AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND SUMMARY OF SEA TURTLE SATELLITE TELEMETRY STUDIES CONDUCTED THROUGHOUT THE INDIAN OCEAN AND SOUTH EAST ASIA

ANDREA D. PHILLOTT& SMRITI JALIHAL

FLAME University, Pune, Maharashtra, India

#andrea.phillott@flame.edu.in

Download article as PDF

To supplement the study descriptions, findings and analyses published in the satellite telemetry special issues of the Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter (Issue 28 and 29), we compiled the bibliography below of all published studies for the Indian Ocean and South East Asia. Studies not discussed in a broader context by the contributed papers of Antonopoulou & Pilcher (2018), Hays et al. (2018), Mancini et al. (2018), Pilcher et al. (2019), Rees et al. (2018a,b) Richardson (2019), Robinson et al. (2018), Swaminathan et al. (2019), Tiwari et al. (2018) and Waayers et al. (2019) have been annotated. Table 1 presents the species and life stage tracked in each study, and Table 2 a summary of the proportion of tracking studies by region, species, and life stage and activity.

Antonopoulou, M. & N.J. Pilcher. 2018. Marine Turtle Conservation Project: Monitoring hawksbill nesting populations in the Arabian region. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 28: 15-20.

Attum, O., A. Kramer, T. Mahmoud & M. Fouda. 2014. Post-nesting migration patterns of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from the Egyptian Red Sea. Zoology in the Middle East 60: 299-305.

See Mancini et al. (2018) for overview

Bali, J., H.C. Liew, E.H. Chan & O.B. Tisen. 2002. Long distance migration of green turtles from the Sarawak Turtle Islands, Malaysia. In: Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation (comps. Mosier, A., A. Foley & B. Brost). NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-447. Pp 32-33.

See Pilcher et al. (2019) for overview

Behera, S., B. Tripathy, B.C. Choudhury & K. Sivakumar. 2018. Movements of olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) in the Bay of Bengal, India, determined by satellite telemetry. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 17: 44-53.

Satellite transmitters were applied to 11 female and three male olive ridley turtles at Gahirmatha during the mating and nesting season. Resulting tracks did not indicate common migratory corridors or feeding grounds, and turtles passed through both inshore and oceanic waters. Ten of the tracked turtles appeared to use multiple foraging grounds in the open ocean rather than consistently feeding in the same area. The authors conclude that the entire Bay of Bengal may be an important area to protect for olive ridley turtles. Some of the tracks described in this paper may also be reported in Sivakumar et al. (2010).

Bourjea, J., J.A. Mortimer, J. Garnier, G. Okema, B.J. Godley, G. Hughes, M. Dalleau, C. Jean, S. Ciccione & D. Muths. 2015. Population structure enhances perspectives on regional management of the western Indian Ocean green turtle. Conservation Genetics 16: 1069-1083.

Post-nesting tracks of four green turtles in the Amirantes Islands revealed limited distribution and supported genetic data indicating limited links with other green turtle stocks in the South West Indian Ocean.

Christiansen, F., N. Esteban, J.A. Mortimer, A.M. Dujon & G.C. Hays. 2017. Diel and seasonal patterns in activity and home range size of green turtles on their foraging grounds revealed by extended Fastloc GPS tracking. Marine Biology 164: 10.

See Hays et al. (2018) for overview

Dalleau, M., S. Benhamou, J. Sudre, S. Ciccione & J. Bourjea. 2014. The spatial ecology of juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Indian Ocean sheds light on the “lost years” mystery. Marine Biology 161: 1835-1849.

Eighteen juvenile loggerhead turtles, caught as bycatch and released after rehabilitation, were tracked from Reunion Island to determine oceanic movements. Trans-oceanic and trans-equatorial migrations were recorded. Links to foraging areas used by turtles nesting in Oman were confirmed.

Esteban, N., J.A. Mortimer & G.C. Hays. 2017. How numbers of nesting sea turtles can be over-estimated by nearly a factor of two. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 284: 20162581.

See Hays et al. (2018) for overview

Esteban, N., R.K.F. Unsworth, J.B.Q. Gourlay & G.C. Hays. 2018. The discovery of deep-water seagrass meadows in a pristine Indian Ocean wilderness revealed by tracking green turtles. Marine Pollution Biology 134: 99-105.

To locate seagrass meadows anecdotally reported from the Great Chagos Bank, nesting green sea turtles (n=18) at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago were equipped with satellite transmitters at the end of the nesting season and tracked as they migrated to their foraging grounds. Four such animals travelled to the Great Chagos Bank, from where their repeat locations were surveyed to describe seagrass assemblages. See also Hays et al. (2014).

Garnier, J., N. Hill, A. Guissamulo, I. Silva, M. Witt & B. Godley. 2012. Status and community-based conservation of marine turtles in the northern Querimbas Islands (Mozambique). Oryx 46: 359-367.

To study nesting and migration patterns, four nesting green turtles were tracked to their foraging grounds in Tanzania, Kenya and Madagascar. Migration paths passed through coastal and oceanic waters in up to seven marine conservation areas across the four countries.

Galli. S., P. Gaspar, S. Fossette, B. Calmettes, G.C. Hays, J.R.E. Lutjeharms & P. Luschi. 2012. Orientation of migrating leatherback turtles in relation to ocean currents. Animal Behaviour 84: 1491-1500.

See Robinson et al. (2018) for overview

Hamel, M.A., C.R. McMahon & C. Bradshaw. 2008. Flexible inter-nesting behaviour of generalist olive ridley turtles in Australia. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 359: 47-54.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Harris, L.R., R. Nel, H. Oosthuizen, M. Meÿer, D. Kotze, D. Anders, S. McCue & S. Bachoo. 2015. Paper-efficient multi-species conservation and management are not always field-effective: The status and future of Western Indian Ocean leatherbacks. Biological Conservation 191: 383-390.

See Robinson et al. (2018) for overview

Harris, L.R., R. Nel, H. Oosthuizen, M. Meÿer, D. Kotze, D. Anders, S. McCue & S. Bachoo. 2017. Managing conflicts between economic activities and threatened migratory marine species toward creating a multiobjective blue economy. Conservation Biology 32: 411-423.

See Robinson et al. (2018) for overview

Hays, G.C., J.A. Mortimer & N. Esteban. 2018. Satellite tracking green turtles in the Chagos Islands. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 28: 8-10.

Hays, G.C., J.A. Mortimer, D. Ierodiaconou & N. Esteban. 2014. Use of long-distance migration patterns of an endangered species to inform conservation planning for the world’s largest marine protected area. Conservation Biology 28: 1636-1644.

See Hays et al. (2018) for overview

Hitipeuw, C., P.H. Dutton, S. Benson, J. Thebu & J. Bakarbessy. 2007. Population status and interesting movement of leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coariacea, nesting on the northwest coast of Papua, Indonesia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 6: 28-36.

The inter-nesting tracks of 10 leatherback turtles revealed use of nearshore waters adjacent to the nesting beach and within the archipelago. Some tracked turtles nested at other beaches during the study, and the authors recommended this be taken into consideration when planning protected marine areas.

Hoenner, X., S.D. Whiting, M. Hamann, C.J. Limpus, M.A. Hindell & C.R. McMahon. 2015. High-resolution movements of critically endangered hawksbill turtles help elucidate conservation requirements in northern Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 67: 1263-1278.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Hughes, G.R., P. Luschi, R. Mencacci & F. Papi. 1998. The 7000-km oceanic journey of a leatherback turtle tracked by satellite. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 229: 209-217.

See Robinson et al. (2018) for overview

Khan, A. 2013. Pakistan Wetlands Programme’s marine turtle conservation efforts on Daran Beach, Jiwani, Pakistan. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 17: 26-30.

Post-nesting green turtles (n=15) were tracked from Daran Beach, Pakistan. Three turtles were presumed to have been picked up by boats (as indicated by straight track lines for several days to arrive in Gulf States), but natural movements of the remaining twelve turtles were recorded. Turtles were tracked within Pakistani waters as well as to India, Iran, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Kennett, R., N. Munungurritj & D. Yunupingu. 2004. Migration patterns of marine turtles in the Gulf of Carpentaria, northern Australia: Implications for Aboriginal management. Wildlife Research 31: 241-248.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Lambardi, P., J.R.E. Lutjeharms, R. Mencacci, G.C. Hays & P. Luschi. 2008. Influence of ocean currents on long-distance movement of leatherback sea turtles in the Southwest Indian Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series 353: 289-301.

See Robinson et al (2018) for overview

Lambert, K., X. Hoenner, G. Enever, P. Mamarilka, S. Lalara, R. Lalara, C.R. McMahon & S.D. Whiting. 2015. Satellite tracking of hawksbill turtles on Groote Eylandt. In: Proceedings of the Second Australian and Second Western Australian Marine Turtle Symposia, Perth, 25-27 August 2014. (eds. Whiting, S.D. & T. Tucker). Department of Environment and Conservation, Perth WA, Australia. Pp 54-56.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Lau, M.M., S. Ruqaiyah, A. Devadasan, G.S. Duraisingham & R. Zulkifli. 2009. Satellite tracking of green turtles and hawksbill turtles in Peninsular Malaysia by WWF- Malaysia. In: Report on the Third Technical Consultation on Research for Stock Enhancement of Sea Turtles (Japanese Trust Fund IV Program) (eds. Abdul Kadir S.A.S. & O. Abe). SEAFDEC-MFRDMD/RM/24. Pp 101-114.

See Pilcher et al. (2019) for overview

Liew H.C., J. Joseph, E.H. Chan, S.N. Ali & L.H. Sebastian. 2012. How do captive-raised hawksbill turtles perform when released back into the wild? In: Proceedings of the 31st International Sea Turtle Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation (comps. Jones, T.T. & B.P. Wallace). NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-631. Pp 195.

See Pilcher et al. (2019) for overview

Luschi, P., G.R. Hughes, R. Mencacci, E. De Bernardi, A. Sale, R. Broker, M. Bouwer & F. Papi. 2003a. Satellite tracking of migrating loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) displaced in the open sea. Marine Biology 143: 793-801.

See Robinson et al. (2018) for overview

Luschi, P., J.R. Lutjeharms, P. Lambardi, R. Mencacci, G.R. Hughes & G.C. Hays. 2006. A review of migratory behaviour of sea turtles off southeastern Africa. South African Journal of Science 102: 51-58.

See Robinson et al. (2018) for overview

Luschi, P., A. Sale, R. Mencacci, G.R. Hughes, J.R.E. Lutjeharms & F. Papi. 2003b. Current transport of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in the ocean. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 270: S129-S132.

See Robinson et al. (2018) for overview

Mancini, A., O. Attum, I. Elsadek & A.F. Rees. 2018. Satellite tracking studies show nesting site in Egypt is hub for adult green turtles of the Red Sea. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 28: 10-12.

Mau, R., B. Halkyard, C. Smallwood & J. Downs. 2012. Critical habitats and migratory routes of tagged loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) after nesting at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. In: Proceedings of the First Western Australian Marine Turtle Symposium, 28-29th August 2012. (eds. Prince, R., S. Whiting, H. Raudino, A. Vitenbergs & K.L. Pendoley). Science Division, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth WA, Australia. Pp 14.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

McMahon, C.R., C.J. Bradshaw & G.C. Hays. 2007. Satellite tracking reveals unusual diving characteristics for a marine reptile, the olive ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 329: 239-252.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Namboothri, N., A. Swaminathan, B.C. Choudhury & K. Shanker. 2012. Post-nesting migratory routes of leatherback turtles from Little Andaman Island. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 16: 21-23.

See Swaminathan et al. (2019) for overview

Pandav, B. & B.C. Choudhury. 2006. Migration and movement of olive ridleys along the east coast of India. In: Marine Turtles of the Indian Subcontinent (eds. Shanker, K. & B.C. Choudhury). Pp 365-379. Universities Press (India): Hyderabad, India.

Describes tracks first reported in Shanker et al. (2003).

Papi, F., P. Luschi, E. Crosio & G.R. Hughes. 1997. Satellite tracking experiments on the navigational ability and migratory behaviour of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta. Marine Biology 129: 215-220.

See Robinson et al. (2018) for overview

Pendoley, K.L., G. Schofield, P.A. Whittock, D. Ierodiaconou & G.C. Hays. 2014. Protected species use of a coastal marine migratory corridor connecting marine protected areas. Marine Biology 161: 1455-1466.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Pelletier, D., D. Roos & S. Ciccione. 2003. Oceanic survival and movements of wild and captive-reared immature green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Indian Ocean. Aquatic Living Resources 16: 35-41.

Captive-reared and rehabilitated, wild green turtles were tracked from different islands in the South West Indian Ocean to investigate oceanic movements of juvenile turtles. Wild turtles remained close to the release site, while captive-reared turtles demonstrated long-distance migrations. The authors infer that differences in behaviour between the groups may represent stage-specific habitat requirements.

Pilcher, N.J., L. Perry, M. Antonopoulou, M.A. Abdel-Moati, T.Z. Al Abdessalaam, M. Albeldawi, M. Al Ansi, S.F. Al Mohannadi, R. Baldwin, A. Chikhi, H.S. Das, S. Hamza, O.J. Kerr, A. Al Kiyumi, A. Mobaraki, H.S. Al Suwaidi, A.S. Al Suweidi, M. Sawaf, C. Tourenq, J. Williams, J. & A. Willson. 2014a. Short-term behavioural responses to thermal stress by hawksbill turtles in the Arabian region. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 457: 190-198.

See Antonopoulou & Pilcher (2018) for overview

Pilcher, N.J., M. Antonopoulou, L. Perry, M.A. Abdel-Moati, T.Z. Al Abdessalaam, M. Albeldawi, M. Al Ansi, S.F. Al Mohannadi, N. Al Zahlawi, R.  Baldwin, A. Chikhi, H.S. Das, S. Hamza, O.J. Kerr, A. Al Kiyumi, A. Mobaraki, H.S. Al Suwaidi, A.S. Al Suweidi, M. Sawaf, C. Tourenq, J. Williams & A. Willson. 2014b. Identification of Important Sea Turtle Areas (ITAs) for hawksbill turtles in the Arabian Region. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 460: 89-99.

See Antonopoulou & Pilcher (2018) for overview

Pilcher, N.J., J. Bali, J. Buis, E.H. Chan, A. Devadasan, I. Isnain, N.H. binti Jamil, J. Joseph, M.M. Lau, L.H. Chark, S.A. bin Syed Abdul Kadir, S. Ruqaiyah, O.B. Tisen, J.P. van de Merwe & J.Williams. 2019. An overview of sea turtle satellite tracking in Malaysia. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 29: 11-22.

Rees, A.F., A. Al-Hafez, J.R. Lloyd, N. Papathanasopoulou. 2013. Green turtles, Chelonia mydas, in Kuwait: Nesting and movements. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 12: 157-163.

See Rees et al. (2018b) for overview

Rees A.F., A. Al-Kiyumi, A.C. Broderick, N. Papathanasopoulou & B.J. Godley. 2012a. Conservation related insights into the behaviour of the olive ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea nesting in Oman. Marine Ecology Progress Series 450: 195-205.

See Rees et al. (2018a) for overview

Rees A.F., A. Al-Kiyumi, A.C. Broderick, N. Papathanasopoulou & B.J. Godley. 2012b. Each to their own: Inter-specific differences in migrations of Masirah Island turtles. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 11: 243-248.

See Rees et al. (2018a) for overview

Rees, A.F., A. Al Kiyumi, N. Papathanasopoulou & B.J. Godley. 2018a. The Masirah Turtle Conservation Project: The first turtle tracking on Masirah Island, Oman. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 28: 12-15..

Rees, A.F., S. Al Saady, A.C. Broderick, M.S. Coyne, N. Papathanasopoulou & B.J. Godley. 2010. Behavioural polymorphism in one of the world’s largest populations of loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta. Marine Ecology Progress Series 418: 201-212.

See Rees et al. (2018a) for overview

Rees, A.F., N. Papathanasopoulou & B.J. Godley. 2018b. Tracking hawksbill and green sea turtles in Kuwait reveals variability in migratory and residency strategies. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 28: 23-26.

Richardson, P.B. 2019. Where do they go? Satellite tracking of nesting turtles in Sri Lanka. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 29: 5-8.

Richardson, P.B., A.C. Broderick, M.S. Coyne, L. Ekanayake, T. Kapurusinghe, C. Premakumara, S. Ranger, M.M. Saman, M.J. Witt & B.J. Godley. 2013. Satellite telemetry reveals behavioural plasticity in a green turtle population nesting in Sri Lanka. Marine Biology 160: 1415-1426.

See Richardson (2019) for overview

Robinson, D.P., R.W. Jabado, C.A. Rohner, S.J. Pierce, K.P. Hyland & W.R. Baverstock. 2017a. Satellite tagging of rehabilitated green sea turtles Chelonia mydas from the United Arab Emirates, including the longest tracked journey for the species. PLoS ONE 12: e0184286.

Green sea turtles, rehabilitated and released off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, utilised shallow water habitats in the same general vicinity of where they had stranded. One adult female swam to the Andaman Sea, in what is believed to be the longest published track for the species of >8,000km.

Robinson, N.J., D. Anders, S. Bachoo, L. Harris, G.R. Hughes, D. Kotzke, S. Maduray, S. McCue, M. Meyer, H. Oosthuizen, F.V. Paladino & P. Luschi. 2018. Satellite tracking of leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles on the southeast African coastline. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 28: 3-7.

Robinson, N.J., S.J. Morreale, R. Nel & F.V. Paladino. 2016. Coastal leatherback turtles reveal conservation hotspot. Scientific Reports 6: 37851.

See Robinson et al. (2019) for overview

Robinson. N.J., S.J. Morreale, R. Nel & F.V. Paladino. 2017b. Movements and diving behaviour of inter-nesting leatherback turtles in an oceanographically dynamic habitat in South Africa. Marine Ecology Progress Series 571: 221-232.

See Robinson et al. (2019) for overview

Sale, A., P. Luschi, R. Mencacci, P. Lambardi, G.R. Hughes, G.C. Hays, S. Benvenuti & F. Papi. 2006. Long-term monitoring of leatherback turtle diving behaviour during oceanic movements. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 328: 197-210.

See Robinson et al. (2018) for overview

Sasimal, S.K. & R.C. Panigraphy. 2006. Influence of eddies on the migratory routes of the sea turtles in the Bay of Bengal. International Journal of Remote Sensing 27: 3115-3122.

This study examines the olive ridley turtle tracks originally described by Shanker et al. (2003) with reference to sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a and mean sea level anomaly. Eddies were determined to influence the migration of olive ridley turtles in the western Bay of Bengal.

Shanker, K., B.C. Choudhury, B. Pandav, B. Tripathy, C.S. Kar, S.K. Car. N.K. Gupta & J.G. Frazier. 2002. Tracking olive ridley turtles from Orissa. In: Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation (comp. Seminoff, J.A.) NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-503. Pp. 50-51.

Of four olive ridley turtles tracked from their arribada nesting beach south of Devi River mouth, three moved into waters off the coast of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh and one migrated south to Sri Lanka. End points for the turtles could not be confirmed, as the sudden stop in transmissions suggested fishery-related mortality. (See also Pandav & Choudhury, 2006.)

Sivakumar, K., B.C. Choudhury & S.R.B. Dissanayake. 2010. Joint turtle conservation programme of Sri Lanka and India: Sea turtles of Sri Lanka, also breeds in India and Maldives. Wildlife (Journal of Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka) 2010: 18-24.

See Richardson et al. (2019) for overview

Sivakumar, K., B.C. Choudhury, R.S. Kumar, B. Tripathy, S.K. Behera, S. Behera, S. John & V.P. Ola. 2010. Application of satellite telemetry technique in sea turtle research in India. In: Telemetry in Wildlife Science (eds. Sivakumar, K. & B. Habib). ENVIS Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Areas Vo. 13. Pp 139-144. Wildlife Institute of India: Dehradun, India.

In their post-nesting migrations, 30 olive ridley turtles tagged in 2007 at the mass nesting beaches of Gahirmatha, Devi River mouth, Rushikulya used common migratory waters ~200-400km offshore. Turtles originally moved towards the Andaman Sea then shifted south towards Sri Lanka. All tags ceased transmission within 6mo, suggesting fishing-related mortality or tag malfunction or detachment. Reinforcing the tags with additional fibreglass in 2009 resulting in longer transmission times for 32 tagged animals, with the study ongoing at the time of publication. Sivakumar et al. (2010) also tracked four olive ridley turtles during their post-nesting migration from beaches in Sri Lanka west towards the Arabian Sea. (Some tracks reported by Sivakumar et al. (2010) may also be described in Behera et al. (2018).)

Spring, S. & D. Pike. 1998. Tag recovery supports satellite tracking of a green turtle. Marine Turtle Newsletter 82: 8.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Swaminathan, A., N. Namboothri & K. Shanker. 2019. Tracking leatherback turtles from Little Andaman Island. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 29: 8-10.

Thums, M., D. Waayers, Z. Huang, C. Pattiaratchi, J. Bernus & M. Meekan. 2017. Environmental predictors of foraging and transit behaviour in flatback turtles Natator depressus. Endangered Species Research 32: 333-349.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Thums, M., J. Rossendell, M. Guinea & L.C. Ferreira. 2018. Horizontal and vertical movement behaviour of adult flatback turtles during the key phases of their life history and overlap with industrial development. Marine Ecology Progress Series 602: 237-253.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Tiwari, M., R. Baldwin, A.A. Kiyumi, M.S. Willson, A. Willson & E. Possardt. 2018. Satellite telemetry studies on nesting loggerhead turtles in Oman. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 28: 20-22.

Tucker, A.D., R. Baldwin, A. Willson, A. Al Kiyumi, S. Al Harthi, B. Schroeder, E. Possardt & B. Witherington. 2018. Revised clutch frequency estimates for Masirah Island loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). Herpetological Conservation and Biology 13: 158-166. 

See Tiwari et al. (2018) for overview

van de Merwe, J.P., K. Ibrahim, Y.S. Lee & J.M. Whittier. 2009. Habitat use by green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting in Peninsular Malaysia: Local and regional conservation implications. Wildlife Research 36: 637-645.

See Pilcher et al. (2019) for overview

Waayers, D. 2014. Marine turtles. In: Ecological Studies of the Bonaparte Archipelago and Browse Basin (eds. Comrie-Greig, J. & L.J. Abdo). Pp 213-272. INPEX Operations Australia Pty Ltd, Perth WA, Australia.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Waayers, D. & J. Fitzpatrick. 2012. Genetic affiliations and key habitats of marine turtles in the Kimberley region, Western Australia. In: Proceedings of the First Western Australian Marine Turtle Symposium, 28-29th August 2012. (eds. Prince, R., S. Whiting, H. Raudino, A. Vitenbergs & K.L. Pendoley). Science Division, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth WA, Australia. Pp 34-36.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Waayers, D., R. Mau, A. Mueller, J. Smith & L. Pet-Soede. 2015. A review of the spatial distribution of marine turtle nesting and foraging areas in Western Australia. In: Proceedings of the Second Australian and Second Western Australian Marine Turtle Symposia, Perth, 25-27 August 2014. (eds. Whiting, S.D. & T. Tucker). Department of Environment and Conservation, Perth WA, Australia. Pp 83-86.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Waayers, D., L.M. Smith & B.E. Malseed. 2011. Inter-nesting distribution of green Chelonia mydas and flatback Natator depressus turtles at the Lacepede Islands, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 94: 59-64.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Waayers, D., T. Tucker, S. Whiting, R. Groom, M. Vanderklift, R. Pillans, J. Rossendell, K. Pendoley, X. Hoenner, M. Thums, K. Dethmers, C.J. Limpus, A. Wirsing, C. McMahon, A. Strydom, P. Whittock, K. Howlett, D. Oades, G. McFarlane, T. Duke, M. Guinea, A. Whiting, M. Speirs, J. King, K. Hattingh, M. Heithaus, R. Mau & D. Holley. 2019. Satellite tracking of marine turtles in the South-Eastern Indian Ocean. A review of deployments spanning 1990-2016. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 29: 23-37.

West, L. 2014. The first documented case of foraging ground philopatry in a female green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in Tanzania. African Turtle Newsletter 2: 34-36.

A green turtle was tracked for two consecutive nesting seasons from her nesting beach at Juani Island to foraging grounds adjacent to Buyuni, both in Tanzania. The short distance migration (5 days of travel) followed a similar path in both years, suggesting strong fidelity to both migratory route and feeding grounds. Prior to the tracking results, Buyuni had not been recognised as a foraging area for green sea turtles.

Whiting, S.D. & A.U. Koch. 2006. Oceanic movement of a benthic foraging juvenile hawksbill turtle from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Marine Turtle Newsletter 112: 15.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Whiting, S.D., S. Hartley, S. Lalara, D. White, T. Bara, C. Maminyamunja & L. Wurramarrba. 2006. Hawksbill turtle tracking as part of initial sea turtle research and conservation at Groote Eylandt, Northern Australia. Marine Turtle Newsletter 114: 14-15.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Whiting, S.D., J.L. Long & M. Coyne. 2007. Migration routes and foraging behaviour of olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea in northern Australia. Endangered Species Research 3: 1-9.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Whiting, S.D., W. Murray, I. Macrae, R. Thorn, M. Chongkin & A.U. Koch. 2008. Non-migratory breeding by isolated green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Indian Ocean: Biological and conservation implications. Die Naturwissenschaften 95: 355-360.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Whiting, S.D., I. Macrae, W. Murray, R. Thorn, T. Flores, C. Joyson-Hicks & S. Hashim. 2010. Indian Ocean crossing by a juvenile hawksbill turtle. Marine Turtle Newsletter 129: 16-17.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Whittock, P.A. & K.L. Pendoley. 2012. It starts with one: Delineation of foraging and mating habitats used by a flatback turtle in Western Australia. In: Proceedings of the First Western Australian Marine Turtle Symposium, 28-29th August 2012. (eds. Prince, R., S. Whiting, H. Raudino, A. Vitenbergs & K.L. Pendoley). Science Division, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth WA, Australia. Pp 40.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Whittock, P.A., K.L. Pendoley & M. Hamann. 2014. Inter-nesting distribution of flatback turtles Natator depressus and industrial development in Western Australia. Endangered Species Research 26: 25-38.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Whittock, P.A., K.L. Pendoley & M. Hamann. 2016a. Flexible foraging: Post-nesting flatback turtles on the Australian continental shelf. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 477: 112-119.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Whittock, P.A., K.L. Pendoley & M. Hamann. 2016b. Using habitat suitability models in an industrial setting: The case for internesting flatback turtles. Ecosphere 7: e01551.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Whittock, P.A., K.L. Pendoley, R. Larsen & M. Hamann. 2017. Effects of a dredging operation on the movement and dive behaviour of marine turtles during breeding. Biological Conservation 206: 190-200.

See Waayers et al. (2019) for overview

Table 1. Numbers of satellite transmitters applied during studies of sea turtles in the Indian Ocean and South East Asia.

Species: Cc- Caretta caretta(loggerhead turtle); Cm- Chelonia mydas(green turtle); Dc- Dermochelys coriacea(leatherback turtle); Ei- Eretmochelys imbricata(hawksbill turtle);Nd- Natator depressus(flatback turtle); Lo- Lepidochelys olivacea(olive ridley turtle)

Life stage: PH- post-hatchling; J- juvenile; SA- sub-adult (male or female); A-M- adult (male); F- foraging; B- breeding; A-F- adult (female); PrN- pre-nesting; IN- inter-nesting; PoN- post-nesting

Other: C- captive reared before tracking; R- rescued/rehabilitated before tracking; D- displaced for study purpose

    Species Life Stage and Activity Other
    Cc Cm Dc Ei Nd Lo PH J SA A-M A-F
Region/Citation Country F B F PrN IN PoN C R D
South West Indian Ocean  
Bourjea et al. (2015) Amirantes Islands 4 x
Christiansen et al. (2017) Chagos Archipelago 8 x
Dalleau et al. (2014) Reunion Island 18 x
Esteban et al. (2017) Chagos Archipelago 10 x
Esteban et al. (2018) Chagos Archipelago 4 x
Galli et al. (2012) South Africa 4 x
Garnier et al. (2012) Mozambique 4 x x x
Harris et al. (2015) South Africa x
Harris et al. (2017) South Africa 20 14 x
Hays et al. (2014) Chagos Archipelago 8 x x
Hughes et al. (1998) South Africa x
Lambardi et al. (2008) South Africa x
Luschi et al. (2003a) South Africa 5 x x
Luschi et al. (2003b) South Africa 3 x
Papi et al. (1997) South Africa 5 x x
Pelletier et al. (2003) Reunion, Glorioso, Tromelin & Moheli Is 8 x x x x
Robinson et al. (2016) South Africa 16 x
Robinson et al. (2017b) South Africa 10 x
Sale et al. (2006) South Africa 4 x
West et al. (2014) Tanzania 4 x x x
    Species Life Stage and Activity Other
    Cc Cm Dc Ei Nd Lo PH J SA A-M A-F
Region/Citation Country F B F PrN IN PoN C R D
North West Indian Ocean  
Attum et al. (2018) Egypt 4 x x
Pilcher et al. (2014b) Iran 10 x x x x
Pilcher et al. (2014b) Oman 25 x x x x
Pilcher et al. (2014b) Qatar 27 x x x x
Pilcher et al. (2014b) UAE 28 x x x x
Rees et al. (2010) Oman 10 x x
Rees et al. (2012a) Oman 9 x x x
Rees et al. (2012b) Oman 2 x
Rees et al. (2013) Kuwait 3 x x x
Rees et al. (2018) Kuwait 4 x x
Robinson et al. (2017a) UAE 8 x x x
Tucker et al. (2018) Oman 34 x
South Asia  
Behera et al. (2018) India 14 x x
Khan (2013) Pakistan 15 x
Namboothri et al. (2012) Andaman Archipelago 7 x X
Pandav & Choudhury (2006) India 4 x
Richardson et al. (2013) Sri Lanka 9 x x x
Sivakumar et al. (2010) India 62 x
Sivakumar et al. (2010) Sri Lanka 1 4 x
Swaminathan et al. (2019) Andaman Archipelago 3 x X
    Species Life Stage and Activity Other
    Cc Cm Dc Ei Nd Lo PH J SA A-M A-F
Region/Citation Country F B F PrN IN PoN C R D
South East Indian Ocean  
Hamel et al. (2008) Australia 4 x
Hoenner et al. (2015) Australia 10 x x
Kennett et al. (2004) Australia 20 x x x
Lambert et al. (2015) Australia 10 x x x
Mau et al. (2012) Australia 9 x x x
McMahon et al. (2007) Australia 4 x x
Pendoley et al. (2014) Australia 73 x
Spring & Pike (1998) Australia 1 x
Thums et al. (2017) Australia 11 x x x
Thums et al. (2018) Australia 35 x x x
Waayers (2014) Australia 21 7 x x x
Waayers & Fitzpatrick (2012) Australia 11 11 x x x
Waayers et al. (2011) Australia 10 5 x
Whiting & Koch (2006) Cocos (Keeling) Is 1 x
Whiting et al. (2006) Australia 2 x
Whiting et al. (2007) Australia 8 x x x
Whiting et al. (2008) Cocos (Keeling) Is 6 x x
Whiting et al. (2010) Cocos (Keeling) Is 1 x x
Whittock & Pendoley (2012) Australia 1 x x x x
Whittock et al. (2014) Australia 56 x
Whittock et al. (2016a) Australia 66 x
Whittock et al. (2016b) Australia 47
Whittock et al. (2017) Australia 48 x
    Species Life Stage and Activity Other
    Cc Cm Dc Ei Nd Lo PH J SA A-M A-F
Region/Citation Country F B F PrN IN PoN C R D
South East Asia  
Bali et al. (2002) Malaysia 4 x
Hitipeuw et al. (2007) Indonesia 10 x
Lau et al. (2009) Malaysia 39 x
Liew et al. (2012) Malaysia 2 x x
Pilcher et al. (2019) Malaysia 39 4 x x x x
van de Merwe et al. (2009) Malaysia 4 x x X x

Table 2. 

Species: Cc- Caretta caretta (loggerhead turtle); Cm- Chelonia mydas (green turtle); Dc- Dermochelys coriacea (leatherback turtle); Ei- Eretmochelys imbricata (hawksbill turtle); Nd- Natator depressus (flatback turtle); Lo- Lepidochelys olivacea (olive ridley turtle)

Life stage: PH- post-hatchling; J- juvenile; SA- sub-adult (male or female); A-M- adult (male); F- foraging; B- breeding; A-F- adult (female); PrN- pre-nesting; IN- inter-nesting; PoN- post-nesting

      Proportion of Tracks in Region Proportion of Studies in Region
      Species Life Stage and Activity
Region Total Studies Total Tracks Cc Cm Dc Ei Nd Lo PH J SA A-M A-F
F B F PrN IN PoN
South West Indian Ocean 20 177 27.1 28.8 44.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 10.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 25.0 0.0 25.0 70.0
North West Indian Ocean 9 164 26.8 12.8 0.0 54.9 0.0 5.5 0.0 0.0 11.1 0.0 0.0 55.6 11.1 66.7 66.7
South Asia 8 123 0.0 20.3 8.1 0.0 0.0 71.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 14.3 14.3 0.0 14.3 100.0
South East Indian Ocean 23 478 1.9 14.6 0.0 4.8 75.3 3.3 0.0 8.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 52.2 4.3 60.9 65.2
South East Asia 6 102 0.0 84.3 9.8 5.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 16.7 0.0 0.0 16.7 33.3 0.0 33.3 66.7