Dubai Turtle Rehabilitation Project, Dubai, UAE.
Sundive Research, Byron Bay, NSW, Australia.
PLoS One. 2021 Feb 16;16(2):e0246241. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246241. eCollection 2021.
The rehabilitation of wildlife can contribute directly to the conservation of threatened species by helping to maintain wild populations. This study focused on determining the post-rehabilitation survival and spatial ecology of sea turtles and on comparing the movements of individuals with flipper amputations (amputees) to non-amputee animals. Our aims were to assess whether rehabilitated sea turtles survive after release, to compare and contrast the movement characteristics of the different species of sea turtles we tracked, and to examine whether amputees and non-amputees within species behaved similarly post-release. Twenty-six rehabilitated sea turtles from four species, including hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata (n = 12), loggerhead Caretta caretta (n = 11), green Chelonia mydas (n = 2), and olive ridley Lepidochelys olivacea (n = 1) sea turtles from the United Arab Emirates were fitted with satellite tags before release. Rehabilitation times ranged from 89 to 817 days (mean 353 ± 237 days). Post-release movements and survival were monitored for 8 to 387 days (mean 155 ± 95 days) through satellite tracking. Tag data suggested that three tracked sea turtles died within four days of release, one after 27 days, and one after 192 days from what are thought to be anthropogenic factors unrelated to their pre-rehabilitation ailments. We then compared habitat use and movement characteristics among the different sea turtle species. Although half of all turtles crossed one or more international boundaries, dispersal varied among species. Loggerhead turtles had a high dispersal, with 80% crossing an international boundary, while hawksbill turtles displayed higher post-release residency, with 66% remaining within UAE territorial waters. Amputee turtles moved similarly to non-amputee animals of the same species. Loggerhead turtles travelled faster (mean ± sd = 15.3 ± 8 km/day) than hawksbill turtles (9 ± 7 km/day). Both amputee and non-amputee sea turtles within a species moved similarly. Our tracking results highlight that rehabilitated sea turtles, including amputees, can successfully survive in the wild following release for up to our ~one-year monitoring time therefore supporting the suitability for release of sea turtles that have recovered from major injuries such as amputations. However, more broadly, the high mortality from anthropogenic factors in the Arabian Gulf region is clearly a serious issue and conservation challenge.
野生动物的康复可以通过帮助维持野生种群，直接为受威胁物种的保护做出贡献。本研究的重点是确定海龟的康复后生存和空间生态学，并比较有鳍肢截肢（截肢者）和非截肢动物的个体运动。我们的目的是评估释放后康复的海龟是否能够存活，比较和对比我们追踪的不同海龟物种的运动特征，并检查同种动物中的截肢者和非截肢者在释放后是否表现出相似的行为。从阿联酋的四个物种中，包括玳瑁 Eretmochelys imbricata（n = 12）、红海龟 Caretta caretta（n = 11）、绿海龟 Chelonia mydas（n = 2）和榄蠵龟 Lepidochelys olivacea（n = 1），共有 26 只康复海龟被配备了卫星标签，然后才被放归野外。康复时间从 89 天到 817 天不等（平均 353 ± 237 天）。通过卫星跟踪，对释放后的运动和生存情况进行了 8 到 387 天（平均 155 ± 95 天）的监测。标记数据表明，有三只被追踪的海龟在释放后四天内死亡，一只在 27 天后死亡，一只在 192 天后死亡，这些海龟的死亡原因被认为与它们康复前的疾病无关，是人为因素造成的。然后，我们比较了不同海龟物种的栖息地利用和运动特征。尽管所有海龟中有一半跨越了一个或多个国际边界，但扩散情况因物种而异。红海龟的扩散程度较高，有 80%跨越了国际边界，而玳瑁海龟的居留时间较长，有 66%仍留在阿联酋领海内。同种的截肢海龟和非截肢海龟的运动方式相似。红海龟的移动速度更快（平均 ± sd = 15.3 ± 8 公里/天），而玳瑁海龟的移动速度较慢（9 ± 7 公里/天）。同种动物的截肢海龟和非截肢海龟的运动方式相似。我们的跟踪结果表明，包括截肢者在内的康复海龟在野外释放后可以成功存活一年，因此支持对已经从截肢等重大伤害中康复的海龟进行释放。然而，更广泛地说，阿拉伯海湾地区因人为因素造成的高死亡率显然是一个严重的问题和保护挑战。
