Flatback turtle migration & feeding ecology
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Dr Adam Barnett Oceans IQ and Deakin University, Australia
Christine Hof WWF Australia
Dr Ian Bell QLD DEHEP, Australia
Dr Ellen Ariel James Cook University
Eddie Smallwood Gudjiuda Reference Group
Funding and Support:
WWF Australia
Winifred Violet Scott Foundation
Share this OIQ Project
Flatback turtles are endemic to Australia and Papua New Guinea, yet despite their restricted area, very little is known about them.
Project Updates
Project Background
Flatback turtles (Natator depressus) are endemic to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Unlike other species of marine turtles, this species does not have an oceanic phase in its life cycle and is therefore restricted to waters off the Australian/PNG continental shelf.
However, despite having one of the most restricted ranges of any of the sea turtles, scientists still know little about flatback turtle ecology. In particular, there is considerable information on the migration patterns and pathways of other sea turtle species as they move between foraging grounds and nesting beaches, and for many of these species we have a good understanding of what and where they eat. Such information is valuable for making informative management decisions and developing conservation strategies, e.g. provides information on critical habitats to protect, and it also allows monitoring of turtle populations size and health in the face of ongoing changes, be it anthropogenic, climate or natural changes.
In contrast, we know almost nothing on the migration pathways, diets or foraging grounds for flatbacks (e.g. do they even have specific foraging grounds). Given that there is a suite of studies showing how sea turtles are being adversely affected by environmental change, it is of priority that we obtain such information on flatbacks so as to monitor their health and their key habitats to gauge how they are responding to a changing environment. With the Great Barrier Reef suffering from additional and cumulative pressures, such research is of the utmost importance, as there is concern flatback habitats are being impacted without us even knowing it.
4 flatbacks tagged at Wunjunga Beach
16th December 2013
In November 2013, four satellite transmitters were attached to nesting flatback turtles originating from Wunjunga Beach. In recognition of the Gudjuda Reference Group and their Sea Country, Gudjuda was the first partner to have a satellite transmitter attached and deployed. This marks the beginning of WWF’s collaborative Flatback Whereabouts Project.
The combined efforts of WWF’s partners assisted Dr Ian Bell and Sam Dibella from the Queensland Government’s Threatened Species Unit, and WWF’s Species Conservation Project Coordinator Christine Hof, with the satellite transmitter attachment, morphometric assessment, tagging, blood and tissue sampling.
All flatback turtles were tagged using both titanium tags and pit tags for future identification and mark recapture analysis.
Blood and tissue samples were collected for future stable isotope analysis.
Complementary to the information acquired by satellite tracking, stable isotope collection and analysis of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) will assist us to determine the flatbacks’ diet, if there are one or more foraging grounds, and their migration paths.
Future sampling of possible foraging grounds will also help us to determine flatback habitat type and diet preference.
Click here to follow the turtle tracks.
For now, we watch and wait ....