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Ecology of sea turtles in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean / HOLLY STOKES

Swansea University Author: HOLLY STOKES

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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUThesis.68060

Abstract

Understanding population size, distribution and reproductive success is vital for management and conservation planning. For rare and elusive species in remote island habitats, this information is difficult to obtain. As female sea turtles come ashore to nest, data can be collected relatively simply fr...

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Published: Swansea University, Wales, UK 2024
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
Supervisor: Esteban, N., Börger, L., and Hays, G. C.
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68060
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first_indexed 2024-10-24T14:06:14Z
last_indexed 2024-10-24T14:06:14Z
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spelling v2 68060 2024-10-24 Ecology of sea turtles in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean 96886d40542c25794fe66b987f946240 HOLLY STOKES HOLLY STOKES true false 2024-10-24 Understanding population size, distribution and reproductive success is vital for management and conservation planning. For rare and elusive species in remote island habitats, this information is difficult to obtain. As female sea turtles come ashore to nest, data can be collected relatively simply from the nesting population. Although other life stages are largely understudied, juveniles tend to forage at coastal sites and so in-water surveys can be conducted to estimate populations and study space use. To investigate aspects of sea turtle ecology in the remote islands of the Chagos Archipelago, Western Indian Ocean, I used a combination of traditional surveys and modern technology (remote and in situ sensing) to answer key questions relating to population size and threats to reproductive success. Most of my research focussed on nesting ecology including clutch incubation conditions, nesting behaviour, hatching success, and predation risk. To assess population size in remote areas, I experimented with in situ sensing (e.g., UAVs, camera traps) and validated results with traditional methods (e.g., foot patrols, in-water capture) to assess nesting and foraging populations. The findings demonstrate the novel approach of camera traps to successfully count turtle tracks and how the combination of UAV surveys, mark-recapture, and satellite tracking can effectively estimate immature turtle population densities. A wide range of sand temperatures were recorded spatially and temporally across the archipelago providing conditions for both male and female-biased clutches.To place my findings within a broader context, I conducted global meta-analyses and literature reviews, reporting the largest immature population of the critically endangered hawksbill turtle, and the first observations of coconut crab and invasive rat predation on sea turtle eggs. These results address several knowledge gaps about sea turtle ecology in the Western Indian Ocean, highlighting the importance of the Chagos Archipelago for all life stages and demonstrating complimentary tools for monitoring endangered species at remote locations. E-Thesis Swansea University, Wales, UK Climate change, conservation, ecology, endangered species, green turtle, hawksbill turtle, Western Indian Ocean (WIO), Marine Protected Area (MPA), marine turtle 17 9 2024 2024-09-17 10.23889/SUThesis.68060 A selection of content is redacted or is partially redacted from this thesis to protect sensitive and personal information. COLLEGE NANME COLLEGE CODE Swansea University Esteban, N., Börger, L., and Hays, G. C. Doctoral Ph.D Fondation Bertarelli Fondation Bertarelli 2024-10-24T15:13:58.0732551 2024-10-24T14:49:26.9413056 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences HOLLY STOKES 1 68060__32704__4f686ab86613490b8db4251467df303b.pdf 2024_Stokes_H.final.68060.pdf 2024-10-24T15:04:48.8990452 Output 7762642 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true Copyright: The Author, Holly Stokes, 2024 true eng
title Ecology of sea turtles in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean
spellingShingle Ecology of sea turtles in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean
HOLLY STOKES
title_short Ecology of sea turtles in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean
title_full Ecology of sea turtles in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean
title_fullStr Ecology of sea turtles in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean
title_full_unstemmed Ecology of sea turtles in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean
title_sort Ecology of sea turtles in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean
author_id_str_mv 96886d40542c25794fe66b987f946240
author_id_fullname_str_mv 96886d40542c25794fe66b987f946240_***_HOLLY STOKES
author HOLLY STOKES
author2 HOLLY STOKES
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publishDate 2024
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUThesis.68060
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
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description Understanding population size, distribution and reproductive success is vital for management and conservation planning. For rare and elusive species in remote island habitats, this information is difficult to obtain. As female sea turtles come ashore to nest, data can be collected relatively simply from the nesting population. Although other life stages are largely understudied, juveniles tend to forage at coastal sites and so in-water surveys can be conducted to estimate populations and study space use. To investigate aspects of sea turtle ecology in the remote islands of the Chagos Archipelago, Western Indian Ocean, I used a combination of traditional surveys and modern technology (remote and in situ sensing) to answer key questions relating to population size and threats to reproductive success. Most of my research focussed on nesting ecology including clutch incubation conditions, nesting behaviour, hatching success, and predation risk. To assess population size in remote areas, I experimented with in situ sensing (e.g., UAVs, camera traps) and validated results with traditional methods (e.g., foot patrols, in-water capture) to assess nesting and foraging populations. The findings demonstrate the novel approach of camera traps to successfully count turtle tracks and how the combination of UAV surveys, mark-recapture, and satellite tracking can effectively estimate immature turtle population densities. A wide range of sand temperatures were recorded spatially and temporally across the archipelago providing conditions for both male and female-biased clutches.To place my findings within a broader context, I conducted global meta-analyses and literature reviews, reporting the largest immature population of the critically endangered hawksbill turtle, and the first observations of coconut crab and invasive rat predation on sea turtle eggs. These results address several knowledge gaps about sea turtle ecology in the Western Indian Ocean, highlighting the importance of the Chagos Archipelago for all life stages and demonstrating complimentary tools for monitoring endangered species at remote locations.
published_date 2024-09-17T15:13:56Z
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