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. 2023 Jul 11;13(1):11222.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-37942-z.

Inter-nesting, migration, and foraging behaviors of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the central-southern Red Sea

Lyndsey K Tanabe  1 , Jesse E M Cochran  2 , Michael L Berumen  2
Affiliations

Inter-nesting, migration, and foraging behaviors of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the central-southern Red Sea

Lyndsey K Tanabe et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Sea turtles are migratory with nesting and foraging areas in distinct and often widely separated habitats. Telemetry has been a vital tool for tracking sea turtle migrations between these areas, but tagging efforts are often focused on only a few large rookeries in a given region. For instance, turtle tagging in the Red Sea has been focused in the north of the basin. We tagged five green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at a nesting site in the central-southern Red Sea and tracked them for 72-243 days. During the inter-nesting period, the turtles showed high site-fidelity, with a maximum home range of 161 km2. After the nesting season, the turtles migrated up to 1100 km to five distinct foraging locations in three countries (Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Eritrea). Movements within foraging habitats were more wide-ranging compared to inter-nesting movements, with home ranges varying between 1.19 and 931 km2. The tracking data revealed that the creation of a relatively small marine reserve could protect the critical inter-nesting habitat in the Farasan Banks. The results also highlight the need for multinational collaboration to protect migratory corridors and foraging sites of this endangered species.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The tagging location of adult nesting female green turtles (Chelonia mydas) on Jadir Island, located in the Farasan Banks, 50 km from Al Lith in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. This small sandy island is within 10 km of Malathu, Dohra, and Marmar Islands, which all show evidence of green and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting. (Satellite image sources: ESRI and Earthstar Geographics on ArcGIS Pro v 3.1 https://pro.arcgis.com/).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Inter-nesting home range (95% utilization distribution) and core use area (50% utilization distribution) of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) tagged while nesting on Jadir Island in the central-southern Red Sea. Each turtle’s Platform Transmitter Terminal (PTT) is indicated in the upper right of the panels, along with the number of transmissions included in the analysis of inter-nesting habitat use. The red dot indicates the location of Jadir, where the tagging took place, and the map on the left shows the names of nearby reefs and islands. The scale is the same on the four panels on the right. (Satellite image sources: ESRI, Earthstar Geographics, and HERE on ArcGIS Pro v 3.1 https://pro.arcgis.com/).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Post-nesting migration patterns of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) tagged on Jadir Island (red circle) in the Farasan Banks, 50 km off the coast of Al Lith, Saudi Arabia. Each turtle’s foraging ground is marked by a colored star based on its Platform Transmitter Terminal (PTT). The Red Sea marine protected areas (MPAs) are shaded in green. (Basemap sources: ESRI, JEBCO, Delorme, NaturalVue Garmin, and NOAA ArcGIS Pro v 3.1 https://pro.arcgis.com/).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Foraging home range (95% utilization distribution) and core use area (50% utilization distribution) of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) tagged while nesting on Jadir Island in the central-southern Red Sea. Each turtle’s Platform Transmitter Terminal (PTT) is indicated in the upper right of the panels, along with the number of transmissions included in the analysis of foraging habitat use. Note varying scale bars on each panel. (Satellite image sources: ESRI and Earthstar Geographics on ArcGIS Pro v 3.1 https://pro.arcgis.com/).
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