Monitoring data of marine turtles on the Togolese coast over 2012-2013 years

Sea turtles emerged about 130 million years ago and are the only marine forms of the reptilian class (Márquez 1990, Frazier 2003). They are migratory species whose populations are essentially distributed in the intertropical zone (Pritchard 1997). Because of their phylogeny, physiology and behavior, these species represent an ancient and important component in marine and coastal ecosystems (Ferraroli et al. 2003). They occupy all ecological niches available in the marine ecosystems. They are herbivorous, carnivorous or omnivorous and are preyed upon by large marine predators such as sharks and orcas (Bjordal 1997). Frazier (1999) and Bjorndal et al. (2003) have demonstrated that these animals play an important role in their habitats, and their vitality depends on the exploitable resources (fish, molluscs and mangroves). According to Segniagbeto et al. (2017), fishing nets represent the main conservation problem for the various Togolese sea turtle species, and cause demographic strain of turtle populations. As sea turtles migrate over thousands of kilometers, and the fact that they take tens of years to reach maturity, sea turtles serve as health indicators of coastal and marine environments, both locally and globally (Meylan et al. 1999, Frazier 1999, Fretey 2001). In West Africa and particularly in Togo, a number of studies have focused on marine turtles (Fretey 2001, Segniagbeto et al. 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017). Of the six species known worldwide, five are present in Togo. These are: green turtle (Chelonia mydas), olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). According to the above-mentioned works, feeding and reproduction are the main reasons explaining the presence of these species on the Togolese coast. As part of the implementation of the Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP), linking to the container terminal construction at the Lomé Autonomous Port (by Lomé Containers Terminal -LCT), a follow-up program for marine turtles was developed between September 2012 and August 2013, to determine the dynamics of their attendance on the Togolese coast. For this purpose, a monitoring protocol has been developed to collect data on the presence of marine turtles at the construction site of the terminal and its area of influence. The objective of this monitoring program was to verify the assumptions made in the ESIA report, which asserts the presence of marine turtles in the project construction zone, and to propose measures to reduce risks of disturbance and accidents of these animals caused by the construction works. The data collected also made possible to analyze the ecological parameters connected to the use of Togolese beaches by marine turtle species. In the following paragraphs, we present the data collection method used in this monitoring program. The previous knowledge on digital form available from the GBIF data network is summarized in Table 1. and compared with the data contributed by the dataset here described. It almost doubles the number of records known for the three species of sea turtles from the region.