Earthwatch's Tracking Sea Turtles in the Bahamas

With your support, Tracking Sea Turtles in The Bahamas has completed another year of critical data collection with Earthwatch Institute. This year, 7 teams of 68 total volunteers joined Dr. Annabelle Brooks and her research team on Cape Eleuthera to help tag and release turtles, conduct Baited Remote Underwater Video surveys, and map shelter and food resource availability across mangrove, coral and seagrass bed habitats. Three of these teams were specially designed and reserved for teenagers to give them an opportunity to test the waters of a future career in science.

Unfortunately, no volunteers signed up during the months of September, October and November. This has been a challenging year for volunteer travel, which is quite susceptible to severe weather, health scares, terror threats, political unrest and economic downturn. However, the research must go on. This is why your financial support is so incredibly helpful and impactful: donations like yours give Dr. Brooks and her staff the resources they need to continue their data collection, even in the absence of volunteers.

Dr. Brooks says:

We have gained insight into the seasonal trends of sea turtles and their predators and are able to start addressing some of the larger questions posed by this project. As we complete the third year of research in 2016, the large data set compiled will be analyzed and the insight gained will be ready to publish.

Looking ahead to 2017, 37 volunteers have already signed up to join several expeditions, so we are hopeful that this is a sign of volunteerism rebounding. In the meantime, thank you again for your ongoing support of Earthwatch’s sea turtle conservation efforts in the Bahamas. Your involvement will help researchers and the government create management plans that will protect the right habitats from development and give these threatened turtles the best chance at survival and recovery. We look forward to sharing Dr. Brooks’ analysis and conclusions from her 2016 work early next year.

With gratitude,

Heather Wilcox
Director of Annual Giving & Advancement Services
hwilcox@earthwatch.org
978-450-1208 

P.S. Remember, you don't just have to read about this research from afar... you can be at the center of the action as an Earthwatch research volunteer! Please follow the link below to see which teams are accepting volunteers for 2017.

Links:

• Sea Turtles Earthwatch Expedition Page

A note of thanks from Lead Earthwatch Scientist Dr. Annabelle Brooks following the conclusion of the 2015 fielding season for Saving Sea Turtles in the Bahamas, now in its third year of research:

Thank you so much for helping make 2015 such a successful year for this study. Your efforts were vital in collecting a vast amount of data, despite having to cancel a team due to Hurricane Joaquin, and also allowed us to see some incredible things in the field, including attempted predation events and turtles with missing flippers.

Throughout the season, field work was a very exciting and rewarding time. Our research teams completed 175 sea turtle abundance surveys, 255 baited remote underwater video surveys, 229 sea turtles captures (121 or 53% recaptures), and 8 accelerometer retrievals in 2015. We have gained insight into the seasonal trends of sea turtles and their predators and are able to start addressing some of the larger questions posed by this project. As we complete the third year of research in 2016, the large data set compiled will be analysed and the insight gained will be ready to publish.

2015 also marked a new chapter for the sea turtle research program. Evidence of poaching at field sites encouraged us to address the lack of awareness and enforcement of the sea turtle harvest ban. We therefore began a new collaboration with the Bahamas Department of Marine Resources to address this urgent issue. The data collected by Earthwatch volunteers will allow us to assess long-term population trends that will help determine if the regulation is an effective conservation measure.

This project also made it possible for school children from Eleuthera and Nassau to see sea turtles up close and learn more about their ecology and the importance of sea turtle conservation, which helps to raise local awareness and supports community engagment. The staff of the Cape Eleuthera Island School also ventured into the field to experience a day in the life of an Earthwatch volunteer. They were thrilled! These individuals are now part of the wider community of sea turtle advocates and conservationists.

I thank you again for supporting this important work.

Sincerely,
Dr. Annabelle Brooks

On behalf of everyone at Earthwatch, thank you again for your ongoing support that makes long-term research like this possible. We look forward to sharing more results and updates with you after the 2016 season concludes.

With gratitude,

Heather Wilcox
Director of Annual Giving & Advancement Services
hwilcox@earthwatch.org
978-450-1208

P.S. Remember, you don't just have to read about this research from afar... you can be at the center of the action as an Earthwatch research volunteer! Please follow the link below to see which teams are still accepting volunteers for 2016.

Links:

• Tracking Sea Turtles in the Bahamas Expedition