WAMSI 2 - Kimberley Node - Project 1.2.2 - Key biological indices required to understand and manage nesting sea turtles along the Kimberley coast

Brief description

The main components of the project were: 1) to map the distribution of nesting beaches across the Kimberley in space and time; 2) define nesting stocks of green and flatback turtles; 3) develop understanding of their thermal biology and the implications of climate change; and 4) ensure Indigenous involvement through engagement, employment, participation, planning and training. Data includes (TBC) - Turtle track counts (onground) Cape Domett flatback; Raw geo referenced counts - Turtle track counts (onground) Eighty Mile Beach; Raw geo-referenced - Turtle track counts (onground) Multiple locations; Raw geo-referenced - Aerial Survey – turtle track counts (Jan 2014); Unprocessed images - Aerial Survey – turtle track counts (Jan 2014); Turtle track locations - Aerial Survey – turtle track counts (Jul 2014); Unprocessed images - Aerial Survey – turtle track counts (Jul2014); Turtle track locations - Priority nesting beaches by species; Processed locations - Weather Data – Cape Domett; Raw - Weather Data – Location 2 UWA (WAMSI) Eighty Mile Beach; Raw - Weather Data –3 Raw UWA (WAMSI) Short Term Deployments; Raw - Physiological datasets for flatback embryos - Genetic Samples for green, flatback and other marine turtles - DNA sequences (mitochondrial DNA for green turtles). Will be deposited on Genbank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genbank - Genotypes for flatback and green turtles ; Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (genotype – by–sequencing) will deposit on DRYAD digital repository (http://datadryad.org) - Genotypes of flatback and green turtles; Microsateliite DNA polymorphisms, will deposit on DRYAD digital repository (http://datadryad.org)

Lineage

Statement: Near complete coverage of the Kimberley islands and coast was achieved in an aerial survey over eight to nine flight days for summer nesting season and again for winter nesting season in 2014. We captured >44,000 georeferenced aerial images to analyse and annotate with classifications of terrain type, and to quantify the visual evidence of crawl tracks or nesting depressions (body pits). See final report for full methodology