12-07-2023
Record nesting of sea turtles on the coasts of the western Mediterranean during this season
Image: Close-up of a nest with eggs in the Ebro Delta (Catalonia).
• Teams from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona participate in the InGeNi-Caretta project. The project is an initiative funded by the Biodiversity Foundation that will generate scientific knowledge needed to study the increasingly common phenomenon of loggerhead turtle nesting in the western Mediterranean and facilitate decision-making
During the last decade, the beaches of the western Mediterranean have experienced an increase in the frequency of loggerhead turtle nests (Caretta caretta). This increase may correspond to a process of colonization of the species as a result of climate change, a fact that is considered of great importance for its survival due to the evidence and predictions of feminization and reduction of the viability of offspring in the spawning beaches of their original nesting areas.
Nevertheless, this emerging colonization would be taking place in spaces with high human occupation, as happens on the Spanish coast, which is why adequate management is needed to promote the success of these settlements in coexistence with the human presence.
The recent appearance of this process of colonization implies that, over the last few years, it has been necessary to develop new capacities on the part of all the agents involved, both in the scientific field and in the public administrations. The main factors that can negatively affect this growing population are lack of awareness from civil society, the lack of scientific information, the alteration of the spawning beaches for the successful incubation of the eggs and the effectiveness of the management measures that are being implemented.
Very active start to the 2023 season
The first sea turtle nest detected on a Spanish beach this season appeared at the beginning of June on Can Pere Toni beach in Palma, in the Balearic Islands. It was followed by more nests detected on beaches in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Murcia and Andalusia in the span of a few weeks. Some nesting attempts have also been detected. Faced with these events, the action teams have been able to observe and work with several nesting female turtles.
In Catalonia, three of the nests detected are located in the Ebro Delta, which may be indicating the growing importance of this natural space as a new nesting point. A noteworthy fact of this 2023 is that the nest detected on the beach of Sa Riera, in Begur, is the southernmost nesting point located so far in the Iberian Peninsula.
All this activity is posing a very big challenge for the monitoring networks, for local and regional governments and for academic institutions involved. They all have to activate, for each new nesting case, the recently developed protocols both in Catalonia and in the rest of the Spanish coastal communities for the turtle conservation and for data-gathering.
This increase in nesting activity on Spanish beaches is in line with what is happening in other areas of the Western Mediterranean, Italy is the paradigmatic case: in the first weeks of the season, nearly 100 nests have been detected. Regions such as Campania have recorded increases of more than 50% compared to previous years.
The InGeNi-Caretta project
Thanks to the funding of the Biodiversity Foundation, a consortium formed by the BETA Technology Center of the University of Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya, the University of Barcelona and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona, the University Polytechnic of Valencia, with the collaboration of the University of Valencia, and the Doñana Biological Station has started work on the InGeNi-Caretta project.
This multidisciplinary project is composed of a research team made up of prominent sea turtle experts. Its aim is to generate the scientific knowledge necessary to understand this phenomenon of colonization unique in the world and to facilitate decision-making in the planning and management of the Spanish coast of this threatened species. The set of results of InGeNi-Caretta will allow to improve the conservation measures of the species, particularly with regard to the nesting activity on the Spanish Mediterranean coasts.
The project includes several actions. On the one hand, it will allow a detailed study to be carried out on the potential suitability of the beaches of the Spanish coast for the nesting of sea turtles, considering their physicochemical characteristics and better defining the environmental parameters on the nesting beaches. On the other hand, it will make it possible to analyze the number, origin and behavior of reproductive individuals through genomic studies of the nests, as well as their biological effectiveness, the number of eggs, the rate of embryonic development and the viability of the young. Finally, by combining all the data obtained, it will also be possible to evaluate the impact of the offspring's genotype on their dispersion, viability and growth.
The consortium also hopes to examine the behavior of females and young turtles by using satellite telemetry and studying stable isotopes. This will make it possible to infer, from their movements, the areas of feeding and habitat use by females before spawning but also dispersal, to determine important areas for nesting. Finally, the success of ex situ conservation will be studied to evaluate the hatching percentage and the parameters of growth and viability of the hatchlings in captivity to facilitate head-starting practices.
InGeNi-Caretta is supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Source: PremsaUB
• Teams from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona participate in the InGeNi-Caretta project. The project is an initiative funded by the Biodiversity Foundation that will generate scientific knowledge needed to study the increasingly common phenomenon of loggerhead turtle nesting in the western Mediterranean and facilitate decision-making
During the last decade, the beaches of the western Mediterranean have experienced an increase in the frequency of loggerhead turtle nests (Caretta caretta). This increase may correspond to a process of colonization of the species as a result of climate change, a fact that is considered of great importance for its survival due to the evidence and predictions of feminization and reduction of the viability of offspring in the spawning beaches of their original nesting areas.
Nevertheless, this emerging colonization would be taking place in spaces with high human occupation, as happens on the Spanish coast, which is why adequate management is needed to promote the success of these settlements in coexistence with the human presence.
The recent appearance of this process of colonization implies that, over the last few years, it has been necessary to develop new capacities on the part of all the agents involved, both in the scientific field and in the public administrations. The main factors that can negatively affect this growing population are lack of awareness from civil society, the lack of scientific information, the alteration of the spawning beaches for the successful incubation of the eggs and the effectiveness of the management measures that are being implemented.
Very active start to the 2023 season
The first sea turtle nest detected on a Spanish beach this season appeared at the beginning of June on Can Pere Toni beach in Palma, in the Balearic Islands. It was followed by more nests detected on beaches in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Murcia and Andalusia in the span of a few weeks. Some nesting attempts have also been detected. Faced with these events, the action teams have been able to observe and work with several nesting female turtles.
In Catalonia, three of the nests detected are located in the Ebro Delta, which may be indicating the growing importance of this natural space as a new nesting point. A noteworthy fact of this 2023 is that the nest detected on the beach of Sa Riera, in Begur, is the southernmost nesting point located so far in the Iberian Peninsula.
All this activity is posing a very big challenge for the monitoring networks, for local and regional governments and for academic institutions involved. They all have to activate, for each new nesting case, the recently developed protocols both in Catalonia and in the rest of the Spanish coastal communities for the turtle conservation and for data-gathering.
This increase in nesting activity on Spanish beaches is in line with what is happening in other areas of the Western Mediterranean, Italy is the paradigmatic case: in the first weeks of the season, nearly 100 nests have been detected. Regions such as Campania have recorded increases of more than 50% compared to previous years.
The InGeNi-Caretta project
Thanks to the funding of the Biodiversity Foundation, a consortium formed by the BETA Technology Center of the University of Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya, the University of Barcelona and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona, the University Polytechnic of Valencia, with the collaboration of the University of Valencia, and the Doñana Biological Station has started work on the InGeNi-Caretta project.
This multidisciplinary project is composed of a research team made up of prominent sea turtle experts. Its aim is to generate the scientific knowledge necessary to understand this phenomenon of colonization unique in the world and to facilitate decision-making in the planning and management of the Spanish coast of this threatened species. The set of results of InGeNi-Caretta will allow to improve the conservation measures of the species, particularly with regard to the nesting activity on the Spanish Mediterranean coasts.
The project includes several actions. On the one hand, it will allow a detailed study to be carried out on the potential suitability of the beaches of the Spanish coast for the nesting of sea turtles, considering their physicochemical characteristics and better defining the environmental parameters on the nesting beaches. On the other hand, it will make it possible to analyze the number, origin and behavior of reproductive individuals through genomic studies of the nests, as well as their biological effectiveness, the number of eggs, the rate of embryonic development and the viability of the young. Finally, by combining all the data obtained, it will also be possible to evaluate the impact of the offspring's genotype on their dispersion, viability and growth.
The consortium also hopes to examine the behavior of females and young turtles by using satellite telemetry and studying stable isotopes. This will make it possible to infer, from their movements, the areas of feeding and habitat use by females before spawning but also dispersal, to determine important areas for nesting. Finally, the success of ex situ conservation will be studied to evaluate the hatching percentage and the parameters of growth and viability of the hatchlings in captivity to facilitate head-starting practices.
InGeNi-Caretta is supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Source: PremsaUB