|
In 2000, the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) began attaching satellite-transmitters to sea turtles after they nested on the beach at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Since its start, CCC has conducted satellite tracked tracking research on over 25 sea turtles (representing three species) from Tortuguero and the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica, from Chiriquí Beach, Panama, and from St. Kitts & Nevis.
The sea turtles are being tracked as part of a study designed to help CCC and others learn more about the migratory behavior of nesting sea turtles; green (Chelonia mydas), hawskbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea). This information will help both conservationists and natural resource managers improve protection efforts for these endangered species.
Project Sponsors
Funding for 2006 was provided by the following Project Sponsors: The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, CT, WWF Tortugas Marinas, and the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.
Funding for 2005 was provided by the following Project Sponsors: Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay and the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.
Funding for 2004 was provided by the following Project Sponsors: British Embassy - San Jose, Costa Rica, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD; with additional funding from PADI Project Aware.
In 2003 the project was conducted in partnership with researchers at Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute and the University of Central Florida; with additional funding from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.
Funding for 2002 was provided by the following Project Sponsor: Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay; with additional funding from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.
Funding for 2001 was provided by the following Project Sponsors: Volvo Ocean Adventure, Rotterdam Zoo, and Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay; with additional funding from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund.
In 2000 the project was conducted in partnership with Dr. Anne Meylan of the Florida Marine Research Institute, with technical assistance provided by NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service researchers Barbara Schroeder and George Balazs, and the collaboration of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), Costa Rica. Funding was provided by the U.S. NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service. The hawksbill sea turtles were tracked as part of a research project being coordinated by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that is tracking hawksbill migrations from nesting beaches throughout the wider Caribbean. Hawksbills nesting in Nicaragua, Belize, Mexico, Jamaica and elsewhere are also being tracked as part of the NMFS project.
|
