Cayman Islands 2003: Loggerhead & Green Turtles

Cayman Islands Department of Environment

Dataset credit

Data provider
Marine Turtle Research Group
Originating data center
Satellite Tracking and Analysis Tool (STAT)
Project partner
This project represents a collaborative effort between the Cayman Islands Department of Environment and the Marine Turtle Research Group.
Project sponsor or sponsor description
The Department of Environment and MTRG would like to thank Erika and Jacob Olde for their sponsorship of ?Samia? and Year 7 and 8 students of St. Ignatius High School for their sponsorship of Shelby and Myles. St. Ignatius students received generous donations from Rotary International, Bank of Butterfield, Tortuga Rum Company, and the Final Touch. This research is also supported by Cayman Wildlife Connection, and a grant from the Natural Environment Research Council to MTRG. Finally, Sirtrack Inc made this project possible by providing custom-build KiwiSat 101 PTTs almost immediately after St. Ignatius students completed their fund-raising and an order was placed.

Contacts

RoleNameOrganization 
Primary contact Janice Blumenthal Marine Turtle Research Group
Data entry Michael Coyne seaturtle.org

Citation

Abstract

When Christopher Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands in 1503, he named them Las Tortugas (the turtles). Ferdinand Columbus recounted that the islands were ?full of tortoises, as was all the sea about, insomuch as that they looked like little rocks? The green turtle population was estimated at over 6.5 million turtles at the time of the discovery, and turtle fishing (turtling) came to form the basis of the economy and culture of the Cayman Islands. This historical importance is memorialized in our Coat of Arms and currency, but by the beginning of the 19th century, commercial exploitation had driven the immense green turtle nesting population in the Cayman Islands to the brink of extinction.
Wild turtles continue have a central place in the memories and experiences of many of our citizens, but today, only a few dozen nesting sea turtles remain. Where do these endangered greens and loggerheads go after they leave our beaches? With the help of schools and the community, the Cayman Islands Department of Environment and the Marine Turtle Research Group have begun a satellite telemetry project to track our historically and culturally important sea turtles for the first time.

Purpose

N/A

Supplemental information

Visit STAT's project page for additional information.

References

Attributes

Overview

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
prognumProgram number
tag_idPTT ID
lcLocation class
iqQuality indicator
dir1Dir 1
nb_mesNumber of messages received
big_nb_mesdefinition not provided
best_levelBest signal strength in dB
pass_durationPass duration in seconds
nopcNumber Of Plausibility Checks successful (from 0-4)
calcul_freqCalculated frequency
altitudeAltitude used for location calculation
sensorsSensors
speciesSpecies name
project_idSTAT Project ID
lc_filterParameters to location filtering
speed_filterParameters to speed filtering
distance_filterParameters to distance filtering
topo_filterParameters to topo filtering
time_filterParameters to time filtering
angle_filterParameters to angle filtering
life_stageLife stage of the animal
genderGender of the animal
wetdryWet or dry
wetdry_filterParameters to Wet or dry filterint
obs_datetimeDate and time (local time zone)
timezone_hTime difference from UTC
OBIS-SEAMAP ID349
Seabirds0
Marine mammals0
Sea turtles1,605
Rays and sharks0
Other species0
Non spatial0
Non species0
Total1,605
Date, Begin2003-07-28
Date, End2006-04-26
Temporal prec.111111
Latitude12.22 - 19.47
Longitude-88.74 - -80.90
Coord. prec.3 decimal digits
PlatformTag
Data typeTelemetry location
TracklinesYES (ID: 351)
Traveled (km)11,705
Travel hours33,414
Contr. throughSatellite Tracking and Analysis Tool
Registered2006-07-09
Updated2024-02-29
StatusPublished
Sharing policy Permission required
Shared with SWOT
OBIS*
GBIF (via DOI)*
* Aggregated summary
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