PROJECTS
Systematic priorities for management of key marine mega-fauna in the face of climate change (2010-2013)
The northern Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and Torres Strait region have globally significant populations of sea turtles and dugongs that have spiritual and social importance to Australia's indigenous peoples and value to the tourist industry. The resilience to climate change of these populations is already severely compromised by dramatic reductions in population sizes due to impacts such as bycatch, direct take, boat strike, and pollution. Depletion increases the vulnerability of populations to additional threats and lowers their ability to adapt to and recover from climate change. Therefore, managers face the challenge of addressing the direct effects of climate change, as well as ongoing threats that sea turtles and dugongs face throughout their geographic range.
Most management agencies have developed simplistic threat-ranking procedures to identify priorities, but most of these assume a static environment, ignore synergies and interactions between different drivers, and lack a proper assessment of the costs of management actions. Consequently, there is an urgent need for a systematic decision-theory framework that accounts for the benefits and costs of actions while incorporating the complex effects of climate change.
Therefore, the aim of this project is to develop systematic priorities for the management of sea turtles and dugongs to increase their resilience to climate change.
Informing dugong hunting management in Torres Strait by studying dugong movements and habitat usage (2010)
Torres Strait supports the world’s largest dugong population. Local information and modelling suggest that this population is over-harvested. Thus, the purpose of this project is to inform the adaptive cycle of dugong management in Torres Strait by working with Torres Strait Islanders including Traditional Owners and the Torres Strait Region Authority to use satellite tracking to quantify the movements and habitat use of dugongs in Torres Strait.
Foraging ecology of hawksbill turtles at Yorke Island (2009)
In early 2009 a commercial sponge farm was established at Yorke Island, Torres Strait. Since sea turtles are known to forage on sponge initial concern was expressed over the possible interactions between foraging hawksbills on the reef area around Yorke Island and the sponge farm. Therefore, the aim of this project was to: 1) investigate the foraging ecology of hawksbill turtles at these reefs; and 2) determine if there was any interaction between hawksbill turtles and the sponge farm. The results from this research can be found at :
- Fuentes MMPB (2009). Hawksbill turtles at Masig Island II. Technical report for the Torres Strait Regional Authority and Kailag Enterprises.
Risk assessment of climate change impacts on marine turtles (2006 - 2010)
My PhD research investigates the impacts that climate change will have on sea turtles. More specifically, I assess the risk of climate change to the reproductive aspect of marine turtles, forecast potential responses by turtles to climate change and provide advice for management options aimed at reducing the susceptibility and increasing the resilience of turtles to impacts of climate change. This project is carried out with the largest green turtle population in the world, which nests in the northern Great Barrier Reef (nGBR) and in Torres Strait. In order to make my research more applicable for different stakeholders and policy makers I work closely with different groups; including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), Torres Strait Land and Sea Management Unit, Queensland Environmental Protection Agency (QEPA), including the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS), Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) and Queensland Marine Parks as well as different aboriginal communities.
Human dimensions of Madagascar’s marine protected areas (2005)
The aim of this project was to examine fishing pressure, dependence of local communities on marine resources and to investigate communities’ socioeconomic conditions and their perceptions of coastal resources. Work was conducted in thirteen communities within or adjacent to Madagascar’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs); Nosy Atafana MPA in the Mananara Nord biosphere reserve; Tampolo, Tanjona, and Masoala MPAs in the Masoala National Park, and the recently designated Sahamalaza MPA. The information collected was used to inform coral reef management of best management practices for each studied region. Some of the outcomes can be found at:
- Cinner JE, Fuentes MMPB, Randriamahazo H (2009). Exploring social resilience in Madagascar’s marine protected areas. Ecology and Society 14(1):41.
- Cinner JE and Fuentes MMPB (2008). Human Dimensions of Madagascar’s Marine Protected Areas. Pages 397-404 in Obura D, Tamelander J, and Linden O. “Ten years after bleaching – consequences and issues facing countries in the Indian Ocean. CORDIO/Sida-SAREC. Mombasa.
For further information contact the project’s principal investigator Dr. Joshua Cinner (Joshua.cinner@jcu.edu.au)
The Barbados sea turtle project (2005)
The Barbados Sea Turtle Project (BSTP) started in 1987 to promote conservation of sea turtles in Barbados. Their aim is to restore local marine turtle populations to levels at which they can fulfill their ecological roles, while still providing opportunities for sustainable use, and to support similar efforts in other countries of the Caribbean. This is achieved through: environmental education with local communities, tourists and hotels; in-water survey to investigate the foraging ecology and distribution of hawksbill turtles; monitoring nesting hawksbills; hatchling release program. For more information visit the Barbados sea turtle project.
Feeding ecology of juvenile green turtles at Green Island Australia (2004)
My Honors project investigated the feeding ecology of green turtles at the Green Island Marine Park. During this study I determined the diet and investigated the diet selection,population structure and spatial distribution of juvenile green turtles at Green Island, Australia. Visitors to Green Island can choose from a range of activities such as reef walking, snorkeling and diving. My study illustrated that most of this activities overlap with areas frequently utilized by foraging turtles and therefore with the information collected I suggested areas that should be protected from further water-based activities. The outcomes were published at:
- Fuentes MMPB, Lawler IR, and Gyuris E (2006). Dietary preferences of juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) on a tropical reef flat at green island, Queensland, Australia. Wildlife Research, 32 (8).
Projeto TAMAR (2001)
The TAMAR Project is administered by IBAMA in partnership with the Pro-TAMAR Foundation. The project monitors 1000 kilometers of beaches, with 22 stations covering 8 Brazilian states. Tamar’s work is based on the concept that community involvement is essential for the protection, research and conservation of sea turtles. Based in this principle, TAMAR developed their sea turtles protection program. Today Tamar has more than 1200 people involved in their work, 80 % are fishermen and their relatives or local residents from the villages where the project is present. Besides providing direct employment, TAMAR has also developed an environmental education program and promotes alternatives to improve life quality through the creation of new jobs and alternative source of income. For more information visit project TAMAR.