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Recovery of the South Atlantic’s largest green turtle nesting population

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Abstract

Although many species of marine mega-vertebrates are threatened as a result of human activity, some populations are showing promising signs of recovery following decades of protection. In this study, we report on the status of the South Atlantic’s largest green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nesting aggregation at Ascension Island, 70 years after legal protection and the cessation of commercial turtle harvesting that decimated the population. Using a monitoring dataset spanning 36 years, we modelled long-term trends in nesting activity at both a rookery level and across individual nesting beaches and beach clusters. Since monitoring began in 1977, the average number of green turtle clutches deposited annually at Ascension Island has increased sixfold, from approximately 3,700 to 23,700; a trend that has been accompanied by a significant decrease in the average size of nesting females. Interestingly, however, rates of increase in nesting activity have varied dramatically among nesting beaches, ranging from 0.4 to 6 % growth per annum. More than 97 % of this variation could be explained by distance from the main human settlement of Georgetown—the historic centre of turtle harvesting—with beaches closer to Georgetown experiencing the most rapid growth. More rapid population growth close to human centres seems counterintuitive, but may reflect the more intensive depletion of these accessible, local stocks during the harvesting era. Overall, the Ascension Island green turtle population appears to be recovering strongly, mirroring positive trends for this species across many parts of its geographic range. While not a cause for complacency, these trends are encouraging and demonstrate the capacity of marine megafauna to rebound when anthropogenic pressures are alleviated through conservation action.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the UK Government’s Department for Environment food a Rural Affairs (DEFRA) through the Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP) and the Darwin Initiative. The authors would like to thank T. Weber and A. Jackson for help with population models, and the many volunteer ‘rakers’ who have contributed to turtle monitoring over the years. We are grateful to the Associate Editor and two anonymous reviewers for comments and suggestions that substantially improved an earlier draft of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Conservation Department, Ascension Island Government, Georgetown, Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean, ASCN 1ZZ

    Sam B. Weber, Nicola Weber, Jolene Sim & Natasha Williams

  2. Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK

    Sam B. Weber, Nicola Weber, Brendan J. Godley & Annette C. Broderick

  3. Ascension Island Turtle Group, Georgetown, Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean, ASCN 1ZZ

    Jacqui Ellick, Andrew Avery & Robert Frauenstein

Authors
  1. Sam B. Weber
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  2. Nicola Weber
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  3. Jacqui Ellick
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  4. Andrew Avery
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  5. Robert Frauenstein
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  6. Brendan J. Godley
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  7. Jolene Sim
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  8. Natasha Williams
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  9. Annette C. Broderick
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Sam B. Weber or Annette C. Broderick.

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Communicated by Simon Ingram.

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Weber, S.B., Weber, N., Ellick, J. et al. Recovery of the South Atlantic’s largest green turtle nesting population. Biodivers Conserv 23, 3005–3018 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0759-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0759-6

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