Nesting failure of sea turtles in Ecuador - causes of the loss of sea turtle nests: the role of the tide
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Nesting failure of sea turtles in Ecuador - causes of the loss of sea turtle nests: the role of the tide Antonio José Carpio Camargo 1,2
&
Yamel Álvarez Gutiérrez 1,3 & Julio Jaramillo Véliz 3 & Francisco Sánchez Tortosa 1
Received: 30 July 2020 / Revised: 12 August 2020 / Accepted: 17 August 2020 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The nesting environment is known to significantly affect the breeding success of sea turtles. Sandy beach habitats, where sea turtles nest, are frequently affected by high tides and waves on Ecuadorian beaches during windy events. The objectives of this study were: i) to determine the variables that affect nest site selection by two sea turtle species, Eretmochelys imbricata and Chelonia mydas in Ecuador, ii) to compare features of the nesting places of successful vs. failed clutches and iii) to quantify the changes in the intensity and frequency of the tide and its relation to the loss of eggs for the last 10 years. We monitored 15 hawksbill and 26 green turtle nests for two years on five beaches on the mainland coast of Ecuador. The results show that the presence of a dune scarps negatively affected successful nesting, while the proportion of eggs lost was positively associated with road distance, sea distance and nest depth. In addition, the results showed that the loss of eggs was greater for the green turtle, the presence of dune scarps and tides. Finally, using the data available on hatching success over the last 10 years we found a significant relationship between the intensity of the tides and the loss of eggs during this period. We conclude that nest site selection and hatching success vary with beach microhabitats and therefore local information is needed to protect suitable habitats. Keywords Anthropised beaches . Chelonia mydas . Climatic change . Dune scarps . Eretmochelys imbricata . Nesting
Introduction Sea turtles are a classic example of a widely distributed group that has historically suffered from declining populations (Jackson et al. 2001). According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN 2019) approximately 62.8% of sea turtle populations suffer a certain degree of threat, of which 19.4% are classified as critically threatened, 17.4% as threatened and 30% as vulnerable (Gibbons et al. 2000). Despite this, recent studies such as Mazaris et al. (2017) or Valdivia et al. (2019) have documented an estimated increasing, rather than decreasing, trend in population size in * Antonio José Carpio Camargo [email protected] 1
Department of Zoology, Campus of Rabanales, University of Cordoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
2
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (UCLM-CSIC-JCCM), Ronda Toledo 12, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
3
Carrera Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y de la Agricultura, Carrera de Ingeniería Ambiental, UNESUM, Km 1.5 Vía Noboa, Jipijapa 130650, Jipijapa, Ecuador
sea turtles across the globe, which they attribute to the effective protection of eggs and nesting females, as well as the reduction of by-c
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