Leatherback Turtles in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico: Foraging and Migration Behavior During the Autumn and Winter

Sasso, Christopher R.; Richards, Paul M.; Benson, Scott R.; Judge, Michael L.; Putman, Nathan F.; Snodgrass, Derke; Stacy, Brian A.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2021.660798

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The results also complement known migratory trajectories such as the loggerheads moving from north to south GoM (Girard et al, 2009;Hart et al, 2012;Tucker et al, 2014;Hart et al, 2018b). The use of deep oceanic zones in the GoM and WC by adult leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea) and younger life-stages of the other species during their oceanic dispersal, complements the intense and extended use of the study area (Putman and Mansfield, 2015;Aleksa et al, 2018;Putman et al, 2020;Evans et al, 2021;Sasso et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Marine turtle hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico and Mesoamerican Reef: Strengthening management and preparedness

et al. 2022

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Marine turtles are of the highest ecological concern in terms of conservation and restoration programs and marine territorial ordering. Marine resource-extracting industries have severe negative impacts on their populations and their habitats. Thus, private industries and decision makers require the best and most robust spatially explicit scientific knowledge for a sustainable and responsible operation and government administration. Therefore, the identification of marine turtle hotspots is a strategic milestone for ecosystem management and an integral ecological knowledge about any region. We identified and delimited marine turtle hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico and Mesoamerican Reef. We analyzed satellite-tracked data of 178 individuals belonging to four marine turtle species. We used Brownian bridge movement models to estimate space use surfaces and map algebra to weight and merge layers of multiple species, life stages, and movement phases. The Yucatan Peninsula and central Veracruz in Mexico, along with the Florida Keys and Louisiana coast in the US, harbor the primary hotspots where marine turtles aggregate. We defined four primary hotspots used for migration in the western Gulf of Mexico, around the Yucatan Peninsula, a northern route following the Loop Current, and a southern one towards Gorda Bank, Central America. This study is the largest assessment of marine turtle hotspots in Mexico and Cuba and supports strategies for reinforcing regional management actions for their conservation, as well as a stronger response and preparedness for tackling anthropic threats to these species. This milestone contributes to extending the knowledge frontiers about these species to a new level.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Marine turtle hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico and Mesoamerican Reef: Strengthening management and preparedness

et al. 2022

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“…The resultant output encompassed the identified HUAs in Aleksa et al (2018); thus, the inclusion of telemetry data was not necessary for this species. A recently published Leatherback telemetry study confirmed the HUAs identified using the previous telemetry and observer data (Sasso et al 2021). Insufficient data were available on Hawksbill turtles to identify HUAs using these methods.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 66%

Modeling protected species distributions and habitats to inform siting and management of pioneering ocean industries: A case study for Gulf of Mexico aquaculture

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Powell

Morris

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) provides a process that uses spatial data and models to evaluate environmental, social, economic, cultural, and management trade-offs when siting ocean industries. Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food sector in the world. The U.S. has substantial opportunity for offshore aquaculture development given the size of its exclusive economic zone, habitat diversity, and variety of candidate species for cultivation. However, many protected species rely upon habitats that overlap with promising aquaculture areas. Siting surveys, farm construction, operations, and decommissioning can alter the habitat and behavior of animals in the vicinity of these activities. Vessel activity, underwater noise, and physical interactions between protected species and farms can potentially increase the risk of injury or cause direct mortality. In 2020, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was identified as one of the first regions to be evaluated for offshore aquaculture opportunities as directed by a Presidential Executive Order. We developed a generalized scoring model for protected species data layers that captures vulnerability using species conservation status and demographic information. We applied this approach to data layers for eight species listed under the Endangered Species Act, including five species of sea turtles, Rice’s Whale, Smalltooth Sawfish, and Giant Manta Ray. We evaluated several methods for scoring (e.g., arithmetic mean, geometric mean, product, lowest scoring layer) and created a combined protected species data layer that was used within a multi-criteria decision-making modeling framework for MSP. The product approach for scoring provided the most logical ordering of and the greatest contrast in site suitability scores. This approach provides a transparent and repeatable method to identify aquaculture site alternatives with the least conflict with protected species. These modeling methods are transferable to other regions, to other sensitive or protected species, and for spatial planning for other ocean-uses.

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“…We identified a broad suite of aerial survey, tracking, and observer data that could be used to characterize important areas for sea turtles within the study area. Although we did not include telemetry data for leatherback sea turtles due to timing constraints for acquiring and processing the data, the combined KDEs encompassed the identified HUAs in [38,64]. For ESA-listed sea turtles and giant manta rays, avoiding or minimizing risk from aquaculture activities, particularly risk from entanglement, obstruction of migratory corridors, or alteration of foraging habitat, will be important to their recovery.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling protected species distributions and habitats to inform siting and management of pioneering ocean industries: A case study for Gulf of Mexico aquaculture

et al. 2022

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Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) provides a process that uses spatial data and models to evaluate environmental, social, economic, cultural, and management trade-offs when siting (i.e., strategically locating) ocean industries. Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food sector in the world. The United States (U.S.) has substantial opportunity for offshore aquaculture development given the size of its exclusive economic zone, habitat diversity, and variety of candidate species for cultivation. However, promising aquaculture areas overlap many protected species habitats. Aquaculture siting surveys, construction, operations, and decommissioning can alter protected species habitat and behavior. Additionally, aquaculture-associated vessel activity, underwater noise, and physical interactions between protected species and farms can increase the risk of injury and mortality. In 2020, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico was identified as one of the first regions to be evaluated for offshore aquaculture opportunities as directed by a Presidential Executive Order. We developed a transparent and repeatable method to identify aquaculture opportunity areas (AOAs) with the least conflict with protected species. First, we developed a generalized scoring approach for protected species that captures their vulnerability to adverse effects from anthropogenic activities using conservation status and demographic information. Next, we applied this approach to data layers for eight species listed under the Endangered Species Act, including five species of sea turtles, Rice’s whale, smalltooth sawfish, and giant manta ray. Next, we evaluated four methods for mathematically combining scores (i.e., Arithmetic mean, Geometric mean, Product, Lowest Scoring layer) to generate a combined protected species data layer. The Product approach provided the most logical ordering of, and the greatest contrast in, site suitability scores. Finally, we integrated the combined protected species data layer into a multi-criteria decision-making modeling framework for MSP. This process identified AOAs with reduced potential for protected species conflict. These modeling methods are transferable to other regions, to other sensitive or protected species, and for spatial planning for other ocean-uses.

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Leatherback Turtles in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico: Foraging and Migration Behavior During the Autumn and Winter

Cited by 7 publications

References 22 publications

Marine turtle hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico and Mesoamerican Reef: Strengthening management and preparedness

Marine turtle hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico and Mesoamerican Reef: Strengthening management and preparedness

Modeling protected species distributions and habitats to inform siting and management of pioneering ocean industries: A case study for Gulf of Mexico aquaculture

Modeling protected species distributions and habitats to inform siting and management of pioneering ocean industries: A case study for Gulf of Mexico aquaculture

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