Earthwatch's Tracking Sea Turtles in the Bahamas

This February, Earthwatch’s Swimming With Sea Turtles in the Bahamas research expedition dove into its second year of data collection. We expect close to 100 volunteers to participate in the research this year, including two teams of energetic teens who are considering pursuing the sciences as a career path. We will begin sharing results from this year’s research later in the year. In the meantime, here’s a message from Dr. Annabelle Brooks as she looks back on 2014:

          "Many thanks to you all for your support in this first year of our study. 92 Earthwatch volunteers came to South Eleuthera and assisted us in tagging 88 new turtles, in 5 locations as well as 60 abundance surveys, and 199 baited video surveys! Our habitat mapping project, although a tedious task, has resulted in close to 1,000 data points and we are in the process of creating digital high resolution maps of all our sites which will be a great help for our continuing studies. From the BRUV surveys we’ve recorded at least 6 different species of shark – but just as exciting were the swimming crabs, stingrays and turtles we also managed to capture!

          We had quite a variety of field conditions from “chilly” winter temperatures to a blazing hot summer and the odd storm and tropical depression but every team was able to contribute to our large study and we’re very grateful for that. Some personal highlights were catching our first hawksbill turtle in Half Sound, seeing an attempted predation on a turtle by a shark right before our very eyes in Winding Bay, and watching Cassidy (our Bahamian research intern Sept – Dec) finally get into the water and nearly catch her first turtle after several months of swimming lessons! Thank you all for making this a fantastic first year and I’ll keep you updated as we head into the second.   

          Best wishes,  
         
          Annabelle Brooks 
         Cape Eleuthera Institute"

None of these accomplishments would be possible without the ongoing support you provide as a caring and committed conservationist. On behalf of Dr. Brooks, our volunteers and staff, thank you again for all that you do for Earthwatch and for sea turtle rescue. We look forward to sharing more results and updates later this 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 exciting research from afar... you can dive right in yourself as an Earthwatch research volunteer! Please follow the link below to see which teams are still accepting volunteers. 

Links:

• http://earthwatch.org/expeditions/tracking-sea-turtles-in-the-bahamas

Thank you for supporting and following along with Earthwatch’s sea turtle conservation efforts in the Bahamas! Dr. Annabelle Brooks and her team will resume their research off Cape Eleuthera with the help of Earthwatch volunteers from June – November 2015. In the meantime, I’m pleased to share with you now some preliminary highlights from the data collected in 2014:

• 92 volunteers helped tag 172 turtles (including 88 NEW turtles) across 7 foraging locations. They also conducted 60 abundance surveys (plotting turtles using GPS), and 199 baited remote underwater video surveys (BRUVS).
  
  
• The BRUVS captured at least six different species of sharks, which are known to prey on turtles.
  
  
• Close to 1,000 data points were collected as part of a habitat mapping project, which will be used to create high resolution maps of all research sites.
  
  
• All turtles that had been captured before were captured in the same site as their first capture. Dr. Brooks says, “It has been remarkable to observe how attached they are to specific areas… This highlights how important it is to understand the dynamics within foraging grounds, and also how critical this habitat is for their survival.”

In addition to providing data for Dr. Brooks’ research, Tracking Sea Turtles in the Bahamas also contributes conservation-relevant data for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, which includes the endangered green turtle and the critically endangered hawksbill turtle.

None of this data collection would be possible without the ongoing support you provide as a concerned conservationist. On behalf of our scientists, volunteers and staff, thank you again for all that you do for Earthwatch and for sea turtle rescue. We look forward to sharing more results and updates after the 2015 fielding season begins in June!

Sincerely,

Heather Wilcox
Director of Annual Giving & Advancement Services

P.S. Remember, you don’t just have to read about this research from afar… you can participate in it directly as a volunteer! Our 2015 teams are still accepting volunteers. Visit Tracking Sea Turtles in the Bahamas to learn more about daily life on the ocean as a turtle biologist, or to take the plunge and reserve your spot as a volunteer today!

Links:

• Tracking Sea Turtles in the Bahamas