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Abundance and exploitation of loggerhead turtles nesting in B oa V ista island, C ape V erde: the only substantial rookery in the eastern A tlantic
Author(s) -
Marco A.,
Abella E.,
LiriaLoza A.,
Martins S.,
López O.,
JiménezBordón S.,
Medina M.,
Oujo C.,
Gaona P.,
Godley B. J.,
LópezJurado L. F.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
animal conservation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.111
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1469-1795
pISSN - 1367-9430
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00547.x
Subject(s) - rookery , turtle (robot) , sea turtle , population , geography , breed , fishery , nesting (process) , abundance (ecology) , falcon , ecology , biology , demography , engineering , mechanical engineering , computer science , programming language , sociology
The main nesting area for loggerhead turtles in the eastern A tlantic is in the C ape V erde I slands, largely restricted to the island of B oa V ista. Extensive monitoring demonstrated a globally significant population for the species despite a sustained high level of anthropogenic take of nesting females for local consumption. Through an extensive stratified monitoring program across the island in the seasons 2007–2009, we estimated a total of 13 955, 12 028 and 19 950 clutches in the 3 years, respectively. These values indicate that the mean number of nesting females averaged 3700. Considering that a female breed, on average, every 2.4 years, we estimate that the overall number of adult females in the population during these three seasons was 8900. These levels are much higher than those suggested in previous studies which were more constrained in spatial coverage. Our findings indicate that C ape V erde hosts the third largest nesting aggregation for this species in the world after the south‐eastern US and O man, with some sites having a particularly high density of nests, facilitating targeted monitoring and conservation. Consumption of sea turtle meat is a traditional practice in C ape V erde that continues despite national sea turtle protection laws. We estimated that 36, 18 and 5% of nesting females were harvested in the 3 years of the study, respectively. Increasing beach protection and monitoring, ongoing educational programs and cooperative projects with local communities are urgently needed to further safeguard the only major loggerhead nesting aggregation in the eastern A tlantic.