Research: Nesting Beaches

During the months of July and August, nightly patrols are carried out at WangAn Island, Orchid Island and XiaoLiuChiu by graduate students and volunteers, in search of nesting turtles. Each island has between 4 and 7 separate nesting beaches. Multiple teams are simultaneously dispatched to cover all the beaches throughout the night, between 8pm – 4am. Travel between the research stations and beaches are done by motorcycle or scooter. Constant radio communication is kept between the teams and the research station. 

During the night patrols, the following procedures are followed:

- Biometric data is collected: curved carapace length and width, straight carapace length and width.

- Satellite transmitters are sometimes attached to nesting female turtles.

- The health of nesting turtles is assessed, which includes determining the presence and/or degree of fibropapillomatosis, ectoparasite (sea turtle leach) assessment and collection, abnormality and injury assessment (boat trauma, entanglement trauma, shark bite, mating-related injuries, etc.).

- Biological samples are also collected from nesting turtles: blood samples, tissue samples.

- Nests are marked and protected from predation by feral dogs and two snake species that predate eggs and/or hatchlings.

- Data is collected from marked nests after the turtle has completed nesting: egg number, size and weight.

- Hatchling turtles are also studied prior to release:  checked for health and abnormalities, biometrics (same protocol as for nesting females) and weight.

Being the dedicated and hard-working team we are, there is very little time for rest at our stations. So during the daytime, an entirely different set of activities are carried out by our students and volunteers:

- Nest excavations are conducted, which includes determining hatching success, emergence success, nest success, failed embryo staging, embryo deformities and the collection of biometric data, assessment of health and deformity in any encountered hatchlings prior to release.

- Regular cleaning of nesting beaches involves removal of ghost nets, fishing line, and various forms of garbage ranging between plastic products and entire motorcycles. Fishing nets and lines are also removed from reefs through snorkelling or scuba diving.

- Educational presentations on sea turtle conservation and biology are provided for locals and tourists visiting the islands in Chinese, English or Spanish.

- In XiaoLiuChiu Island, we conduct in-water research related to population estimates and habitat use year-round.