NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-503 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON SEA TURTLE BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 4 to 7 April 2002 Miami, Florida, USA Compiled by: Jeffrey A. Seminoff U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center 75 Virginia Beach Drive Miami, FL 33149 USA August 2003 NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-503 PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY-SECOND ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ON SEA TURTLE BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION 4 to 7 April 2002 Miami, Florida, USA Compiled by: Jeffrey A. Seminoff U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Donald L. Evans, Secretary NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION Conrad C. Lautenbacker, Jr., Administrator NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE William T. Hogarth, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Technical Memoranda are used for documentation and timely communication of prelimi- nary results, interim reports, or special-purpose information, and have not received com- plete formal review, editorial control or detailed editing. ii 22nd Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Miami, Florida USA NOTICE The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) does not approve, recommend or endorse any proprietary produce or material mentioned in this publication. No reference shall be made to NMFS, or to this publication furnished by NMFS, in any advertising or sales promotion which would indicate or imply that NMFS approves, recommends, or endorses any proprietary produce or material herein or which has as its purpose any intent to cause directly or indirectly the adver- tised product to be used or purchased because of NMFS promotion. For bibliographic purposes, this document should be cited as follows: Seminoff, J.A., compiler. 2003. Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-503, 308 p. http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov Technical Editor: Wayne N. Witzell Copies of this report can be obtained from: National Marine Fisheries Service Miami Laboratory Sea Turtle Program 75 Virginia Beach Drive Miami, FL 33149 USA or National Technical Information Service 5258 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 (800) 553-6847 or (703) 605-6000 http://www.ntis.gov 22nd Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Miami, Florida USA iii PREFACE The 22nd Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation was held April 4-7, 2002 in Miami, Florida and hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 22nd symposium was the most globally diverse ever with 839 individuals from 73 countries attending the symposium and associated regional meetings. One third of the attendees were from outside the United States. This diverse attendance was made possible in large part because of substantial donations from The Packard Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Marine Fisheries Ser- vice, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Convention on Migratory Species, Oceanic Research Foun- dation, and the International Sea Turtle Society which supported travel grants for 170 interna- tional travelers. A special one day mini-symposium was held concurrently on the second day of the symposium to focus specifically on black sea turtle biology and conservation, with 16 invited papers presented. One hundred and eight oral papers and 321 posters were accepted for the main three-day sym- posium. Spanish bi-directional interpretation was available for the entire symposium including the black turtle mini-symposium. For the first time French bi-directional interpretation was avail- able for most of the three day symposium. Two workshops, one on beachfront lighting and the other on sea turtle anatomy were well attended. For two days preceding the symposium, The Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) held its annual meeting with country coordinators from 26 Caribbean countries and territories in attendance. Similarly, The Ninth Reunion of Latin American Sea Turtle Specialists convened for two days prior to the symposium with 75 attendees from 15 countries. One day prior to the symposium, two other regional meetings convened at the symposium for the first time. These were the West African Sea Turtle Specialists Group, attended by 38 individuals from 12 West African and one East African country, and the Mediterranean Sea Turtle Specialists which had 23 participants and observers from 13 countries. The IUCN Marine Turtle Specialists Group also met following the symposium and was well attended as always. This symposium would not have been possible without the service of countless dedicated volun- teers who contributed thousands of hours during the year preceding the symposium, throughout the symposium, and until completion of the proceedings. To them on behalf of the entire sympo- sium community I express our gratitude and deep appreciation. As you reacquaint yourselves with the broad range of topical and informative papers in the pro- ceedings it will become self evident just how successful the 22nd Sea Turtle Symposium was in advancing the cause of sea turtle conservation. It has truly been a great honor and my pleasure to serve as President of the 22nd Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. Earl Possardt iv 22nd Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Miami, Florida USA COMMITTEES, CHAIRS, AND KEY ORGANIZERS Registrar Sandy MacPherson Conference Coordination Donna Broadbent Program Committee Barbara Schroeder (Chair), Kristy Long, Therese Conant, Michael Coyne, Marydelle Donnelly, Patrick Opay Poster Presentations Mike Salmon Webmaster Michael Coyne Audio/Visual Dale Garbett Travel Committee Jeffrey Seminoff (Chair), Ana Barragan (Latin America), Karen Eckert (Caribbean), Fionna Glen, Brendan Godley, Annette Broderick (Europe), Angela Formia (Africa), Nicolas Pilcher (Asia/Pacific), Alan Bolten (USA/Canada) Historian Barbara Schroeder Parliamentarian Frank Paladino Logo Dawn Navarro-Ericson Auction Rod Mast, Lorna Patrick Resolutions Jack Frazier, Sali Bache Entertainment Donna Broadbent, Earl Possardt Thing Committee Blair Witherington Volunteer Coordination Allen Foley, Tony Redlow, Karrie Singel Field Trips J.B. Miller, Sandy MacPherson Vendor Arrangements Tom McFarland Nominations Committee Stephanie Presti (Chair), T. Todd Jones, Sebastian Troëng, Anabella Barrios Student Awards Jeanette Wyneken, Anders Rhodin Black Turtle Symposium Jeffrey Seminoff, Wallace J. Nichols Latin Reunion Ana Barragan, Anabella Barrios, Joanna Alfaro WIDECAST Meeting Karen Eckert Mediterranean Meeting Dimitris Margaritoulis West African Meeting Jacques Fretey Marine Turtle Specialist Meeting F. Alberto Abreu-Grobois Fund Raising Jack Frazier, Wallace J. Nichols, Barbara Schroeder, Earl Possardt, Jeffrey Seminoff, Donna Broadbent EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Earl Possardt President Nicolas Pilcher President Elect James R. Spotila Past President Edwin B. Drane Treasurer Sheryan Epperly Secretary BOARD OF DIRECTORS Karen Eckert 2002 Anders G.J. Rhodin until 2004 Brendan Godley 2002 Hiroyuki Suganuma until 2005 Stephen J. Morreale 2002 Peter Dutton until 2005 Pamela Plotkin until 2003 Clara E. Padilla until 2006 Roderic B. Mast until 2003 Frank Paladino until 2006 22nd Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Miami, Florida USA v STUDENT AWARDS There were 122 student presentations - 28 papers and 94 posters with $US 3,250 awarded to eight recipi- ents. The awards committee was composed of Jeanette Wyneken (Chair), Ana R. Barragan, Stephen J. Morreale, Frank V. Paladino, Michael Salmon, Jeffrey A. Seminoff, Lisa Campbell, Molly Lutcavage, Wal- lace J. Nichols. The awards were financed by the Chelonian Research Foundation and the Sea Turtle Symposium. Oral Presentations Best Biology Oral Presentation Jennifer M. Keller, Margie Peden-Adams, M. Andrew Stamper, John R. Kucklick, and Patricia McClellan- Green. “Are contaminants affecting loggerhead health?” (Duke University, Coastal Systems Science and Policy, and Integrated Toxicology Program, Beaufort, North Carolina, USA). $500 Runner Up Biology Oral Presentation Larisa Avens and Kenneth J. Lohmann. “Orientation cues used by juvenile loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, from Core Sound, North Carolina, USA” (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA). $250 Best Conservation Oral Presentation Kiki Dethmers and Damien Broderick. “Commercial turtle harvests in Australasia: assessing the extent of their impact using mtDNA markers” (Nijmegen University, P.O. Box 9010, 6500 GL, Nijmegen, GLD NL). $500 Poster Presentations Best Biology Poster T. Todd Jones, Richard Reina, and Peter L. Lutz. “A comparison of the ontogeny of oxygen consumption in leatherback, Dermochelys coriacea, and olive ridley, Lepidochelys olivacea, sea turtle hatchlings - Differ- ent strokes for different life styles” (Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd., Boca Raton, Florida 33431, USA). $500 Runner Up Biology Poster Milagros Lopez Mendilaharsu, Susan C. Gardner, Jeffrey A. Seminoff, and Rafael Riosmena. “Feeding ecology of the East Pacific green turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizii), in Bahía Magdalena, B.C.S, Mexico” (Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noroeste, S.C. La Paz, BCS 23090, Mexico). $250 Best Field-Based & Experimental Conservation Poster Christopher Makowski, Ryan Slattery, and Michael Salmon. “Shark fishing”: A technique for estimating the distribution of juvenile green turtles