Short-Range Movements of Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys Imbricata) from Nesting to Foraging Areas Within the Hawaiian Islands1
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Short-Range Movements of Hawksbill Turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) from Nesting to Foraging Areas within the Hawaiian Islands1 Denise M. Parker,2,3,4 George H. Balazs,3 Cheryl S. King,5 Larry Katahira,6 and William Gilmartin5 Abstract: Hawksbill sea turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata, reside around the main Hawaiian Islands but are not common. Flipper-tag recoveries and satellite track- ing of hawksbills worldwide have shown variable distances in post-nesting travel, with migrations between nesting beaches and foraging areas ranging from 35 to 2,425 km. Nine hawksbill turtles were tracked within the Hawaiian Islands using satellite telemetry. Turtles traveled distances ranging from 90 to 345 km and took between 5 to 18 days to complete the transit from nesting to foraging areas. Results of this study suggest that movements of Hawaiian hawksbills are rela- tively short-ranged, and surveys of their foraging areas should be conducted to assess status of the habitat to enhance conservation and management of these areas. Hawksbill sea turtles, Eretmochelys im- 1900s because of toxicity, but as hawksbill bricata (L.), are found in nearshore habitats numbers declined due to harvesting for scutes in tropical regions of all oceans. Hawksbill (Carrillo et al. 1999, Campbell 2003) toxicity turtles are listed as Critically Endangered in also seemed to decline. McClenachan et al. the International Union for Conservation of (2006) suggested that this reduction in toxicity Nature (IUCN) Redbook (Hilton-Taylor may be connected to the declines in hawksbill 2000) and as Endangered under the Conven- numbers because of an increased availability tion on International Trade in Endangered of less-toxic sponges on which hawksbills Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) prefer to forage. Large numbers of hawksbills (Washington, D.C., 1973) and the Endan- were taken in the Pacific, mainly for their gered Species Act (U.S.A., 1973). The species scutes, which are the thickest and most deco- has historically not been commonly harvested rative of all sea turtle scutes. Items that were for consumption in the Pacific because the fashioned from bonding, shaping, and carving edible parts can sometimes be toxic (Fussy et these scutes include combs, jewelry, decora- al. 2007). Hawksbills in the Caribbean were tive art, and tools (Kaeppler 1978, Canin not generally harvested for food before the 1991, Hainshwang and Leggio 2006). Despite international protection, hawksbills are still 1 Manuscript accepted 31 October 2008. being harvested and exploited for curios and 2 Corresponding author (e-mail: Denise.Parker@ for tortoiseshell, known in Japan as bekko noaa.gov). (Canin 1991, MSNBC News Service 2007). 3 NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Pacific Knowledge of hawksbill movements, loca- Islands Fisheries Science Center, 2570 Dole Street, Ho- nolulu, Hawai‘i 96822-2396. tions, and habitat usage of critical marine for- 4 Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Re- aging habitats can aid state and local entities search, 1000 Pope Street, MSB 312, Honolulu, Hawai‘i to develop effective protection and manage- 96822. ment schemes for the species. 5 Hawai‘i Wildlife Fund, P.O. Box 637, Pa¯‘ia, Maui, Before 1995, few studies had been con- Hawai‘i 96779. 6 Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, P.O. Box 52, ducted using satellite telemetry to determine Hawai‘i National Park, Hawai‘i 96718 USA. post-nesting movements of hawksbill turtles. Knowledge about population size and distri- Pacific Science (2009), vol. 63, no. 3:371–382 bution of hawksbills was obtained mostly : 2009 by University of Hawai‘i Press from flipper-tagging and recapture programs. All rights reserved Records of flipper-tag recoveries have indi- 371 372 PACIFIC SCIENCE . July 2009 cated that many hawksbill populations within et al. 1994, National Marine Fisheries Service the Pacific and Atlantic oceans can have long- [NMFS] and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service distance post-nesting movements. In the Pa- [USFWS] 1998). Hawksbill turtles do not cific, hawksbill turtles on breeding migrations currently nest or reside in the Northwestern moved between Australia and neighboring Hawaiian Islands. Only one hawksbill has countries including Vanuatu, Solomon Is- been recorded in that area: a juvenile found lands, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia. stranded alive at Pearl and Hermes Reef Migratory distances between foraging areas (2005, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Cen- and nesting beaches ranged from 368 to ter [PIFSC], unpubl. data). 2,425 km (Miller et al. 1998, Bell et al. 1999). Historically, hawksbills in Hawai‘i were A flipper-tagged hawksbill that nested in the not eaten for food because of the toxicity Solomon Islands was recovered in Papua and unpleasant taste of the meat, but the New Guinea after the turtle had traveled an scutes were used for decorative inlay on im- estimated straight-line distance of 1,400 km portant objects such as ka¯hili and for medi- (Vaughan and Spring 1980). Post-nesting cine, bracelets, combs, and fishing hooks flipper-tag recoveries from the Caribbean (Buck 1957, Pukui and Elbert 1992, Rose provided movement distances of 1,400–2,000 et al. 1993). km between nesting and foraging areas Compared with the green turtle (Chelonia (Groshens and Vaughan 1994, Hillis 1994, mydas), hawksbill sightings and strandings Meylan 1999). around the main Hawaiian Islands are rela- Since 1995, there has been increased usage tively uncommon, and the majority of the of satellite telemetry worldwide to monitor sightings have consisted of immature turtles the movements of post-nesting hawksbills. To (Balazs 1978a, Keuper-Bennett and Bennett date, much of the published turtle-tracking 2002, Chaloupka et al. 2008). To date, only research has been in the Caribbean (Byles two flipper-tagged adult hawksbill turtles have and Swimmer 1994, Hillis-Starr et al. 2000, been recorded away from the nesting beaches. Horrocks et al. 2001, Troe¨ng et al. 2005, van Both turtles were tagged nesting at Po¯hue Dam et al. 2008). These telemetry studies Bay, island of Hawai‘i. One was sighted in showed long-distance movements from Buck waters near Kahekili, Maui, a distance of Island, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, to both 265 km, shortly after the 2005 nesting season Nicaragua (1,400 km) and Venezuela (2,000 (W. Seitz and C. S. K., unpubl. data), and the km), as well as short-distance movements— second was sighted shortly after the 2008 staying within 300 km of Costa Rica and nesting season near Honoko¯wai, Maui, a Buck Island, Virgin Islands. Conversely, sat- distance of 260 km (W. Seitz, U. Keuper- ellite tracking of five post-nesting hawksbills Bennett and P. A. Bennett, unpubl. data). in the Seychelles, Indian Ocean, in 1998 The number of adult female hawksbills has showed movements limited to 35–175 km been estimated at less than 100, nesting at 20 (Mortimer and Balazs 2000). beaches (Katahira et al. 1994, Mangel et al. Genetic studies of hawksbill turtles have 2000, King et al. 2007; L. K. and W. Seitz, been published mainly on Caribbean popula- unpubl. data). Previously, Kamehame, a small, tions (Bass 1999, Mortimer et al. 2007). Pa- remote beach located on the southeastern cific populations are currently being analyzed coast of the island of Hawai‘i, was the main (Limpus and Miller 2008; NOAA Southwest nesting beach in the Hawaiian Islands (Kata- Fisheries Science Center, unpubl. data). hira et al. 1994). In addition to Kamehame, The Hawaiian Archipelago (U.S.A.) ex- 12 other nesting beaches can be found on tends for 2,450 km across an isolated region the island of Hawai‘i. When combined, these of the North Pacific (19N, 155Wto28N, beaches currently host the majority of hawks- 178W ). The hawksbill, known as ‘ea or bill nestings in the Hawaiian Islands (Kata- honu‘ea in the Hawaiian language, is rare in hira et al. 1994; L. K. and W. Seitz, unpubl. the Hawaiian Islands (Balazs 1978b, Balazs data). Nesting beaches can also be found on Movements of Hawaiian Hawksbill Turtles . Parker et al. 373 other islands: two on the northeastern shore attached to four hawksbills nesting at Kame- of O‘ahu (Balazs 1978b), one on Moloka‘i hame on the island of Hawai‘i (two in August (Balazs 1978b, pers. obs.), and four on Maui 1995 and two in August 1996) and five (Mangel et al. 2000, King et al. 2007). hawksbills nesting on the island of Maui at Hawksbills are known to be spongivores the following beaches: Kea¯lia (1997, 2005), (Meylan 1988), but details about the diet and Kawililipoa (1998, 1999), and Oneloa (2004). foraging areas of the hawksbill in Hawai‘i are Size of the turtles was measured in centi- still being studied. However, preliminary re- meters as straight carapace length (SCL) sults to date indicate that both sponges and and/or curved carapace length (CCL). algae are an important part of hawksbill diets All deployed transmitters sent data to in Hawai‘i (NOAA PIFSC, unpubl. data). polar-orbiting NOAA satellites carrying Ar- Preliminary results from genetic analyses sug- gos receivers (CLS America, http://www gest that the Hawai‘i nesting population in- .clsamerica.com). Argos locations were calcu- cludes only a few haplotypes (P. H. Dutton, lated by measuring the Doppler shift on the R. LeRoux, unpubl. data). transmitter signals, which is explained at the In this study, we characterize the move- CLS America, Inc. (2007) website http:// ment patterns of nine adult female hawksbills www.argos-system.org/. Positional accuracy within the Hawaiian Islands. Post-nesting is defined by Argos as follows (LC ¼ location movements to foraging areas are described to code): LC 3, within 150–350 m to the given illustrate habitat use and offer recommenda- location; LC 2, within 350–500 m; LC 1, tions for management and conservation of within 500–1,000 m; and LC 0, >1,000 m.