Loggerhead turtle movement off the coast of Taiwan

NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC)

Dataset credit

NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC)

Contacts

RoleNameOrganization 
Primary contact Denise Parker NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
Secondary contact George Balazs NOAA Pacific Islands Science Center
Secondary contact Jeffrey Polovina NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center N/A
Data entry Ei Fujioka Duke University

Citation

Abstract

Satellite tags were attached to 34 non-reproductive loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) caught as bycatch in the Taiwanese coastal poundnet fishery from 2002 to 2008. Transmission durations ranged from 6 to 503 d (median 172 d), with 5860 d tracked in total. Horizontal track data were processed using the Bayesian state-space modelling to extract the most likely daily positions, taking into account ARGOS data quality and other forms of statistical error. A region of high occupancy in the East China Sea, covering 433 549 km2 of coastal and pelagic area next to Taiwan, China, Japan, and South Korea, was characterized from the tracking data. Various attributes of this hotspot are described using satellite tracks and remotely sensed data. The tracks were merged with oceanographic data, emphasizing a new global dataset characterizing mesoscale eddies from satellite altimetry data. A proximity-probability approach coupled with odds ratio testing was used to infer orientation to eddy features. Comparisons against random points, simulated particle tracks, and drifter buoys were used to demonstrate turtle differential responses to eddies inside and outside the hotspot, depending on eddy features (i.e. cyclonic vs. anticyclonic, edges vs. centres). Turtles inside the hotspot utilize fewer strong cyclonic eddy edges than those outside.

Purpose

Define habitat use of loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta in the Pacific Ocean Basin.

Supplemental information

Metadata for individual animals / trackings including PTT Type, Duty cycle, Date deployed, Deployment location, Tag nos., Final location, Date terminated, Distance traveled, Transmitting days, Mean Speed of Travel, Capture status
are available upon request.

References

Attributes

Overview

This section explains attributes included in the original dataset. OBIS-SEAMAP restricts the attributes available to the public to date/time, lat/lon and species names/counts only. Should you need other attributes described here, you are encouraged to contact the data provider.

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
Only minimum required attributes are visible and downloadable online. Other attributes may be obtained upon provider's permission.

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)Description
oidUnique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
lon_360Longitude in decimal degrees (0 - 360)
latitudeLatitude in decimal degrees
date_originalDate in original format (dd.mm.yy)
timeTime (UTC)
lcArgos location class
argos_idTag ID
sclSCL (cm)
cclCCL (cm)
sexSex (M: male; F: female; U: Unknown)
weightWeight (kg)
longitudeLongitude in decimal degrees
obs_dateDate and time of the location (UTC)
speciesScientific name
sp_tsnTaxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
countNumber of animals (always 1)
geomGeometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP
OBIS-SEAMAP ID1304
Seabirds0
Marine mammals0
Sea turtles5,098
Rays and sharks0
Other species0
Non spatial0
Non species0
Total5,098
Date, Begin2002-05-05
Date, End2012-08-04
Temporal prec.111111
Latitude1.81 - 40.81
Longitude104.06 - 166.18
Coord. prec.3 decimal digits
PlatformTag
Data typeTelemetry location
TracklinesYES (ID: 1305)
Traveled (km)161,888
Travel hours161,393
Contr. through
Registered2015-07-28
Updated2015-08-06
StatusPublished
Sharing policy CC-BY-NC (Minimum)
Shared with OBIS*
GBIF (via DOI)*
* Aggregated summary
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See metadata in FGDC XML
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