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    Nesting Ecology and Conservation of Sea Turtles in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea

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    Name:
    Tanabe_Dissertation_final.pdf
    Size:
    7.247Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Description:
    PhD Dissertation
    Embargo End Date:
    2023-11-15
    Download
    Type
    Dissertation
    Authors
    Tanabe, Lyndsey K. cc
    Advisors
    Berumen, Michael L. cc
    Committee members
    Jones, Burton cc
    Afifi, Abdulkader M. cc
    Brainard, Russell E.
    Program
    Marine Science
    KAUST Department
    Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division
    Date
    2022-11
    Embargo End Date
    2023-11-15
    Permanent link to this record
    http://hdl.handle.net/10754/685770
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Access Restrictions
    At the time of archiving, the student author of this dissertation opted to temporarily restrict access to it. The full text of this dissertation will become available to the public after the expiration of the embargo on 2023-11-15.
    Abstract
    In the Saudi Arabian Red Sea, two of the seven species of sea turtles are known to nest and forage along the coast, the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). As a result of some life history characteristics, sea turtles are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts. Under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the recent opening of its borders to recreational tourists, the country aims to develop several large-scale projects along the Red Sea coast, locally known as “giga-projects”. Thus, imminent pressures from coastal development highlight the urgency needed for multi-country cooperation in protecting sea turtles in the region. This dissertation aims to establish some baseline data and protocols for future work to meet the data needs of the relevant conservation authorities in Saudi Arabia. In particular, this thesis contributes new and important information to some of the identified knowledge gaps for the Red Sea region, including sea turtle habitat use, threat assessment (plastic and heavy metal pollution), and evaluating hatching success. I used satellite telemetry to understand foraging home ranges of hawksbill and green turtles, post-nesting migrations, and inter-nesting habitat use of green turtles. Additionally, I used photo identification to understand the abundance and behavior of turtles at a Rabigh fringing reef, in the central Red Sea. I assessed two anthropogenic contaminants as a threat to Red Sea turtles: heavy metal contamination and plastic ingestion. Heavy metal concentrations in the sand were evaluated at the largest green turtle rookery in Saudi Arabia, Ras Baridi, which is located next to a cement factory. I also assessed the concentration of heavy metals in the tissues of dead hatchlings found at Ras Baridi. Additionally, I studied plastic ingestion in ten deceased turtles found along the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. In my last data chapter, I assessed the hatching success of green turtle nests, and investigated clutch relocation as a possible method of increasing success. The final chapter summarizes the results from this research in the context of the 2004 PERSGA Marine Turtle Conservation Plan, and provides possible conservation strategy recommendations to protect Red Sea turtles
    Citation
    Tanabe, L. K. (2022). Nesting Ecology and Conservation of Sea Turtles in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea [KAUST Research Repository]. https://doi.org/10.25781/KAUST-W2BJ9
    DOI
    10.25781/KAUST-W2BJ9
    ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
    10.25781/KAUST-W2BJ9
    Scopus Count
    Collections
    Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering (BESE) Division; Marine Science Program; PhD Dissertations

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