Stephanie Duenas, Falk Huettmann
20130729
Macro description of public beach attributes that may effect turtle nesting in Playa de Coco, La Flor (Pacific, southwest Nicaragua) and Pacuare and Tortuguero, (Caribbean, Costa Rica), July 2013
database
1
1
Maderas Rainforest Conservancy
Authors
see website of Maderas Rainforest Conservancy
see website of Maderas Rainforest Conservancy
We observed several macro beach features of four public sea turtle nesting beaches for Playa Coco (latitude11.15382, longitude 85.80051; geographic datum WGS84) and La Flor (latitude 11.14282, longitude 85.79418) in southwest Nicaragua (Pacific), and Pacuare Reserve (latitude10.20123, longitude, 83.25925) and Tortugero (latitude 10.59583, longitude 83.52520) in Costa Rica (Caribbean). Recorded features included the intensity of tourism, number of different predator species of sea turtle hatchlings, number of tourists, and line transects for density of plastic, wood, metal, and crab burrows. Light and sound disturbances at night were also recorded as well as man-made objects left overnight on the shore of the beaches. This data set is part of a sea turtle class with Maderas Rainforest Conservancy and provides a basic and non-invasive description and a snap shot in time and space for public nesting beaches of relevance for Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea, TSN 173840), Green (Chelonia mydas TSN 173833), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata TSN ) and Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea TSN 173843 ) sea turtles. Some photos were taken for vizualisation purposes.
To describe macro-scale beach attributes that may effectsea turtle nesting on the public beachs of four major sea turtle nesting beaches at the Pacific (Nicaragua) as well as in the Caribbean (Costa Rica).
Unknown
Unknown
observed
As needed
Playa Coco: narrow, curved beach located in Nicaragua. residential properties line the coast and rock cliffs are seen at both ends of the beach.
La Flor: narrow beach with one curved end located in Nicaragua. Few properties are found on the shore. forest located behind the beach.
Playa Vigilada: a straight beach with a tropical rain forest located behind the beach as well as properties used by patrolers.
Tortuguero: Public beach with sand and housing, surveyed section of 1.75km
85.83618
83.25779
11.14579
10.20123
None
Macro Beach Description
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Playa de Coco (lat 11.15382, lon 85.80051)
La Flor (lat 11.14282, lon 85.79418)
Playa Vigilada (lat 10.20123, lon 83.25925)
Tortuguero (lat 10.59583, lon 83.52520)
Sea Turtle Ecology
Ecology
Conservation
Olive’s Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)
Green turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
None
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Central America
Pacuare Reserve
Playa de Coco (lat 11.15382, lon 85.80051)
La Flor (lat 11.14282, lon 85.79418)
Playa Vigilada (lat 10.20123, lon 83.25925)
Tortuguero (lat 10.59583, lon 83.52520)
Pacific
Caribbean
None
multiple species
invertebrates
mammals
vegetation
vertebrates
dogs
shore birds
sea jellyfish
Olive Ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea, TSN 173840)
Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea TSN 173843)
Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata TSN 208666)
Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas TSN 173833)
Kingdom
Animalia
Animal
animaux
animals
Phylum
Chordata
cordés
cordado
chordates
Subphylum
Vertebrata
vertebrado
vertébrés
vertebrates
Class
Reptilia
répteis
reptiles
Reptiles
Order
Testudines
terrapins
tortoises
tortues
Turtles
Family
Cheloniidae
marine turtles
modern sea turtles
Sea Turtles
Genus
Chelonia
Green Sea Turtles
Species
Chelonia mydas
Green Sea Turtle
Tortuga-marina verde-del Atlántico
common green sea turtle
Genus
Eretmochelys
Hawksbill Sea Turtles
Species
Eretmochelys imbricata
hawksbill sea turtle
carey
Hawksbill
Tortuga-marina de carey
Genus
Lepidochelys
Ridley Sea Turtles
Species
Lepidochelys olivacea
olive ridley sea turtle
Pacific ridley
Pacific ridley sea turtle
Olive Ridley
Tortuga-marina escamosa-del Pacífico
Family
Dermochelyidae
leatherback turtles
Leatherback Sea Turtles
Genus
Dermochelys
Leatherback Sea Turtles
Species
Dermochelys coriacea
leatherback sea turtle
leatherback turtle
Leatherback
Tortuga-marina laúd
tinglar
tortue luth
None
None
authors
opportunistic photos
Some opportunistic photos were taken
JPEG
Maderas Rainforest Conservancy
NA
Unclassified
NA
Field notebook and PC
James R. Spotila
2004
Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation
1
book chapter
GPS, fieldbook and PC was used
La Flor public beach and Playa de Coco public beach, southwest Nicaragua (Pacific)
Public beaches of Playa Vigilada (Pacuare) and Tortuguero, Costa Rica (Caribbean)
0.001
0.001
Decimal degrees
World Geodetic System of 1984
World Geodetic System of 1984
6378137
298.25722210088
North American Vertical Datum of 1988
meters
Attribute values
Beach Discription
various beach discriptions varying from observational counting to measuring
observation, measurement with GPS
Month
month of the year
calendar
Day
day of the month
calendar
year
year data was collected
calendar
beach
beach data was collected on
observer, GPS
Start of observation
start time of observation
watch, observer
End time of observation
end of time that the observations were made
watch, observer
transect length
length of transect used to calcuate density of plastic, metal, and wood
observer, GPS
Number of People Estimated
the estimated number of people on the beach during the observational period
observer
Number of People counted per minute
number of people counted by observer during the duration of observation
observer
density of plastic
density of plastic along the transect length
observer, GPS
density of drift wood
density of drift wood using the 500m transect length
observer, GPS
density of metal
density of metal along the 500m transect
observer, GPS
number of man made objects left overnght on the beach
number of left over objects left overnight on the beach
observer
number of dogs per minute (day)
number of dogs seen per minute during the observational period
observer
number of dogs per minutes (night)
number of dogs counted per minute during the night time
observer
number of vultures per minute
number of vultures counted per minute by observer
observer
number of pelicans per minute
number of pelicans counted per minute by the observer
observer
number of magnificent friggett birds seen per minute
number of magnificent frigget birds counted by the observer during the duration of observation
observer
number of dead fish per minute
number of dead fish per minute counted during the duration of observation
observer
crab burrow density
density of crab burrows within a 10m transect
observer, GPS
number of properties
number of properties counted along the shore of the beach
observer
number of rock structures in the ocean
number of rock structures counted by observer that are in the ocean within the region of the beach
observer
number of horses per minute
number of horses on the beach per minute counted by observer
observer
number of oyster catchers per minute
number of oyster catchers per minute found on the beach during the observational period
observer
number of egrets per minute
number of egrets per minute during the obervational period counted by observer
observer
number of boats per minute
number of boats per minute counted by observer during the observational period
observer
number of pigeons per minute
number of pigeons counted per minute during the observational period
observer
distance from tree line to water line (m)
distance from tree line to water line
observer
tree height (m)
height of trees found at tree line
observer
height difference between waterline and tree line
height distance between water line and tree line to see if there was any sort of slop on the beach
observer
Poaching Intensity
Amount of poaching seen on the beach
observer
sand samples
Sand sample analysis
observer
Protection Status
protection on the beach by guards or patrolers
observer
Distance from property line to water line
distance in meters from properties to water line
observer
Distance of dry sand
distance of dry sand on beach
observer
Light pollution at night
light pollution observered at night
observer
Number of people at night per minute
number of people seen on the beach at night per minute
observer
Maintenance
intensity of maintenance on the beach (picking up trash)
observer
sand replacement
yes or no if sand was replaced
observer
length of beach m
length of the beach measured in meters
observer, GPS
fishing intensity
intensity of fishing done on the beach
observer
shape of beach
shape of beach
observer
feeding ground discription
description of feeding ground if applicable
observer
sound pollution at night
intensity of sound pollution observered at night
observer
intensity of tourism
intensity of tourism
observer
Stephanie Duenas and Falk Huettmann
mailing and physical
419 Irving I
Fairbanks
Alaska
99775
USA
none
20130713
Stephanie Duenas, Falk Huettmann
EWHALE lab, Uni of Alaska-Fairbanks (UAF)
Associate Professor
mailing and physical
419 Irving I
Fairbanks
Alaska
99775
USA
907 474 7882
fhuettmann@alaska.edu
by phone, in person, or email
FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001.1-1999