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I am a masters student studying green sea turtle population genetics at National Taiwan Ocean University. I've worked in turtle conservation since 2007 - in Canada, Costa Rica, Taiwan and the United States. Let's talk turtles!

Thursday 10 April 2014

Thank you for visiting my page! I would like to use this blog to introduce the type of research and conservation work that myself and colleagues do in Taiwan.

Taiwan is a small, subtropical island nation located approximately 200km off the east coast of China, and includes several offshore island territories. The seas surrounding Taiwan are home to several species of sea turtle, and certain southern Taiwanese islands are used predominantly by nesting green turtles.
The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is the most commonly seen nesting turtle, but other species can be observed through strandings and fisheries by-catch. These are (in order of abundance):

Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta)
Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)
Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
Historically, green turtles nested throughout the main island of Taiwan. Over time however, the nesting populations were decimated due to egg collection and direct consumption of female turtles.

In 1992, Dr. I-Jiunn Cheng and his students at National Taiwan Ocean University began studying the sea turtles in Taiwan, and were able to design and implement protected areas in the offshore islands which sea turtles continue nest on. This is the team that I am proud to be a part of. I joined Dr. Cheng's sea turtle turtle research lab nearly two years ago.
Research is conducted by our team at the following rookeries; click for their profile:

WangAn Island – Located in the shallow seas of the Taiwan Strait, off the west coast of Taiwan. It bears several long, sweeping coral beaches and is home to the longest-running research program in the country.
Orchid Island (LanYu) – Formed by volcanic activity, Orchid Island is situated in the deep seas off the eastern coast of Taiwan. The lush green inactive volcanoes are reminiscent of some Hawaiian Islands, and it is home to black, volcanic beaches. 
XiaoLiuChiu Island – This island was formed by the emergence of an ancient coral reef. It has a small number of coral beaches suitable for nesting, and surrounded by lush, healthy coral reefs that host a relatively high number of sea turtles year-round.
TaiPing Island (NanSha) – A tiny, remote and military-controlled island in the Spratly Archipelago in the South China Sea.

The Pratas Islands (DongSha) – A remote, politically contested collection of three islands formed by a coral atoll, also controlled by the Taiwanese military. 

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