sea turtle vulnerability in puerto rico - tufts universitymay 09, 2017 · there are seven...
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction
There are seven different species of sea turtles on Earth, six of which are classi-
fied as either vulnerable or endangered. Puerto Rico serves as a nesting spot for
three of the endangered sea turtle species: Hawksbill turtle, Green sea turtle, and
the Leatherback turtle. Puerto Rico is a tourist hotspot in the Caribbean, attracting
millions of visitors every year. Most of these people go to Puerto Rico for their
beautiful beaches, which leads to an increased demand in hotels and resorts near
the coast. This affects nesting sea turtles
in two ways: building structures near the
coast often accelerates coastal erosion,
which will cause beaches to recede and
eventually leave turtles with no place to
nest; also, more human activity on
beaches can lead to the destruction of
turtle nests and their feeding habitats.
Light pollution from nearby cities and structures is another contributor to sea turtle
declines. Artificial lighting often causes turtle hatchlings to become disoriented
and wander away from the ocean, where
they eventually die. Sea turtles are also vic-
tims of fishing bycatch, especially in places
with increased fishing activity. Lastly, sea
level rise as a result of climate change has
the potential to wipe out the beaches that
sea turtles use as nesting sites.
This map presents the sea turtle threats
mentioned above with regards to turtle
nesting sites. The number of turtle clutches at each site is also presented. A clutch
is a group of eggs, or what would consist of a nest. The purpose of this project is to
delineate some of the factors that put sea
turtles at risk, and demonstrate the over-
lap between these and sea turtle nest
sites. The total population is shown as a
signal of lighting pollution: the larger the
population the greater the lighting pollu-
tion. Hotels and resorts are used as a sign
of tourism and human activity, while
fishing piers are used as a signal of fish-
ing activity in the area.
Methods
I first geocoded the latitude and longitude coordinates for turtle nest sites,
hotel/resorts sites, and fishing pier sites. Once I exported the data for the coordi-
nates I ran a spatial query for the turtle nesting sites that were within 5 km of hotel
sites. I ran another spatial query to select the nest sites that intersected with the Sea
Level Rise layer. This gave me the nest sites that would be submerged under water
after sea level rise. Another spatial query was used to select the nest sites that were
within 10 km of a fishing pier.
Conclusion
The island of Puerto Rico is an essential ecosystem and habitat for the Hawksbill,
Leatherback, and Green sea turtles. In order to attempt to conserve these creatures,
we must first be aware of the things that threaten them. Although tourism is a major
source of income for Puerto Rico, it is important to prioritize conservation of biologi-
cal diversity as well. If further development on the coast is avoided, then the threats
of light pollution and habitat destruction can at least be mitigated. Fishing can be lim-
ited in places where sea turtles are known to nest, or new fishing equipment can be
used in order to minimize sea turtle bycatch. Climate change and its resulting conse-
quences are a world-wide problem. This is something that the island of Puerto Rico
cannot resolve on its own, and may end up affecting the island regardless of the
measures they take. The threats that these turtles face is real, and it is my hope that
this project can serve to demonstrate that there is a correlation between the threats
and sea turtle populations.
Sources
NOAA Fisheries. Sea Turtles. Web.
<http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/>
Sea Turtle Conservancy. Information About Sea Turtles: Threats to Sea Turtles.
Web
<https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-sea-turtles/>
WWF. Sea Turtles. Web
<https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sea-turtle>
Images
<https://static1.squarespace.com/static/505c9118e4b08da3b4045056/
t/56e86f6227d4bd6265f189df/1458073464580/>
<https://www.fws.gov/news/blog/images/open-spaces-blog/1215vietnam1.jpg>
<https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/
Hawksbill_Sea_Turtle_Carey_de_Concha_%285840602412%29.jpg>
Cartographer: Amy Vasquez
Class: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Date: May 9th, 2017
Coordinate System: GCS_Nor th_Amer ican_1983
Projection: D_Nor th_Amer ican_1983
Data Sources:
AmericanFact Finder
US Census
SWOT
ReferenceUSA
Sea Turtle Vulnerability in Puerto Rico Tourism
Sea Level Rise
Light Pollution as Population
Fishing
Hawksbill
Green Turtle
Leatherback