A Preliminary Assessment of Hawksbill Turtles In Palm Beach County - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

a preliminary assessment of hawksbill turtles in palm
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A Preliminary Assessment of Hawksbill Turtles In Palm Beach County - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

A Preliminary Assessment of Hawksbill Turtles In Palm Beach County Waters Larry Wood, Marinelife Center of Juno Beach, Florida Project objectives Characterize Palm Beach Countys hawksbill population structure Investigate the relationships


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A Preliminary Assessment of Hawksbill Turtles In Palm Beach County Waters

Larry Wood, Marinelife Center of Juno Beach, Florida

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Project objectives

Characterize Palm Beach County’s hawksbill population structure Investigate the relationships between individuals of this population and other populations Test the feasibility of photo-identification Investigate the role of hawksbills in the reef community Establish the importance of Palm Beach County reefs as developmental habitat for this Critically Endangered species

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Area of Focus

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shark canyon, a.k.a. n.w. double ledges nun’s ledge mid-reef yellowtail

02 0405 07 10 11 12 16 26 27 28 30 31 33 42 43 44 45

Larry’s ledge Jolly Jeff’s

47

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governor’s walk north double ledges turtle mound 6-7 windows, “south breakers” Ron’s rock teardrop

01 03 08 13 15 17 19 21 22 23 24 25 29 32 36 37 38 39 41

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Size class of captures (n=54)

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 0-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 straight carapace length (cm) # of captures

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Depth at capture (n=54)

5 10 15 20 25 0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 depth (m) # captures

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Photographic Identification

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Epibiont patterning

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Cranial scute pigmentation

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Results so far… 54 turtles captured in 51 days diving 24 confirmed re-sightings representing 13 turtles Longest records: 220, 250, 680* days All seen in close proximity to capture site Efficacy of hand-capture proven 21% have Milliporina (Hydrozoa) colonies on carapace

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The next year…

Tissue samples to be analyzed for stock assessment Blood collection for gender determination Begin to characterize reef habitats with digital videography Expand study area

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Many Thanks!

  • Dr. Anne Meylan, Amy

Fifer, Chris Johnson, Dave Cowan, Mike O’Neil, all dive assistants