Sea Turtle Beach Monitoring Program in Brazil

Abstract

Beach monitoring programs provide important information on spatial and temporal patterns of occurrence, mortality, age structure, sex ratio, and variations associated with climatic and anthropogenic events as well as for the assessment of the health of marine organisms. The purpose of the Santos Basin Beach Monitoring Project is to evaluate the possible effects of oil and gas production and transport activities at Santos Basin on marine turtles, birds, and mammals by monitoring beaches and veterinary care facilities for live and dead animals. Five species of sea turtles occur in Brazil: the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), olive turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), and leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), all of which are endangered and are fragile organisms that suffer from the impact of human activities during their long lifecycle. This chapter reports monitoring strategy activities and preliminary results after 1 year since the implementation the monitoring project to provide an important overview of sea turtles found in the Santos Basin.