Increase in hawksbill sea turtle Eretmochelys imbricata nesting in Barbados, West Indies

Abstract

Nesting by hawksbill sea turtles Eretmochelys imbricata in Barbados, West Indies, has been monitored since 1992. Data from the index beach indicate that the number of nests may have increased as much as 8-fold over this period. The estimated abundance of nesting females on Barbados is 1250, suggesting that this eastern Caribbean island now hosts one of the largest rookeries in the wider Caribbean, with over 230 females nesting on the index beach alone. Given its extreme easterly position and the prevailing north-westerly current flow into the Caribbean Sea, Barbados is likely to be a significant contributor to foraging grounds throughout the region. Primary females, which are untagged and without tag scars, made up the majority of females encountered on nesting beaches in most years, suggesting that reductions in juvenile and sub-adult mortality, both nationally and regionally, are significant to the increase in number of nesting females. Females nest every 2.47 yr on average, although remigration intervals of individual females vary (range: 1 to 6 yr), suggesting environmental influences on nesting periodicity. The average clutch frequency estimated from the index beach was 4.1 nests per female, but that calculated from less intensively surveyed beaches was lower. Primary and Remigrant females differed in length, mass and clutch frequency; the results must be viewed with caution, however, as preliminary laparoscopic examinations revealed that some Primary females were not in fact nesting for their first season, and because differences in nest site fidelity between the 2 groups of females could potentially cause the differences in clutch frequencies estimated.

A New Approach to Mixed Stock Analysis that Informs on the Management and Conservation of Hawksbill in the Wider Caribbean: the Case of the Legal Fishery in Jardines del Rey, Cuba

“…Thus, the haplotype frequencies of Jumby Bay, Pearl Cays and Buck Island according to and Nr 1990s from both Dominican rookeries were assumed higher and similar values than the Nr 2000s respectively, based on the reported decline during these two decades. Nrs were recalculated for the Barbadian rookeries assuming that: 1) according to Browne et al (2010) the nesting on the leeward coast is 87.5% of the value informed in Beggs et al (2007), and 2) this proportion has been temporally maintained. As the Nr 1980s is not reported for Gales Point (Belize), we assumed the same value for the 1990s, and similarly the Nr 1980s and Nr 1990s of the Tobago rookery corresponded with the Nr 2000s .…”

Geo-political genetics: Claiming the commons through species mapping

“…While the science of genetics is somewhat inaccessible, the power in genetic arguments is compelling (a combination that may explain the misreading of by Beggs et al [2007]). Mortimer, Meylan, Donnelley (2007) pose the question 'whose turtles are they anyway?…”

“…Of the nesting beaches (source populations) sampled in Bowen et al (2007a), nesting in Puerto Rico (Van Dam et al 2008), Antigua (Richardson et al 2006), and Barbados (Beggs, Horrocks, and Krueger 2007) is increasing. Nest trends in Mexico are fluctuating (increasing according to Garduño-Andrade et al 1999); decreasing according to Abreu-Grobois et al 2005), and decreasing in Costa Rica (Troëng, Dutton, and Evans 2005).…”

Hawksbill nest site selection affects hatchling survival at a rookery in Antigua, West Indies

“…Among these are Barbados, Buck Island Reef National Monument, Mona Island, and Jumby Bay, Antigua (Beggs et al 2007, Richardson et al 1999, 2006, NMFS 2007. These encouraging results suggest that hawksbill populations can recover when adequately managed and protected.…”

“…Beggs et al 2007, NMFS 2007. One such population is found in Pasture Bay, Antigua, where researchers began monitoring turtles via saturation tagging in 1987.…”