1
|
Abreo NAS, Aurelio RM, Kobayashi VB, Thompson KF. 'Eye in the sky': Off-the-shelf unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) highlights exposure of marine turtles to floating litter (FML) in nearshore waters of Mayo Bay, Philippines. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 186:114489. [PMID: 36549238 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Litter is a serious threat to the marine environment, with detrimental effects on wildlife and marine biodiversity. Limited data as a result of funding and logistical challenges in developing countries hamper our understanding of the problem. Here, we employed commercial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as a cost-effective tool to study the exposure of marine turtles to floating marine litter (FML) in waters of Mayo Bay, Philippines. A quadcopter UAV was flown autonomously with on-board camera capturing videos during the flight. Still frames were extracted when either turtle or litter were detected in post-flight processing. The extracted frames were georeferenced and mapped using QGIS software. Results showed that turtles are highly exposed to FML in nearshore waters. Moreover, spatial dependence between FML and turtles was also observed. The study highlights the effectiveness of UAVs in marine litter research and underscores the threat of FML to turtles in nearshore waters.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Neil Angelo S Abreo
- Marine Litter Project, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory - Environmental Studies Group, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Philippines; Institute of Advanced Studies, Davao del Norte State College, Panabo City, Philippines.
| | - Remie M Aurelio
- Center for the Advancement of Research in Mindanao, Office of Research, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Philippines
| | - Vladimer B Kobayashi
- Marine Litter Project, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Laboratory - Environmental Studies Group, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Philippines; Department of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science, College of Science and Mathematics, University of the Philippines Mindanao, Philippines
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Ataman A, Gainsbury AM, Manire CA, Hoffmann SL, Page-Karjian A, Hirsch SE, Polyak MMR, Cassill DL, Aoki DM, Fraser KM, Klingshirn S, Stoll JA, Perrault JR. Evaluating prevalence of external injuries on nesting loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta in southeastern Florida, USA. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Sea turtles face both anthropogenic and natural threats including boat strikes, fisheries, pollution, and predator attacks. Injuries from anthropogenic sources are more common than naturally caused injuries. The goal of this study was to determine prevalence and cause (e.g. boat strike, entanglement, hook, shark bite) of injuries on nesting loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta on Juno and Jupiter beaches, Florida, USA. During the 2019 and 2020 nesting seasons, 450 loggerhead females were examined for external injuries. Injuries were categorized by anatomic location, condition, and cause. We found that 24% of loggerheads had at least 1 injury. Of the 111 injuries found on 107 nesting females, 88% were healed, 9% were partially healed with some scarred tissue, and 3% were fresh injuries. Most injuries (55%) were lateral injuries on the carapace or appendages. We were able to attribute 60 injuries to a specific cause. Boat strikes accounted for 75% of the 60 injuries, shark bites accounted for 15%, fishing hooks accounted for 7%, and entanglements accounted for the remaining 3%. This study provides new insight into the prevalence of anthropogenic injuries relative to natural injuries in loggerhead sea turtles nesting in the most densely nested beach in the Western Hemisphere and can be used to improve conservation management plans through implementation of fishing and/or boating restrictions in the nesting and foraging areas most commonly frequented by sea turtles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Ataman
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA
| | - AM Gainsbury
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA
| | - CA Manire
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
| | - SL Hoffmann
- Applied Biological Services, Biomark Inc., Boise, Idaho 83702, USA
| | - A Page-Karjian
- Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Fort Pierce, Florida 34946, USA
| | - SE Hirsch
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
| | - MMR Polyak
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
| | - DL Cassill
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA
| | - DM Aoki
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
- Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Fort Pierce, Florida 34946, USA
| | - KM Fraser
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
| | - S Klingshirn
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
- Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Fort Pierce, Florida 34946, USA
| | - JA Stoll
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA
| | - JR Perrault
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
| |
Collapse
|