Abstract
Sea turtles, symbol of longevity, patience, fertility, and freedom, are reptiles that appeared on the earth about 200 million years ago. There are seven species grouped into two families Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae. These animals are present in all the oceans and seas of the world, except in the polar regions. Sea turtles are a migratory species, moving between their nesting and feeding areas. In the southwest coast of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, three species of sea turtles are frequently found from the end of spring until the beginning of autumn. These are the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). The estuary of Bahia Blanca is an extensive coastal marine wetland. It is an important feeding area in the Southwestern Atlantic (ASO) for the green turtle specie during its juvenile development stage, mainly due to its omnivorous diet. These coastal areas are also where people settled and ports, industries, and artisanal fisheries later developed. The objective of this chapter is to update the information regarding the value of the wetlands of Bahía Blanca Estuary as an important feeding area for sea turtles, mainly the green turtle specie. We also aim to showcase some research projects and the efforts of conservation and environmental education that have been in progress since 2003 up to the present day.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank to the artisanal fishermen of Villa del Mar, especially to the memory of Mario Delgado, Coronel Rosales, and Ingeniero White; also the personnel of the Prefectura Naval Argentina (Coast Guard), Bahia Blanca Delegation, Coronel Rosales, and Monte Hermoso; SIPA Station (Rescue, Fire, and Environmental Protection); Oscar Liberman AIku, Carolina Parodi, the staff and park rangers of the Natural Reserve Bahía Blanca, Bahía Falsa, Bahía Verde and the FRAAM Foundation Volunteers.
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Massola, V., Prosdocimi, L., Suldrup, C., Sosa, J.F. (2021). Bahía Blanca Estuary and the Importance of Wetlands for the Conservation of Sea Turtles. In: Fiori, S.M., Pratolongo, P.D. (eds) The Bahía Blanca Estuary. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66486-2_12
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