Identification of Critical Areas for Sea Turtles and their Relationship with Conservation Units in Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37002/biodiversidadebrasileira.v12i4.2038Keywords:
Sea turtles, satellite tracking, marine protected areasAbstract
Sea turtles are migratory animals, and the knowledge of their movements is vital for management strategies. High use areas for four of the five species that occur on the Brazilian coast, Caretta caretta, Lepidochelys olivacea, Eretmochelys imbricata and Dermochelys coriacea, were identified by satellite telemetry (n = 160 Platform Transmitter Terminal) and a state-space model was performed. High use areas corresponded to 3% of the total distribution identified here and were located mostly off Pará, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte; along the eastern margin of the Northeastern continental shelf to Salvador, Bahia; off south of Bahia and Espírito Santo continental shelves; along the São Paulo continental shelf and in the estuary of the Rio de la Plata, between Uruguay and Argentina. The movements intersected 89.6% of the Marine protected areas (MPA) considered (52 of the 58 UCs), however, only 21.5% of the high use areas overlapped Marine Protected Areas (MPA = 15). Among these, the APA Plataforma Continental do Litoral Norte, APA Costa dos Corais, APA dos Recifes de Corais and APA Ponta da Baleia - Abrolhos were the most relevant, given the presence of high use areas for two or three species. The results show the importance of Marine Protected Areas, as well, highlights the need of those areas integrates threats reduction measures, especially aiming the bycatch. The results also have the potential to contribute with the analysis of the environmental impacts of marine projects, located inside or outside the limits of Marine Protected Areas.Â
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