Study of the Biology of Sea Turtles in Brazil through Satellite Telemetry

Original provider:
Projeto TAMAR

Dataset credits:
Data provider
Projeto Tamar-Ibama
Originating data center
<a href='http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/' target='_blank'>Satellite Tracking and Analysis Tool (STAT)</a>
Project sponsor or sponsor description
This work was possible as a result of the financial support of Petrobras/Cenpes (Petrobras Research Center).

Abstract:
The project entitled Study of the Biology of Sea Turtles in Brazil of through Satellite Telemetry is part of the larger research program entitled Priority Research Studies on the Biology of the Sea Turtles, developed by Project TAMAR-IBAMA with the support of the Petrobras/Cenpes (Petrobras Research Center). The objective of this project is to use satellite telemetry to study and analyze the at-sea movements of female turtles, both during and following the nesting season, for the most threatened species that occur along the Brazilian coast (Caretta caretta, Dermochelys coriacea, Eretmochelys imbricata and Lepdochelys olivacea). The project will involve the deployment of 40 satellite tags: 15 on hawksbill turtles, 5 on leatherback turtles, 10 on loggerhead turtles and 10 on olive ridley turtles. The project officially began on February 02nd, 2005 when 15 satellite tags (KiwiSat 101 from Sirtrack Limited) were attached to the carapaces of hawksbill turtles that had just finished nesting on beaches along the northern coast of Bahia, Brazil. In continuity to this Study, 03 transmitters KiwiSat 101(with capacity to work for up to 450 days) were installed in females of the species Dermochelys coriacea (leatherback sea turtle) in Espirito Santo, only reproductive area of this species in the Brazilian coast. The last species that received transmitters was the Caretta caretta (loggerhead sea turtle), in the coast of Bahia, and Lepidochelys olivacea (olive ridley sea turtle), in the north coast of Sergipe, in the February of 2006. For further information on Projeto Tamar-Ibama history, sea turtle biology and the Satellite Telemetry Program, with updated maps on recent and past studies, visit our webpage, www.projetotamar.org.br, and learn more about the conservation of sea turtles in Brazil.