Trinidad’s Leatherback Sea Turtles

2012 FIELD REPORT

Background Information

Lead PI: Scott Eckert; Dennis Sammy; Ronald Williams

Report completed by: Scott Eckert; Dennis Sammy; Ronald Williams

Period Covered by this report: March 1, 2012 – October 1, 2012

Project scientists: The protected status of the conservation area (Matura Forest and Beach

Prohibited area) remains the same. However, in 2011 the previously legal harvest (outside

the leatherback nesting season) of sea turtles is now prohibited and all species of sea turtle

are being considered for “species of concern” status. This classification will add a very

significant level of protection to all sea turtle species inhabiting the waters of Trinidad and

Tobago.

Dear Earthwatch volunteers,

Our 2012 nesting season was a great success with 41 volunteers walking more

than 1400 km for 184 nights to protect our leatherback nesting colony and to gather

important data we use to manage this sea turtle nesting colony. We would like to express

our deepest appreciation for your valuable contribution to our Trinidad Leatherback

Conservation Project.

During the season volunteers recorded nesting data on more than 500 turtles.

The members of the community enjoyed working with you. The opportunity to communicate

and share our experiences was indeed valuable. We had a great time-sharing our natural

and cultural resources of the community. It has been quite rewarding working with you on

the beach as we observed the behaviour of these marine reptiles. We also enjoyed our

afternoon adventures: visiting the howler monkeys, swimming in the river while drinking

coconuts, hiking the local trails, bird watching, sharing our local cuisine and getting to know

you as you enjoy this friendly Caribbean island.

The results of this year’s project are extensive and we have you to thank for

our success. Please continue to stay active for the conservation of the earth's natural

resources and support our partnership with Earthwatch Institute. Please accept this brief

summary report of your accomplishments for 2012, we hope you would consider promoting

our project to others and/ or coming back to help us again in the near future!

Scott Eckert Dennis Sammy

SECTION ONE: Scientific research achievements

Top highlight from the past season

4,130 leatherback sea turtle nesting events were documented on Matura Beach in

2012 and 2,829 on the adjacent nesting beach of Fishing Pond for a total of 6,959 nesting

events. Less than 1 % (0.4%) of all nesting events (that include nesting site preparation by

the turtle) failed to end in successful deposition of eggs. Our average clutch size for 2011

was 75.4 eggs and therefore we calculate that 526,589 eggs were laid in the Matura /

Fishing Pond nesting colony. 59.2 % eggs hatched and resulted in hatchlings leaving the

nest successfully for a maximum potential of 313,436 hatchlings.

Reporting against research objectives

The Caribbean Island of Trinidad supports one of the 3 largest nesting colonies of the

leatherback sea turtle in the world. Two primary nesting beaches support this colony, with a

number of smaller beaches providing supplementary nesting (Dow et al. 2007). Each of

these two colonies support an equivalent number of nests, though in the case of the north

coast beach at Grande Riviere, nesting is concentrated along an 800 meter long beach,

whereas the east coast colony consists of 2 beaches (Matura and Fishing Pond) and nesting

occurs along approximately 18 km.

Both nesting colonies are protected by Federal regulations and access during the

nesting season is restricted to those with a permit. Earthwatch volunteers and staff of the

Nature Seekers, a community conservation organization, patrol the Matura/Fishing Pond

colony nightly. Data collection consists of information on each nesting event, including its

time, date, species, the outcome of the event as well as turtle morphometric information.

Each turtle is ‘tagged’ with flipper and microchip identification tags.

A sample of nests is also excavated after hatching to evaluate hatchling emergence

success and enable the estimation of hatchling production. Because of the length of the

nesting beach, complete patrol coverage at night is not possible, therefore only a section of

the entire colony is used for nocturnal data collection. To evaluate total nesting activities

each season, daytime beach surveys tally the total number of nesting activities from the

previous night on both Matura and Fishing Pond Beaches by counting ‘body pits’. Body pits

are the large disturbed area left by a turtle after covering or camouflaging a nest site, or

during nest preparation. Because not all nesting attempts are successful, not all body pits

include nests with eggs, so part of the data collection responsibilities of the night patrols is to

record the success rate of nesting attempts.

Objective 1: Assess annual hatchling production through a) determination of hatchling

emergence success b) evaluate loss to predation by vultures c) calculate annual nest loss

due to erosion.

A primary goal of this project is to evaluate total nesting as an index of total

population abundance. In 2012, 7,009 leatherback, 5 hawskbill, and 4 green turtle activities

were documented on the Matura / Fishing Pond pond beach by daytime patrols (Figure 1).

The total leatherback nesting activity tally for Matura Beach was 4,130 and for Fishing Pond

was 2,829. Peak of nesting occurred on 31 May with 244 activities on the previous night

(Figure 2). Based on data collected during nocturnal patrols, 99.6% of all nesting attempts

that include a body pit resulted in successful egg deposition. Thus we can estimate that

6,981 leatherback nests were deposited on the Matura / Fishing Pond nesting colony in

2012. This statistic is concerning as it represents the lowest count of nesting sites since

daytime patrol surveys began in 2006.

Nocturnal Patrol teams made up primarily of Earthwatch volunteers were highly

efficient in gathering data on individual turtles and nesting activities. During the 184 nights

of patrol, 1,293 nesting activities were recorded. Most turtles were observed only one time,

but at least one turtle was observed 13 times (Figure 3). The average encounter rate per

turtle was 1.59 times per season, out of a probable 6 nesting events. The low encounter

rate is a reflection of the long beach, limited patrol duration, and the relatively large

leatherback nesting population. The mean carapace size (curved-carapace length) was

154.02 cm and the mean carapace width (curved carapace width) was 113.63 cm (Figure 4).

An assessment of the total nesting population size for 2012 indicates that it was the

lowest number of nesting events since 2006, when daily surveys became the primary

method of assessing nesting activities (Figure 5). This trend is of concern, especially

considering that it represents the third annual decline in nesting on Matura Beach. However,

based on assessments of population size since the project began in 1993 (Figures 6 and 7),

nesting activities are still substantially higher than at the start of the conservation work.

To evaluate hatchling emergence success and estimate the total number of eggs and

hatchlings produced on Matura Beach in 2012, 88 nests were evaluated after hatching

(Figure 8). Mean clutch size included 75.4 yolked (viable) eggs and 29.3 yolkless (non-

viable egg “globs”). Mean emergence success was 59.22%. Based on these values, total

production of eggs on the Matura / Fishing Pond beach was 526,589 and total hatchling

production was about 313,436. No effort was made in 2012 to evaluate vulture predation.

While beach width continues to be monitored, and nest location data is available to estimate

nest loss, we are still working on the analytical tools needed to make this estimate.

Figure 1 – Map of the Matura/Fishing Pond nesting colony showing the location of all

nesting activities for the 2012 nesting season.

Number of Nesting Activities per NightMatura / Fishing Pond Leatherback Nesting Colony

20123/

12/1

2

4/1/

12

4/21

/12

5/11

/12

5/31

/12

6/20

/12

7/10

/12

7/30

/12

8/19

/12

9/8/

12

Date

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

260

Body

Pits

Figure 2 – A scatterplot of the number of nesting activities per night on Matura and Fishing

Pond beaches, Trinidad. Peak of nesting was May 31.

NUMBER OF ENCOUNTERS PER TURTLEMATURA / FISHING POND NESTING COLONY

2012

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

NUMBER OF TIMES TURTLE WAS OBSERVED

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

NU

MBE

R O

F TU

RTL

ES

Figure 3 – Frequency distribution of the number of times each sea turtle is encountered in a

single season on Matura Beach, Trinidad.

Figure 4 – Frequency distribution of leatherback sea turtle carapace lengths, Matura Beach,

Trinidad, 2012.

Figure 5 – Number of nesting activities on Matura / Fishing Pond leatherback nesting colony

as determined using daily body pit tallies, from 2006 – 2012.

Figure 6 - Nesting trends at Matura Beach from 1992 – 1999 as estimated from nocturnal

beach patrols and assuming equal coverage effort for each night of patrol.

Figure 7 – Nesting population trends as determined using mark and recapture analysis of

tagged turtles from 1999 to 2007

Figure 8 – Frequency distribution of clutch size (yolked, viable eggs only) for leatherback

sea turtles nesting at Matura Beach, Trinidad, 2012.

Objective 2: Evaluate and monitor beach vulnerability to climate change by establishing a

regular beach condition (e.g. slope, width, temperature, moisture) monitoring program.

For 2012 we limited beach monitoring to the evaluation location of the high water

mark (HWM) using GPS units and regular foot patrols. Changes in the mean location of the

HWM provides a useful measure of nesting beach width, since much of Matura Beach is

backed by vertical cliffs or heavy jungle vegetation. Resulting data shows a reduction of

21.86 meters of beach width since the 2011 nesting season (figure 9). Since this is only the

3rd season of monitoring beach movement, and the 2010 data is likely incorrect due to

methodological problems, the difference in beach width between 2011 and 2012 is difficult to

put into context. We may be able to re-analyze the 2010 data later this year, which could

provide the beginning of a trend line, and help determine if the beach is in a state of net loss.

Figure 9 – Daily mean location (based on longitude) of the high water mark on Matura

Beach, Trinidad from 2010 – 2012. It should be noted that the 2010 data is under review

and may need correction, so we advise caution in interpreting the results illustrated in this

figure.

Objective 3: Determine total clutch production per nesting turtle and a) correlate that

production to turtle body condition indices as well as b) establish a regular program to

evaluate egg production per turtle.

We temporarily discontinued body condition monitoring in 2012 to dedicate the

funding to daily beach patrols. However, we hope to reinitiate such data collection for the

2013 nesting season. To date we have 6 years of BCI measures.

Monitoring the number of nests laid per turtle by direct observation is impossible with

such large populations spread over such a long nesting beach. As noted, our encounter rate

per turtle is well below 2, while the average number of nests per turtle should exceed 6.

To determine the number of nests laid per turtle, indirect measurments will be

needed, and we have accordingly designed an electronic datalogger to record nesting

events. However, we were unsuccessful in our funding proposals for the development of

this instrument in 2012 and intend to resubmit for funding in 2013.

Objective 4: Determine a measurable index to evaluate turtle response to tourism activities

(Confidential results, do not distribute).

Work on methods to evaluate turtle response to tourism activities continued in 2012

with the assistance of students from Principia College. Our goal is to seek a measurable

involuntary response in leatherbacks that will indicate awareness of an external stimulus.

After 2 years of evaluation using behavioral methods, we determined that behavioral

assessment as used in other species of sea turtle would not work for leatherbacks (and

actually challenges the validity of some previously accepted studies).

Our goal for 2012 was to evaluate whether heart rate could be measured on nesting

leatherbacks, throughout the nesting sequence (we know it can be measured during rest, but

exercise causes large myogenic signals and makes measuring heart rate difficult). Previous

attempts with electronic heart rate counter have been unsuccessful, however, our 2012 data

is excellent and we’ve chosen to move ahead with experiments in 2013 that will form the

senior thesis project of a Principia College biology student.

Heart rates for each turtle were variable for all intervals. Turtles emerging from the

sea and approaching the nesting site had a mean heart rate of 40±21.2 beats min-1; Resting

turtles averaged 30±0 beats min-1; Body Pitting turtles averaged 41.25±12.4 beats min-1;

Digging averaged 32.1±3.0 beats min-1; Oviposition averged 18.34±10.2 beats min-1;

Camouflaging 38.9±0 beats per min-1; and Covering averaged 32.5±5.0 beats per min-1

SECTION TWO: Impacts Partnerships

1. Forestry Division and Wildlife Section of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago: Provides

the legal framework for our operations on a seasonal basis, without the permit system the

beach would become an unregulated haven for harmful and unwanted activities during the

nesting season. Some funding for beach patrol and conservation work is also provided by

the Forestry Division.

2. WIDECAST (Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Network): WIDECAST and Nature Seekers

have maintained a more than 20 year collaboration. For its part WIDECAST provides

training, logistical and scientific support as well as providing a global context for Nature

Seekers activities. Nature Seekers in turn, have provided to WIDECAST and its network

partners training opportunities and facilities, expertise in community based conservation and

a model of how best conservation can be carried out in a local context. Staff members of

Nature Seekers regularly provide training to other community conservation groups

throughout the Caribbean at the request of WIDECAST and Nature Seekers remains a very

active participant in the WIDECAST network.

3. T.V.T (Turtle Village Trust): Was set up to act as the public voice for the varied turtle

groups in Trinidad and Tobago, T.V.T. through corporate sponsorship of Atlantic LNG is

also responsible for the allocation of finances to the success of the sea turtle National

Monitoring programme

4. Other turtle groups: Nature Seekers regularly collaborates with other sea turtle

conservation efforts in the bi-island nation and throughout the region

5. Nature Seekers regularly facilitates other researchers and student requests for access to

data. The organization has a formal data request procedure and review process. In 2012

no such requests were made.

6. Nature Seekers also facilitates access to nesting leatherbacks for other research teams.

In 2011, 2 other teams were hosted or supported by Nature Seekers in data collection

activities. For 2013, a new collaboration with the University of Georgia School of Veterinary

Medicine is planned. We will be hosting a veterinary graduate student on a multi-year

assessment of leatherback baseline health.

Nature Seekers regularly hosts media seeking access to turtles and nature. In 2012 we

hosted Carl Safina and a film production team from the U.S. Public Broadcasting Season in

a program featuring successful marine conservation efforts around the world.

The resulting film premiered in January, 2013 (http://video.pbs.org/program/saving-the-

ocean/).

Contributions to conventions, agendas, policies, management plans

• International As a member of WIDECAST, Nature Seekers provide support to the development of “Sea

Turtle Recovery Action Plans”. The STRAPs are national recovery plans. Nature Seekers

members have helped in the development and review of the STRAP for Dominica. In 2011,

the STRAP for Trinidad was published and accepted by the Government of Trinidad and

Tobago. Nature Seekers also collaborate closely with the IUCN’s Marine Turtle Specialist

Group and provide nesting data on leatherbacks to the MTSG. Currently the MTSG is

undertaking a global review of the status of leatherbacks, to which Nature Seekers is

providing data on the Trinidad nesting colony.

• National or regional Nature Seekers continues its long-standing partnerships with the Forestry Department and

the Wildlife Section of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, WIDECAST, and the other

sea turtle management groups on Trinidad and Tobago. Data from this program was

integrated into the final draft of WIDECAST's Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for Trinidad

and Tobago. These STRAP's form the primary management tool for Caribbean countries in

national marine resource planning. Each plan is developed in-country by the WIDECAST

Country Coordinator and supporting team, and provided to each national government

through United Nations Environment Program's regional seas authority

(http://www.cep.unep.org/) after a thorough scientific, national and international review. The

final Trinidad STRAP was competed and is formally in the hands of the Trinidad & Tobago

government - http://www.cep.unep.org/publications-and-resources/technical-

reports/technical-reports). Citation: Wildlife Section-Forestry Division, Save our Seaturtles-

Tobago, and Nature Seekers. 2010. WIDECAST Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for

Trinidad and Tobago (Karen L. Eckert, Editor). CEP Technical Report No. 48. UNEP

Caribbean Environment Programme. Kingston, Jamaica. xx + 131 pages.

• Local The Protection of Turtles and Turtle Eggs Regulations of the Fisheries Act :chapter 67:51 -

has been amended providing protection for sea turtles year round now as opposed to

previous years (March 1st – September 30th). This along with the STRAP provides yet

another tool for conservationists, environmentalists, natural resource managers, and

scientists to be pro-active and more confident about actions taken to alleviate the injustice

done to our environment.

Conservation of Taxa

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is classified as Critically Endangered

under IUCN redlist criteria. The population trends for the species in the Atlantic Ocean are

generally encouraging, as a number of these nesting populations seem to be stable or rising.

Today Trinidad supports nesting by one of the 3 largest nesting colonies and the

management of this insular population is critical to driving the restoration of this species.

The three primary nesting beaches on Trinidad, supporting more that 75% of all nesting, are

regulated as prohibited areas and are thus protected from development or unauthorized

access. There are regular patrols on these colonies to protect the turtles and monitor the

size of the nesting population. The killing or poaching of turtles for sport or meat at these

colonies has stopped, due more to the management policies and value Trinidadian's place

on the well being of the turtles after many years of educational outreach, than to

enforcement actions. In this context leatherbacks are constantly being referred to as a

heritage species. Contrast the management of leatherbacks in Trinidad with the other two

large colonies and the value of this colony becomes obvious. While good management

practices support the large colony in French Guiana, its nesting turtles are gradually moving

northward to nest on the growing beaches of Suriname, where poaching of leatherbacks and

their eggs is still prevalent. The other large colony on the west coast of Africa extends over

450 km of coastline and is so dispersed, management is extremely difficult.

Conservation of Habitats

Nature Seekers is responsible for the management of the Matura Forest Prohibited area

under the direction of Forestry Division. This tropical maritime Mora forest is rare on the

island. Their primary responsibilities are the reforestation of native fauna and maintenance

of faunal diversity within the reserve.

Impacting Local Livelihoods Nature Seekers is the largest local employer in the region with more than 52 employees.

The community of Matura has 1,986 residents (national census 2000), so employment by

Nature Seekers represents a significant resource for the village. Most employment is natural

resource based through the turtle project, the forestry program or the Nature Seekers craft

and fishing program. All such employment by Nature Seekers is ecologically sustainable

and fair wage based.

Local community activities

Nature Seekers is comprised of individuals from the village. This means the activities that

take place on the beach transcend the beach. This is because members of the organization

are also commonly members of local families and thus information gained through the

program can easily and informally be passed on. Other activities that integrate the

community into this project include the annual beach clean-up, recruiting of young

community members, involvement of the community in training sessions, and other activities

partially sponsored by Nature Seekers.

Dissemination of research results

Scientific peer-reviewed publications

No peer reviewed publications were released in 2012. However, 2 have been submitted and

are under review.

SECTION THREE: Anything else

Project funding

Turtle Village Trust and the Forestry Division provided support to the project in the area of

staff support and some tagging equipment. Funding was received for personnel to patrol the

beach with volunteers for 4 months (April- July) and 6 months (March –August) respectively

of the season. WIDECAST also assisted in providing technical & educational and training

support for the project. Support for the by catch reduction program (a collaboration between

Nature Seekers and WIDECAST) was provided by WWF and National Fish and Wildlife

Foundation. WIDECAST also provided substantial training and logistic support to the Nature

Seekers bottles to beads crafting project.

The Green Fund project: This Project was develop by the members of Nature Seekers

(Matura residents) to pursue its vision of “an environmentally friendly community empowered

with the necessary skills and training enabling us to work with each other, generating

sustainable livelihood while promoting Community Tourism and the protection of our natural

resources”. As such the following statement was identified as the main opportunities to grow

and help us achieve our vision. It is funded by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

It is the intent of this project to protect the natural resources in the Matura community and

environs while creating opportunities for capacity building and employment for local

residents. It is our intent to show that the reforestation and youth ambassador programme

can be replicated in other communities.

This will be done by using tourism as a tool for the conservation of the natural resources.

Since tourism need the natural resources for sustainability it is very important that we invest

in the protection of the natural resources. In order for this to occur and in keeping with our

success factors, the tourism product needs to have diversity and depth in order to achieve

natural resource sustainability. This can be done by improving the tourism portfolio of the

community. As such having a complete portfolio of activities allows for the development of a

stronger tourism product and by extension a stronger environment programme.

These activities include:

1. Establishment of a local Natural Craft and Jewelery Center

2. Nature Tours Expansion

3. Matura Youth Ambassadors (building local capacity)

4. Reforestation – Over 8-10% of the national forest is privately-owned

Acknowledgements Nature Seekers would like to acknowledge the support of the Ministry of Housing & the

Environment (Forestry Division) for its long standing support to the programme, the Turtle

Village Trust and its sponsors (Atlantic LNG) for joining and expanding the programme

nationally and WIDECAST for its technical support and leadership in our research and

conservation efforts. We would also like to acknowledge our partners (Earthwatch Institute)

for the support both financial and human for the protection and management of the Trinidad

Leatherback Project. We believe true success can only be achieved when good partnerships

are forged.