![]() ![]() After the two-month incubation period, ~5-centimeter hatchlings emerge as a group. Every two to three years females return to nest on the very same beaches where they themselves were hatched. Hawksbill turtles are solitary for most of their lives and aggregate only to mate. Hawksbills are important components of healthy coral reef ecosystems and have been found to support healthy reefs by controlling sponges and algae which would otherwise out-compete reef-building corals for space. Like other species of sea turtles, Hawksbills contribute to marine and coastal food webs and transport nutrients within the oceans. They close their eyes when feeding on stingers, and are resistant to the sponge’s toxins. Hawksbills have a varied diet, consuming seagrasses, sea urchins, barnacles, anemones, jellyfish and their favorite food is sponges. Having a tough shell, adult Hawksbills have few natural predators, including sharks and crocodiles, making them approachable by divers and snorkelers. ![]() Once a Hawksbill has found a good resting spot, it will go back to it nightly. They are mostly found in coral reefs, lagoons, shallow coastal areas and in mangrove-fringed bays and estuaries. Hawksbill sea turtles prefer the warm waters, and are circum-tropical using different habitats at different stages of their life cycle, most commonly inhabit the top 20 meters of the water column. ![]() Sea turtles are a group of reptiles that have been roaming the seas for the last 100 million years. A reptile in the Cheloniidae family, the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate) is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys. The prestigious Blue Park Award, “recognizes outstanding efforts by nations, non-profits, MPA managers, and local stake-holders that effectively protect marine ecosystems now and into the future.Possessing a bird-like beak and distinctive overlapping scales and serrated edges of their shells, the Hawksbill sea turtle is one of the smaller and most agile of marine turtles, reaching ~75 cm long and weigh~ 50 Kg as adults. The Arnavon Islands was named the first marine national park in the Solomon Islands and was recently declared a Blue Park by the Marine Conservation Institute. How much do you know about hawksbills? Test your knowledge with this little quiz. One turtle we tracked, Norbert, travelled an amazing 2,700 kilometers in 11 weeks before returning to her foraging grounds! To learn how hawksbills can be better protected while out at sea, TNC has been studying their movements using tracking devices since 2016. Hawksbills often migrate hundreds of miles to nest at the beaches where they were born. Those efforts have made a big difference: the number of nests in the Arnavons has doubled. Perhaps most important, they deter poachers out to kill nesting females on the beaches. They also help hatchlings scramble down the coral-strewn sand to the sea. Local rangers trained by TNC find and mark nests, protect the eggs from predation by birds and relocate nests above the high-tide line if necessary. To bring back these important sea creatures, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has built relationships with local communities in the Arnavon Islands, Solomon Islands, where we’ve been working since 1992 to protect the largest hawksbill sea turtle rookery in the South Pacific. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |