Green Sea Turtles do Benefit from Protected Areas

A just published study in Biological Conservation by USGS researcher, Kristen Hart et al, reveals that nesting green turtles are benefiting from marine protected areas by using habitats found within their boundaries. Green turtles are listed as endangered in Florida and threatened throughout the rest of their range, and the habits of green sea turtles after their forays to nest on beaches in the Southeast U.S. have long remained a mystery. Until now, it was not clear whether the turtles made use of existing protected areas, and few details were available as to whether they were suited for supporting the green sea turtle’s survival. The USGS researchers confirmed the turtles’ use of the protected areas by tracking nesting turtles with satellite tags and analyzing their movement patterns after they left beaches.
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Citation:
Kristen M. Hart, David G. Zawada, Ikuko Fujisaki, Barbara H. Lidz. Habitat use of breeding green turtles Chelonia mydas tagged in Dry Tortugas National Park: Making use of local and regional MPAs. Biological Conservation, 2013; 161: 142 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2013.03.019