This online database and mapping interface is built on the SWOT database made possible through the partnership described below and support from all the contributors around the world. The SWOT database incorporates the WIDECAST database as well.
Since 2012, the data collection and database management are conducted by the OBIS-SEAMAP team at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University. The OBIS-SEAMAP team also develops the online interface.
| Contacts |
Bryan Wallace, Oceanic Society
The OBIS-SEAMAP team, Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University
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| Abstract |
SWOT - the State of the World's Sea Turtles - is a partnership led by Marine Flagship Species Program at the Oceanic Society, Conservation International (CI), the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG), and supported by the OBIS-SEAMAP project at the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL), Duke University.
However, the lifeblood of the effort is the network of more than 550 people and projects that contribute data to the SWOT database, the only comprehensive, global database of sea turtle nesting sites. the SWOT team has completed seven years of data collection including the global nesting locations of all seven marine turtle species: green, leatherbacks, loggerheads, hawksbills, flatbacks, olive and Kemp's ridleys. SWOT now collects data for all species in its annual data collection.
In addition to collating nesting abundance and distribution information for all species, SWOT now hosts data compiled by the MTSG Burning Issues Working Group that includes Regional Management Units for all seven marine turtle species, including all available georeferenced mtDNA and nDNA stocks. Dr. David Pike, James Cook University, has also graciously provided data layers of nesting habitat suitability for all species that were produced by using SWOT data. These files can be viewed here and downloaded for analyses once the Terms of Use are agreed upon. Furthermore, SWOT supports recommendations for monitoring effort schemes (minimum data standards or MDS) that will allow for comparison of long-term nesting abundance and trend estimates for regional and global populations of sea turtle species. These advances will solidify SWOT as the premier global monitoring system for sea turtles. Information on MDS is available at http://seaturtlestatus.org/data/standards.
The current SWOT database contains sea turtle nesting records from over 120 countries all over the world. This online tool, hosted by OBIS SEAMAP, builds on previous work on producing a WIDECAST Atlas, initiated and supported by the WIDECAST organization as well as several other regional sea turtle organizations. Data records coming from projects that are both a part of a regional organization are flagged as such within the SWOT database. Data specifically collected for the WIDECAST Atlas can still be accessed as a stand-alone application. New data from the WIDECAST network is added to the SWOT database annually.
Records in the SWOT database are reported in several formats to preserve ease of reporting for individual data providers. When possible, exact counts of nesting females, clutches, or crawls are reported, however binned values are given for some sites where no exact estimates were available. Region- and species-specific conversion factors are used to convert among count types for display purposes only. This ensures that no nesting sites are dropped from the display when viewing the data using different types of counts. The converted values themselves are never displayed, and users should refer to the individual data records to view the original counts reported. When all species are displayed, colony size is used to color the points with the color white representing unquantified sites. The most recent record for the species nesting in the greatest abundance at that site is used to determine the color. Nesting sites containing multiple species are represented with a circle.
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| Data terms of reference |
SWOT continues to welcome any sea turtle nesting and telemetry data to support SWOT's long-term scientific goals of analyzing global sea turtle nesting abundance and distribution and identifying important areas for sea turtles. Information for data providers can be found online and any questions can be e-mailed to swotdata@gmail.com. All data contributed to SWOT will be protected under the SWOT Terms of Reference. Inquiries can also be made as to the availability of data for use in research projects. The SWOT Scientific Advisory Board will release nest location data for use in projects that meet our review requirements; however, individual data provider permissions will need to be acquired by any parties wishing to utilize abundance data.
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| Citations |
- Kot, C.Y., A. DiMatteo, E. Fujioka, B. Wallace, B. Hutchinson, J. Cleary, P. Halpin and R. Mast, 2012. The State of the World's Sea Turtles Online Database: Data provided by the SWOT Team and hosted on OBIS-SEAMAP. Oceanic Society, Conservation International, IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG), and Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University. http://seamap.env.duke.edu/swot.
- Halpin, P.N., A.J. Read, E. Fujioka, B.D. Best, B. Donnelly, L.J. Hazen, C. Kot, K. Urian, E. LaBrecque, A. Dimatteo, J. Cleary, C. Good, L.B. Crowder, and K.D. Hyrenbach. 2009. OBIS-SEAMAP: The world data center for marine mammal, sea bird, and sea turtle distributions. Oceanography 22(2):104-115
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| Most recent report |
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| Previous reports |
- SWOT Report vol VII. The World's Most (and Least) Threatened Sea Turtles. 2012.
- SWOT Report vol VI. The Green Turtle: The Most Valuable Reptile in the World. 2011.
- SWOT Report vol V. Kemp's and Olive Ridleys: Small Turtles, Big Secrets. 2010.
- SWOT Report vol IV. Discovering the flatback: Australiaâs Own Sea Turtle. 2009.
- SWOT Report vol III. Where the Hawksbills Are. 2008.
- SWOT Report vol II. A Global Glimpse of Loggerhead Nesting. 2007.
- SWOT Report vol I. Burning Issues in Sea Turtle Conservation... Leatherback Sea Turtles of the World. 2006.
All reports are available at http://www.seaturtlestatus.org
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