A six season study of marine turtle nesting at Praia do Forte, Bahia, Brazil, with implicatiosn for conservation and management

Published source details Marcovaldi M.A. & Laurent A. (1996) A six season study of marine turtle nesting at Praia do Forte, Bahia, Brazil, with implicatiosn for conservation and management. Chelonian Conservation and Biology, 2, 55-59.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Relocate nests/eggs to a hatchery: Sea turtles Action Link

Relocate nests/eggs to a hatchery: Sea turtles

A replicated, controlled study in 1987–1993 on a beach in Bahia, Brazil (Marcovaldi & Laurent 1996), found that relocating sea turtle nests to an on-beach hatchery resulted in lower hatching success compared to nests left in situ (though some of these nests were protected or moved) for one of two species. Hatching success was lower for loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta nests in the hatchery (63%) than for nests left in situ (73%), though there was no significant difference for hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata (hatchery: 52%; left in situ: 61%). Hatching success was higher for loggerhead nests relocated within six hours of laying (69%) than for nests relocated more slowly (6–12 hours: 63%; >12 hours: 63%), but there was no significant difference for hawksbills (within six hours: 57%; 6–12 hours: 53%; >12 hours: 56%). In September–May 1987–1993, three sections of a beach were patrolled daily to record nesting events. Eggs from 1,659 nests on two sections of the beach (19 and 10 km long) were brought to a fenced hatchery located on a third section of the beach (14 km), where they were reburied (15 cm deep) and surrounded by plastic mesh cylinders (35 cm high, 60 cm wide). A further 514 nests were left in situ, but those at risk from predation were covered with a plastic mesh (100 x 100 cm), and those at risk from tidal flooding or human activity were relocated to another natural setting on the beach (number of nests not reported).

(Summarised by: William Morgan)