Data on nesting marine turtles are collected opportunistically during DEC patrols of the Dampier Archipelago. The aim of the monitoring program is to determine what species of marine turtle nest on what beaches (and to what extent).

The Department of Environment and Conservation monitor marine turtles in Western Australia through various programs.

Monitoring, identification & counting tracks made by nesting turtles, nesting success and impact of humans, around Cemetery Beach, Pretty Pool Beach & Eighty Mile Beach (Caravan Park & Anna Plains Station).

To determine the long-term population levels and trends of the loggerhead turtle population nesting at Turtle Bay, Dirk Hartog Is. Volunteers were used to assist with observations of turtle nesting and egg laying, and assist with tagging of loggerhead turtles each night for six nights. The sandy beaches of Turtle Bay, at the northern end of Dirk Hartog Island, are among the few key WA nesting sites for the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta). (The nesting sites are very close to Cape Inscription). The species is considered the most endangered turtle that nests in the Australian region and is declared threatened under the WA Wildlife Conservation Act.

The Ningaloo Turtle Program (NTP) was formally established in 2002 and is currently an ongoing project run in collaboration between the Cape Conservation Group, DEC and WWF-Australia. The NTP is a community-based volunteer program involving both local and international volunteers. The aim of the program is to promote the long-term survival of turtle populations through the identification of key nesting beaches; monitoring of populations and assessment of trends at key index sites; identification of the level of threat of feral predators on nests; implementation of effective protection of important nesting beaches in cooperation with DEC; the generation and maintenance of community support for the program and for the conservation of marine turtles and their habitats; and the education of visitors and the community about marine turtles. The primary objectives of monitoring activities are to: 1. Determine the abundance of nests on specific sections of beach over specified time intervals for each species; 2. Identify the relative significance of specific nesting beaches to each species; 3. Establish the level of predation on nests; and 4. Determine the impact of human interaction on nesting success of each species. The Ningaloo region was identified as a significant area for turtle nesting. Beach surveys were conducted to identify the nesting turtle species, quantify the nesting effort and success, and to verify significant turtle rookeries.

Effective management of marine turtle data is essential to maximize their research value and enable timely population assessments and recovery monitoring. To provide such capabilities at the National Marine Fisheries Service, a comprehensive Turtle Data Processing System (TDPS, formally called Marine Turtle Data Management System) was created. The system was written in DBase III and Clipper and implemented on IBM/PC-compatible computers running under MS-DOS. As of 2003, TDPS was upgraded into Microsoft Access. The TDPS is modular, supporting data of various types. Cross-referencing and multiple-encounter analysis are enabled through a core database file of individual turtle identifications, based on uniquely-inscribed flipper tags and passive-integrative transponder tags.

The objectives of this project are to use novel satellite tracking methods to provide improved estimation of threats at foraging areas and along migration routes for oceanic stage sea turtles in the Northeast Distant Region of the Atlantic Ocean (NED) and to characterize the in-water habitats used by small, oceanic stage loggerheads (Caretta caretta) so that we better understand the features that likely define their nursery habitats and the potential risks and hazards to the smallest life stages of sea turtle. To accomplish these objectives, our strategy included collaborating with cooperative fishermen in the NED to capture and satellite tag small (30 cm length) loggerhead sea turtles. Using novel satellite telemetry techniques, we were to identify the fine-scale habitat selection, movements, and dispersal of small oceanic loggerheads in the NED.

This long-standing marine turtle tagging program monitors numbers of nesting flatback turtles on Cowrie Beach on Mundabullangana Station. New and remigrant nesting turtles are tagged and data (carapace measurements, egg counts etc) are collected. Data are sent to DEC's Science Division in Woodvale. DEC Pilbara Region produces basic summary reports to meet DEC Animal Ethics Committee requirements. These are held at the DEC office in Karratha.

This dataset consists of the home ranges and satellite tracks taken from eleven dugongs and ten green turtles. Methods: Fast-acquisition satellite telemetry was used to track eleven dugongs and ten green turtles at two geographically distinct foraging locations in Queensland, Australia to evaluate the inter- and intra-species spatial relationships and assess the efficacy of existing protection zones. Home-range analysis and bathymetric modeling were used to determine spatial use and compared with existing protection areas using GIS. Raw, unfiltered tracking data were collected using fast acquisition GPS satellite transmitters attached to six dugongs (three females and three males) and four adult female green sea turtles near Mabuiag Island, Torres Strait, Australia in July 2009 and September 2010, and five dugongs (four females and one male) and six female green sea turtles (five adults and one prepubescent) in Shoalwater Bay, Australia in June/July 2012. The dugongs were captured using the dermal hold fast technique in Torres Strait and the standard rodeo technique in Shoalwater Bay. At both locations, the dugongs were fitted with Telonics Gen 4 GPS/ARGOS marine units attached to a 3 m tether linked to a padded tailstock harness. The green turtles were captured using the standard rodeo technique, brought to Mabuiag Island (Torres Strait) or MacDonald Point (Shoalwater Bay), and fitted with one of four types of satellite transmitters (Sirtrack F4G 291A, Wildlife Computers SPLASH10 BF-273A and Splash10 BF-273C, or SMRU SRDL 9000x). Each transmitter was attached to the carapace using the methods described in Shimada et al. (2012). Each turtle was released from shore the day after capture. Dugong units were programmed to collect a GPS position hourly; turtle units every 30 minutes. All units were programmed with a five minute repeat in case a signal was not received when the animal surfaced. Home-ranges were calculated for each animal using data from the entire period in which they were tracked and were calculated using fixed kernel density estimation with bandwidths selected by likelihood cross-validation (CVh). Kernel densities and bandwidths were calculated using the Geospatial Modelling Environment (GME), an extension to ArcGIS, with a resolution of 50 m. For a more detailed description of the methods see Gredzens(2014). Format: This dataset consists of shapefiles for the satellite tracks (lines and points) for the 21 animals as well as shapefiles for the calculated home ranges. References: Gredzens C, Marsh H, Fuentes MMPB, Limpus CJ, Shimada T, et al. (2014) Satellite Tracking of Sympatric Marine Megafauna Can Inform the Biological Basis for Species Co-Management. PLoS ONE 9(6): e98944. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098944 Data Location: This dataset is filed in the eAtlas enduring data repository at: data\NERP-TE\1.2_GBR-Turtles-dugong-monitoing Change log: 2024-05-29 - Added interactive map of the resource link to Layer id: ea_nerp:TS_QLD_NERP-1-2-2-1_JCU_Turtle-dugong-tracking_2009-2012