Marine scientists have mapped previously unknown foraging grounds and migratory routes of Western Australia’s green turtles to support conservation of the iconic threatened species.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science-led study also examined where turtles spent time during the nesting season which will allow researchers to identify the area’s most important to them and to determine where this overlaps with industrial activity.
The project saw researchers tag 20 female green turtles nesting at WA beaches and track them with satellites. They then combined their data with that from a further 76 turtles tagged in previous studies.
AIMS marine ecologist Dr Luciana Ferreira said the ultimate goal in mapping the green turtle distribution was to provide the knowledge to help reduce the species’ potential interactions with human activities in the resource rich areas of Australia’s north-west.
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Image via Australian Institute of Marine Sciences
