Surveys of the Sea Snakes and Sea Turtles on Reefs of the Sahul Shelf
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Surveys of the Sea Snakes and Sea Turtles on Reefs of the Sahul Shelf Monitoring Program for the Montara Well Release Timor Sea MONITORING STUDY S6 SEA SNAKES / TURTLES Dr Michael L Guinea School of Environment Faculty of Engineering, Health, Science and the Environment Charles Darwin University Darwin 0909 Northern Territory Draft Final Report 2012-2013 Acknowledgements: Two survey by teams of ten and eleven people respectively housed on one boat and operating out of three tenders for most of the daylight hours for 20 days and covering over 2500 km of ocean can only succeed with enthusiastic members, competent and obliging crew and good organisation. I am indebted to my team members whose names appear in the personnel list. I thank Drs Arne Rasmussen and Kate Sanders who gave their time and shared their knowledge and experiences. I thank the staff at Pearl Sea Coastal Cruises for their organisation and forethought. In particular I thank Alice Ralston who kept us on track and informed. The captains Ben and Jeff and Engineer Josh and the coxswains Riley, Cam, Blade and Brad; the Chef Stephen and hostesses Sunny and Ellen made the trips productive, safe and enjoyable. I thank the Department of Environment and Conservation WA for scientific permits to enter the reserves of Sandy Islet, Scott Reef and Browse Island. I am grateful to the staff at DSEWPaC, for facilitating and providing the permits to survey sea snakes and marine turtles at Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island. Activities were conducted under Animal Ethics Approval A11028 from Charles Darwin University. Olive Seasnake, Aipysurus laevis, on Seringapatam Reef. 2 Table of Contents: 1 Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Sea Snakes.................................................................................................................8 1.2 Marine Turtles ...........................................................................................................9 1.3 Study Limitations ......................................................................................................9 1.4 Recommendations ...................................................................................................10 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 10 2.1 The Reefs of the Sahul Shelf ...................................................................................10 2.2 Sea Snakes...............................................................................................................11 2.3 Marine Turtles .........................................................................................................13 2.3.1 Female Nesting Cycle .........................................................................................14 2.3.2 Inter-nesting Cycle ..............................................................................................15 2.3.3 The Foraging Turtles ..........................................................................................15 2.4 Previous surveys of the reefs of the Sahul Shelf .....................................................16 2.4.1 Ashmore Reef .....................................................................................................16 2.4.1.1 Sea Snakes ....................................................................................... 17 2.4.1.2 Marine Turtles .................................................................................. 19 2.4.2 Scott Reef............................................................................................................20 2.4.2.1 Sea Snakes ....................................................................................... 21 2.4.2.2 Marine Turtles .................................................................................. 22 2.4.2.2.1 Nesting Marine Turtles .............................................................. 22 2.4.2.2.2 Foraging Marine Turtles ............................................................ 22 2.4.3 Cartier Island ......................................................................................................22 2.4.3.1 Sea Snakes ....................................................................................... 23 2.4.3.2 Marine Turtles .................................................................................. 23 2.4.4 Hibernia Reef ......................................................................................................24 2.4.4.1 Sea Snakes ....................................................................................... 24 2.4.4.2 Marine Turtles .................................................................................. 25 2.4.5 Seringapatam Reef ..............................................................................................25 2.4.5.1 Sea Snakes ....................................................................................... 25 2.4.5.2 Marine Turtles .................................................................................. 26 3 2.4.6 Browse Island .....................................................................................................26 2.4.6.1 Sea Snakes ....................................................................................... 26 2.4.6.2 Marine Turtles .................................................................................. 26 2.4.7 Montgomery Reef ...............................................................................................27 2.4.7.1 Sea Snakes ....................................................................................... 27 2.4.7.2 Marine Turtles .................................................................................. 28 2.5 Objectives: ..............................................................................................................28 3 Approaches and Methods ........................................................................................................ 29 3.1 Itinerary ...................................................................................................................30 3.2 Survey Techniques and General Methods ...............................................................34 3.2.1 Manta Board Surveys .........................................................................................34 3.2.2 Standard Snorkel Surveys ...................................................................................36 3.2.3 Sea Snakes ..........................................................................................................36 3.2.4 Marine Turtles ....................................................................................................36 3.2.4.1 Non Nesting Turtles ......................................................................... 36 3.2.4.2 Foraging Marine Turtles .................................................................. 36 3.2.4.3 Nesting Marine Turtles .................................................................... 37 3.2.5 Habitat Assessment .............................................................................................38 3.3 Site Specific Methods .............................................................................................38 3.3.1 Sandy Islet Scott Reef: A control site .................................................................38 3.3.2 North Scott Reef: A control site .........................................................................38 3.3.3 Seringapatam Reef: A control site ......................................................................39 3.3.4 Hibernia Reef: A potentially impacted site .........................................................40 3.3.5 Ashmore Reef: A potentially impacted site ........................................................40 3.3.6 Cartier Island: A potentially impacted site .........................................................41 4 Results ......................................................................................................................................... 42 4.1.1 Sea Snake Diversity ............................................................................................42 4.1.2 Sea Snake Density ..............................................................................................46 4.2 Skin biopsies for species identification and validation ...........................................47 4.3 Marine Turtles .........................................................................................................49 4.3.1 Non Nesting Marine turtles ................................................................................49 4 4.3.1.1 Manta board surveys ........................................................................ 49 4.3.1.2 Boat Surveys .................................................................................... 50 4.3.2 Nesting Marine turtles ........................................................................................51 4.3.3 Foraging Marine turtles ......................................................................................53 4.3.4 Blood Chemistry .................................................................................................55 4.4 Habitat Assessment .................................................................................................56 5 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................