanic Society and the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG), with support from the OBIS-SEAMAP project at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL), Duke University. This online database and mapping application is built with sea turtle nesting and telemetry data contributed to SWOT since 2004 and also incorporates earlier efforts that produced the WIDECAST nesting database. Since 2012, the data collection and database management are conducted by the OBIS-SEAMAP team at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University.Currently, SWOT collects data from a network of more than 550 people and projects (SWOT team) for the only comprehensive, global database of sea turtle nesting sites and satellite telemetry data. The SWOT team has provided global nesting locations and satellite telemetry data of all seven marine turtle species: green, leatherback, loggerhead, hawksbill, flatback, olive and Kemp's ridley. These data have been highlighted here and in annual SWOT reports, available freely in print and online. Furthermore, SWOT supports recommendations for monitoring effort schemes (minimum data standards or MDS) that will allow for comparison of long-term nesting abundance and trend estimates for regional and global populations of sea turtle species. All data contributed to SWOT must include MDS level information to facilitate a standardized global monitoring system for sea turtles.In addition to collating sea turtle nesting and telemetry data, SWOT provides other geospatial sea turtle data, including species regional management units, georeferenced sea turtle mtDNA and nDNA sampling sites, and a nesting habitat suitability layer. These files can be viewed here and downloaded for analyses once the OBIS-SEAMAP Terms of Use are agreed upon.

SWOT - the State of the World's Sea Turtles Project - is a partnership led by the Oceanic Society and the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG), with support from the OBIS-SEAMAP project at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL), Duke University. This online database and mapping application is built with sea turtle nesting and telemetry data contributed to SWOT since 2004 and also incorporates earlier efforts that produced the WIDECAST nesting database. Since 2012, the data collection and database management are conducted by the OBIS-SEAMAP team at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University.Currently, SWOT collects data from a network of more than 550 people and projects (SWOT team) for the only comprehensive, global database of sea turtle nesting sites and satellite telemetry data. The SWOT team has provided global nesting locations and satellite telemetry data of all seven marine turtle species: green, leatherback, loggerhead, hawksbill, flatback, olive and Kemp's ridley. These data have been highlighted here and in annual SWOT reports, available freely in print and online. Furthermore, SWOT supports recommendations for monitoring effort schemes (minimum data standards or MDS) that will allow for comparison of long-term nesting abundance and trend estimates for regional and global populations of sea turtle species. All data contributed to SWOT must include MDS level information to facilitate a standardized global monitoring system for sea turtles.In addition to collating sea turtle nesting and telemetry data, SWOT provides other geospatial sea turtle data, including species regional management units, georeferenced sea turtle mtDNA and nDNA sampling sites, and a nesting habitat suitability layer. These files can be viewed here and downloaded for analyses once the OBIS-SEAMAP Terms of Use are agreed upon.

SWOT - the State of the World's Sea Turtles Project - is a partnership led by the Oceanic Society and the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG), with support from the OBIS-SEAMAP project at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL), Duke University. This online database and mapping application is built with sea turtle nesting and telemetry data contributed to SWOT since 2004 and also incorporates earlier efforts that produced the WIDECAST nesting database. Since 2012, the data collection and database management are conducted by the OBIS-SEAMAP team at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University.Currently, SWOT collects data from a network of more than 550 people and projects (SWOT team) for the only comprehensive, global database of sea turtle nesting sites and satellite telemetry data. The SWOT team has provided global nesting locations and satellite telemetry data of all seven marine turtle species: green, leatherback, loggerhead, hawksbill, flatback, olive and Kemp's ridley. These data have been highlighted here and in annual SWOT reports, available freely in print and online. Furthermore, SWOT supports recommendations for monitoring effort schemes (minimum data standards or MDS) that will allow for comparison of long-term nesting abundance and trend estimates for regional and global populations of sea turtle species. All data contributed to SWOT must include MDS level information to facilitate a standardized global monitoring system for sea turtles.In addition to collating sea turtle nesting and telemetry data, SWOT provides other geospatial sea turtle data, including species regional management units, georeferenced sea turtle mtDNA and nDNA sampling sites, and a nesting habitat suitability layer. These files can be viewed here and downloaded for analyses once the OBIS-SEAMAP Terms of Use are agreed upon.

The Mississippi Coastal Improvement Program (MsCIP) Monitoring and Adaptive Management Program (MAMP) notes that five sea turtle species are found in the northern Gulf of Mexico, including loggerhead, green, Kemp’s ridley, leatherback, and hawksbill. Green, loggerhead, and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are regularly documented in the waters surrounding the barrier islands of Gulf Islands National Seashore. Of these, only loggerhead sea turtles have been confirmed as nesting on the islands in the Mississippi Sound and they are the only species with designated critical habitat within the island chain (Horn and Petit Bois Islands). Green sea turtle nests have been found on the Mississippi islands; however, these nests are likely uncommon. Though never documented, Kemp’s ridley sea turtles could nest on the islands. Leatherback and hawksbill sea turtles may be seen in the barrier island waters, but there are no confirmed nest records within the barrier island project area. A subtask of th ...

SWOT - the State of the World's Sea Turtles Project - is a partnership led by the Oceanic Society and the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG), with support from the OBIS-SEAMAP project at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL), Duke University. This online database and mapping application is built with sea turtle nesting and telemetry data contributed to SWOT since 2004 and also incorporates earlier efforts that produced the WIDECAST nesting database. Since 2012, the data collection and database management are conducted by the OBIS-SEAMAP team at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University.Currently, SWOT collects data from a network of more than 550 people and projects (SWOT team) for the only comprehensive, global database of sea turtle nesting sites and satellite telemetry data. The SWOT team has provided global nesting locations and satellite telemetry data of all seven marine turtle species: green, leatherback, loggerhead, hawksbill, flatback, olive and Kemp's ridley. These data have been highlighted here and in annual SWOT reports, available freely in print and online. Furthermore, SWOT supports recommendations for monitoring effort schemes (minimum data standards or MDS) that will allow for comparison of long-term nesting abundance and trend estimates for regional and global populations of sea turtle species. All data contributed to SWOT must include MDS level information to facilitate a standardized global monitoring system for sea turtles.In addition to collating sea turtle nesting and telemetry data, SWOT provides other geospatial sea turtle data, including species regional management units, georeferenced sea turtle mtDNA and nDNA sampling sites, and a nesting habitat suitability layer. These files can be viewed here and downloaded for analyses once the OBIS-SEAMAP Terms of Use are agreed upon.

Original provider: AusTurtle Inc.

Dataset credits: Data provider Bare Sand Island Flatback, Green and HawksbillPrg Originating data center Satellite Tracking and Analysis Tool (STAT) Project partner Research Institute of the Environment and Livelihoods Charles Darwin University, AusTurtle Inc. Cardno Ecology Lab, Inpex,

Abstract: Flatback sea turtles were fitted with a slip-on harness (turtle girdle) with Wildlife Computer Splash tags as they returned to the water after nesting on Bare Sand Island.

Supplemental information: Visit STAT's project page for additional information.

This dataset is a summarized representation of the telemetry locations aggregated per species per 1-degree cell.

This database serves to summarize over 100 years of sea turtle epibiont research. We conducted a two-tiered literature search to compile all records of sea turtle-epibiont interactions along with their associated metadata. A structured search was conducted in Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Sea Turtle Online Bibliography (Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, University of Florida), then an unstructured literature search was conducted by reviewing the reference lists of all relevant publications and reports from the structured search. We included any peer-reviewed scientific article, thesis/dissertation, conference presentation, and official report that contained information on sea turtle epibiosis. From each applicable reference, we extracted data on all reported sea turtle-epibiont interactions according to the data categories and descriptions listed below (Table 1 in Robinson and Pfaller 2022; https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.844021). We constrained our database to only include records of sea turtle-epibiont interactions from (1) turtles surveyed in the wild, (2) animal epibionts (i.e., Kingdom Animalia), and (3) macro-epibionts (>1 mm). For the seven global sea turtle species, we identified 357 studies conducted between 1886 and 2024 that included a combined total of 1,952 sea turtle-epibiont interactions involving 374 unique epibiont taxa from 11 Phyla. Methods Methods used to develop this global database are described in Robinson and Pfaller (2022) (https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.844021). We conducted a two-tiered literature search to compile all records of sea turtle-epibiont interactions along with their associated metadata. A structured search was conducted in Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Sea Turtle Online Bibliography (Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, University of Florida), then an unstructured literature search was conducted by reviewing the reference lists of all relevant publications and reports from the structured search. We included any peer-reviewed scientific article, thesis/dissertation, conference presentation, and official report that contained information on sea turtle epibiosis. From each applicable reference, we extracted data on all reported sea turtle-epibiont interactions according to the data categories and descriptions listed below (Table 1 in Robinson and Pfaller 2022; doi link when available). We constrained our database to only include records of sea turtle-epibiont interactions from (1) turtles surveyed in the wild, (2) animal epibionts (i.e., Kingdom Animalia), and (3) macro-epibionts (>1 mm).

Sea turtles captured in various fishing gear (pound nets, long haul seines, gill nets) were outfitted with satellite transmitters so that their movements, migratory pathways and foraging behavior could be tracked. Despite their greater expense, satellite transmitters enable the researcher to determine long-range movements of sea turtles in comparison to acoustic and radio transmitters which delineate fine scale movements and habitat preferences. Furthermore, satellite transmitters have the capability of measuring and recording water temperature along with dive depth and duration of each tagged sea turtle. Finally, time spent on the surface can be measured and recorded.

This mapping identifies known beaches and surrounding rocky coastlines that are nesting areas for sea turtles that are listed as 'threatened' wildlife defined under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA).Nesting areas in this mapping are categorised as:- very significant - over 40% of the species or genetic stock rely on the nesting area- significant - over 1% of the species or genetic stock rely on the nesting area- present - below 1% of the species or genetic stock rely on the nesting area

The objectives of this project are to use novel satellite tracking methods to provide improved estimation of threats at foraging areas and along migration routes for oceanic stage sea turtles in the Northeast Distant Region of the Atlantic Ocean (NED) and to characterize the in-water habitats used by small, oceanic stage loggerheads (Caretta caretta) so that we better understand the features th...

Loggerhead Turtle

© NMFS

© NMFS This layer is a component of Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Distribution by Lease Block.mxd.

The data was created by digitizing range information from public and agency sources. These sources include OBIS the Ocean Biogeographic System (iobis.org), natural history guidebooks (National Audubon Society. 2002. Guide to Marine Mammals of the World), recovery and conservation plans, listing actions and status reports, and other agency sources. All resulting range polygons were then reviewed and approved by expert NMFS biologists specializing in the species and were finally approved by NMFS Office of Protected Resources management team. Range data include information on the range of all life stages. Offshore distances are approximate for some species as sampling and distribution information in deeper waters are often based on more limited and fragmentary evidence and studies.This dataset depicts the potential range of the species within the US Exclusive Economic Zone. Areas included may be used by only one or more life stages of the species so may not be occupied at all times or in all years or by all life stages. Common and/or other potential uses of this data set: Whenever Federal agencies authorize, fund, or carry out actions that may jeopardize the survival or recovery or affect listed critical habitat for an endangered species, they must consult with NMFS under Section 7 of the ESA. Federal agencies may not undertake, authorize or fund activities that are likely to adversely modify or destroy CH or jeopardize the continued existence of a species. If NMFS determines through consultation, that a proposed activity is likely to destroy or adversely modify critical habitat or jeopardize a species, it will work with the Federal agency to develop reasonable and prudent alternatives to the activity. These restrictions apply to those under U.S. jurisdiction in both the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and on the high seas as well as to any project by a Federal agency worldwide. These range data may be used to help action agencies and other interested parties assess the potential for interactions with ESA listed species. The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits taking, possessing, or harassing all marine mammals by any person or vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction on land, in the US Exclusive Economic Zone, and on the high seas. NMFS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issue authorizations to take marine mammals for specific activities including research, incidental take, harvest by native Alaskans, public display and education facilities, and stranding and emergency response operations. Other provisions apply to commercial fishery interactions with marine mammals. These range data may be useful to any of the above stakeholder groups. Effects on any of these species may also need to be considered when action agencies fulfill their responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). These data may also be of assistance in that process. Data users can contact the NMFS Office of Protected Resources at (301) 713-1401 (Endangered Species) or (301) 713-2322 (Marine Mammal Protection Act) for further information or assistance.

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