INSEAD Annual Report 2023-20143 test - Flipbook - Page 18
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Bertarelli Foundation
Sea Turtle Conservation
Lead Investigator: Professor Graeme Hays,
Deakin University
Sea turtles typically undertake long migrations
from their nesting sites to their foraging areas and
are increasingly threatened by fishing, shipping,
plastic pollution, and climate change. This long term
sea turtle research programme is investigating sea
turtle biology and behaviour, and how they can be
used as indicators of where their habitats, such as
seagrass meadows, might be located. This includes
addressing long- standing ecological questions,
such as how sea turtles navigate during ocean
migrations and how the size and location of their
foraging sites shape their fine-scale movements.
Satellite tracking of adult nesting female sea
turtles identified the importance of the Chagos
Archipelago for green (Chelonia mydas) and
hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles in the
Indian Ocean. These tracking data are being used
to identify where the turtles go after nesting, for
example to the Seychelles or other countries in the
region. While all sea turtles nest on sandy beaches,
at the end of the breeding season each species then
travels to its preferred habitat – seagrass beds for
green turtles, and reef habitat for hawksbill turtles.
Therefore, as well as identifying key areas for
conservation, the tracking of sea turtles’ movement
shows where these habitats are distributed across
the Indian Ocean. Tags using the latest technologies
are also being used to assess the movements of
juvenile turtles and how they travel up and down the
water column. Data suggest that both adult green
and hawksbill turtles are foraging in deeper water
than previously thought, changing current thinking
on their foraging ecology. This research is helping
to inform regional policies relating to sea turtle
management and conservation.
