Rookery Profile: Pratas Island

English name: Pratas Island (Dongsha)

Chinese name:  東沙群島 (Dong-Sha-Chu-Dao)

View Larger Map Location: 20.7167° N, 116.7000° E

Sand type: Coral

Studied since: 1994 (only occasional, short research trips)

Predominant species: Green turtle and hawksbill

Interesting facts:                                            
- The area is controlled by the military; between 300 and 500 marines live here.
- This island is also involved in a territorial dispute between Taiwan and China.
- The island is semicircular in shape, with a shallow lagoon in the middle, which serves as a “nursery” area for a large number of lemon sharks (Negapryon brevirostris).

Selected readings:

Cheng, I-J. 2007. The nesting ecology and post-nesting migration of sea turtles on Taipin Tao, Nansha Archipelago, South China Sea. Chelonia Conserv. Biol. 6(2): 277-282.

Cheng, I-J. 2000. Sea turtles at Dungsha Tao (Pratas Island) and Taipin Tao (Spratly Islands), South China Sea. in Pilcher, N. and G. Ismail (eds.) “Sea Turtles of the Indo-Pacific: Research, Management and Conservation” pp. 59-68. ASEAN Academic Press, London.