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Extreme predation of eggs and hatchlings for loggerhead turtles in eastern Indian Ocean

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Abstract

Understanding predator-prey interactions at the vulnerable egg and hatchling stage of sea turtles is crucial to effectively manage these threatened marine species. Our research quantified ghost crab predation on loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta at Gnaraloo Bay and Bungelup Beach, two of the four principal nesting sites for this species in the Southeast Indian Ocean. We counted ghost crab burrows along belt transects as a proxy for crab densities. We used start- and end-of-season nesting inventories to determine egg predation rates, in-situ accelerometers to measure predation activity in nests, and infrared videography to assess predation rates on emerging hatchlings. Ghost crab densities and egg predation rates at Gnaraloo Bay were almost twice those at Bungelup Beach. Egg predation was most prevalent at night and in the first and third trimesters of incubation. We did not observe any hatchlings emerging from nests at Gnaraloo Bay, while we observed predation, mainly by ghost crabs and to a lesser extent by seagulls, on 43% of hatchlings at Bungelup Beach. The alarmingly high rate of mortality due to native predators highlights a need for immediate management actions to mitigate this threat to a globally important loggerhead turtle stock. Our multi-method approach provides a holistic estimation of reproductive success from when eggs were laid to when hatchlings reached the relative safety of the ocean.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank field assistants Ken Okamitsu, Elena Faessler, Josie Kelly, Daisy Kermode, Georgia Bennett, Caitlyn O’Dea, Evan Webb, Akira Gaynor, Eva Robinson, Jess Billinghurst, Emily Lette, Samara Lette, Marta Sanchez, Samantha Lostrom and Bruna Calmanovici for field support. For logistical support we thank Dani Rob of the DBCA’s Parks and Wildlife Service – Exmouth District. For technical support in helping set up infrared cameras we thank Reece Anderson of Edith Cowan University’s Security & Traffic Services. We also thank Johnny Lo for statistical advice.

Funding

Research conducted by author Casper Avenant was supported by the Woodside funding agreement for the Ningaloo Turtle Program (NTP) 2018–2021. Additional funding for this research was provided by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation & Attractions, the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, the Ecological Society of Australia, Dell Technologies, and Edith Cowan University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research, School of Science, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, 6027, Western Australia

    Casper Avenant & Glenn A. Hyndes

  2. Biodiversity and Conservation Science, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, 17 Dick Perry Ave., Kensington, 6151, Western Australia

    Scott Whiting & Sabrina Fossette

  3. Parks and Wildlife Service – Exmouth District, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, 20 Nimitz St, Exmouth, 6707, Western Australia

    Peter Barnes

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  1. Casper Avenant
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  5. Glenn A. Hyndes
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Casper Avenant. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Casper Avenant and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Casper Avenant.

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Ethical approval

All research protocols included in this paper have been approved by the Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (licence number TFA 2019-0164-3, FO 25000181-3), the Western Australia Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (exemption number 3474, 250917621), and the Edith Cowan University Animal Ethics Committee (23080). The procedures comply with the Animal Welfare Act 2002 (Western Australia) and the requirements of the Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes.

Competing interests

All authors agree to this manuscript being submitted to the journal. The work by the authors outlined in this manuscript is all original research, and no aspect of this manuscript has previously been submitted to this or any other journal or published elsewhere. All funding sources have been acknowledged in the manuscript, and there is no conflict of interest for any of the authors.

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Communicated by James Lee.

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Avenant, C., Whiting, S., Fossette, S. et al. Extreme predation of eggs and hatchlings for loggerhead turtles in eastern Indian Ocean. Biodivers Conserv 33, 135–159 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-023-02739-z

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