From Cosmos (1/6/24)…
Tracking Western Australia’s flatback turtles to aid conservation
Western Australian researchers have released details of a 15-year satellite tracking program following flatback turtles as they migrate, forage and breed.
“The flatbacks can swim hundreds of kilometres,” says Dr Sabrina Fossette-Halot from the Western Australian (WA) A Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, who has been working with flatbacks for 8 years, and turtles for two decades. Flatbacks are endemic and the survey shows they rarely leave Australian waters.
Scientists attached satellite transmitters to 308 flatback turtles (Natator depressus), in the Pilbara and the Kimberleys in northwest WA, between 2005 and 2020.
The results are published in Ecosphere.
“This work represents a significant step towards understanding the movement of flatbacks across the northern waters of Australia as a whole; a challenging part of the world to access even at the best of times!” says Fossette-Halot.
