Changing climate conditions globally are affecting the migratory and eating patterns of Hawksbill sea turtles in the Arabian Gulf, according to a joint project by the Emirates Wildlife Society and the World Wildlife Fund.
The Marine Turtle Conservation Project documented the behavioural reaction turtles undergo in response to the annual rise in summer sea surface temperatures.
It discovered that turtles migrate to cooler waters during hot months, demonstrating the potential effect changing global climate conditions could have on turtles in other parts of the world.
The Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) team initiated the project four years ago to gain a better understanding of the region’s Hawksbill turtles, which are listed as critically endangered globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Tagging 75 turtles endemic to the region, researchers documented important turtle areas, including feeding grounds that are critical to the survival of Hawksbill turtles from the southern tip of Masirah Island in Oman, throughout the waters of the south-west Gulf shared by the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
“Turtles spend most of their lives at sea,” said Marina Antonopoulou, marine conservation project manager at EWS-WWF. “Therefore, understanding the location and extent of their feeding habitats, as well as the potential overlaps with key threats is important for conservation actions to be effective.”
Hawksbill turtles play an important role in the Gulf’s marine ecosystem, despite suffering an 80 per cent decline in population the past three generations.
On a global scale, turtles face increasing pressures due to coastal development and habitat loss, as well as incidental capture by fisheries.
In the region, however, the turtle is particularly susceptible to habitat loss due to heavy shipping densities and increasing development of offshore drilling projects.
“The next step would be for the project findings to support the designation of new or expansion of existing protected areas to safeguard the various marine life stages of turtles, strengthening current protection of turtle nesting sites,” Ms Antonopoulou said.
EWS-WWF encourages governments and key stakeholders to use the project results to support the designation of marine protected areas, and implementation of dedicated conservation efforts.
The findings of the Marine Turtle Conservation Project present the first comprehensive understanding of post-nesting migrations, feeding grounds and behaviour by Hawksbill turtles in the Arabian region.
“The results not only help us learn more about the biology and behavioural movements of these animals, but also allow us to drive scientifically robust recommended actions forward for marine turtle conservation,” said Dr Nicolas Pilcher, scientific adviser to the project, founder of the Marine Research Foundation, and co-chair of the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group.
The team hopes that the project will help strengthen government and private sector conservation strategies at a local, national and regional scale as well as guide future measures in a bid to ensure the survival of the Hawksbill, and all other marine turtles.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
