Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance

Efforts for the conservation of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary (CHTS), Redang Island, Malaysia, have been in place for over two decades. Here we propose that the recruitment of new mothers to this rookery has a significant influence on the recovery of nest abund...

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Main Authors: Wenceslau, José Francisco Carminatti, Mohd Uzair Rusli, Mohd Fadzil Akhir, Santini, Giacomo, Juanita Joseph
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: Springer Verlag 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31853/1/Recruitment%20and%20El%20Ni%C3%B1o-Southern%20Oscillation%20long-term%20effects%20on%20green%20turtle%20%28Chelonia%20mydas%29%20nest%20abundance_ABSTRACT.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31853/2/Recruitment%20and%20El%20Ni%C3%B1o-Southern%20Oscillation%20long-term%20effects%20on%20green%20turtle%20%28Chelonia%20mydas%29%20nest%20abundance.pdf
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author Wenceslau, José Francisco Carminatti
Mohd Uzair Rusli
Mohd Fadzil Akhir
Santini, Giacomo
Juanita Joseph
author_facet Wenceslau, José Francisco Carminatti
Mohd Uzair Rusli
Mohd Fadzil Akhir
Santini, Giacomo
Juanita Joseph
author_sort Wenceslau, José Francisco Carminatti
collection UMS
description Efforts for the conservation of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary (CHTS), Redang Island, Malaysia, have been in place for over two decades. Here we propose that the recruitment of new mothers to this rookery has a significant influence on the recovery of nest abundance in the long term. A 2–3 years’ quasi-periodic oscillation in nest abundance was also observed. This fluctuation might have been a consequence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which affects sea-surface temperature (SST) in the South China Sea (SCS) in the months following El Niño/La Niña events. To test these hypotheses, the number of clutches laid in the CHTS over a 24-year period was assessed via the Seasonal and Trend Decomposition by Loess (STL) algorithm. The long-term trend of nest abundance was shown to be dependent on the recruitment of new mothers, while a 2–3 years’ quasi-periodic oscillation in nest abundance showed a 2.5-year-lagged negative correlation to the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) and a 2-year-lagged negative correlation to the SST data series from SCS shallow waters, including known foraging grounds of green turtles nesting in the CHTS. In summary, we demonstrated that La-Niña peaks by decreasing SST in the SCS for the subsequent semester promotes green turtle nesting after 2–3 years. These results highlight the influence of broad climatological fluctuations in the sea turtles’ life cycle and the importance of conservation measures to secure their entire home range and life stages.
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spelling ums.eprints-318532022-03-15T03:46:30Z https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31853/ Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance Wenceslau, José Francisco Carminatti Mohd Uzair Rusli Mohd Fadzil Akhir Santini, Giacomo Juanita Joseph GC229-296.8 Currents QL640-669.3 Reptiles and amphibians Efforts for the conservation of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Chagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary (CHTS), Redang Island, Malaysia, have been in place for over two decades. Here we propose that the recruitment of new mothers to this rookery has a significant influence on the recovery of nest abundance in the long term. A 2–3 years’ quasi-periodic oscillation in nest abundance was also observed. This fluctuation might have been a consequence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which affects sea-surface temperature (SST) in the South China Sea (SCS) in the months following El Niño/La Niña events. To test these hypotheses, the number of clutches laid in the CHTS over a 24-year period was assessed via the Seasonal and Trend Decomposition by Loess (STL) algorithm. The long-term trend of nest abundance was shown to be dependent on the recruitment of new mothers, while a 2–3 years’ quasi-periodic oscillation in nest abundance showed a 2.5-year-lagged negative correlation to the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) and a 2-year-lagged negative correlation to the SST data series from SCS shallow waters, including known foraging grounds of green turtles nesting in the CHTS. In summary, we demonstrated that La-Niña peaks by decreasing SST in the SCS for the subsequent semester promotes green turtle nesting after 2–3 years. These results highlight the influence of broad climatological fluctuations in the sea turtles’ life cycle and the importance of conservation measures to secure their entire home range and life stages. Springer Verlag 2021 Article PeerReviewed text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31853/1/Recruitment%20and%20El%20Ni%C3%B1o-Southern%20Oscillation%20long-term%20effects%20on%20green%20turtle%20%28Chelonia%20mydas%29%20nest%20abundance_ABSTRACT.pdf text en https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31853/2/Recruitment%20and%20El%20Ni%C3%B1o-Southern%20Oscillation%20long-term%20effects%20on%20green%20turtle%20%28Chelonia%20mydas%29%20nest%20abundance.pdf Wenceslau, José Francisco Carminatti and Mohd Uzair Rusli and Mohd Fadzil Akhir and Santini, Giacomo and Juanita Joseph (2021) Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance. Marine Biology, 168 (180). pp. 1-12. ISSN 0025-3162 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00227-021-03989-7.pdf https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-021-03989-7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-021-03989-7
spellingShingle GC229-296.8 Currents
QL640-669.3 Reptiles and amphibians
Wenceslau, José Francisco Carminatti
Mohd Uzair Rusli
Mohd Fadzil Akhir
Santini, Giacomo
Juanita Joseph
Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance
title Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance
title_full Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance
title_fullStr Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance
title_full_unstemmed Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance
title_short Recruitment and El Niño-Southern Oscillation long-term effects on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest abundance
title_sort recruitment and el nino southern oscillation long term effects on green turtle chelonia mydas nest abundance
topic GC229-296.8 Currents
QL640-669.3 Reptiles and amphibians
url https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31853/1/Recruitment%20and%20El%20Ni%C3%B1o-Southern%20Oscillation%20long-term%20effects%20on%20green%20turtle%20%28Chelonia%20mydas%29%20nest%20abundance_ABSTRACT.pdf
https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31853/2/Recruitment%20and%20El%20Ni%C3%B1o-Southern%20Oscillation%20long-term%20effects%20on%20green%20turtle%20%28Chelonia%20mydas%29%20nest%20abundance.pdf
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