DPaW shells out for Sea turtle transmitters - via Herp Digest

by Rourke Walsh- June 1, 2015, The West Australian

Baby flatback turtles carrying tiny satellite transmitters were released into Kimberley waters on Tuesday.

Department of Parks and Wildlife principal scientist Scott Whiting said the transmitters would provide vital information about the "lost years" after flatback hatchlings entered the sea.

"Evidence suggests flatback turtles are unique among marine turtles and do not spend their early years in the open ocean, but remain on the continental shelf during their development," he said.

"This project will help fill in the knowledge gaps about their early movements, important habitats and may provide some insight into why they don't venture into the open ocean.

"We plan to release 35 four-month-old turtles 4km offshore at Eighty Mile Beach Marine Park, so they are not exposed to inshore predators and have the best chance of surviving."

Dr Whiting said it was the first time neonate, or juvenile, flatback turtles had been tracked with satellite technology.

"These hatchlings were collected at Eighty Mile Beach in January and were raised at AQWA until they each weighed 300 grams or more, so they were big enough to hold a small solar-powered satellite transmitter," Dr Whiting said.

"This is the smallest technology currently available, but it is too large to attach to hatchlings straight from the nest." 

Dr Whiting said people could track some of the released turtles at http://www.seaturtle.org/trackinghttp://www.seaturtle.org/tracking.

Baby turtles to be tagged for study into notoriously tough flatbacks

Australian Associated Press

Tuesday 20 January 2015 07.53 GMT

The baby flatback turtle climbs out of its sandy nest and stares at the perilous shore with a look that says “bring it on”.

Even before they’re born, these blue-eyed beauties are built to withstand the greatest dangers of Australia’s northern continental shelf.

A flatback mother puts her energy into laying fewer but larger eggs than other turtle species to ensure her babies have the best start in life.

Continued ...

Australia’s new marine parks are a boon for flatback turtles

The value of Australia’s newly established network of marine parks has been highlighted by an international project that used satellites to track the vulnerable flatback sea turtle.

A valuable migration corridor of more than 1,000km in length, tens of kilometres in width and tens of kilometres from the mainland, has been identified by researchers tracking 70 flatback sea turtles by satellite. Tracking devices were attached to the turtles’ soft shells using a flexible harness that detached after about 12 months. A signal depicting the turtle’s position was transmitted in real-time every 10 to 15 minutes as the turtles surfaced to breath, to a constellation of satellites known as the ‘Argos system’.

Continued