Background: Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are Critically Endangered throughout their global range, and concerningly little is known about this species in the Red Sea. With large-scale coastal development projects underway in the northern Red Sea, it is critical to understand the movement and habitat use patterns of hawksbill turtles in this environmentally unique region, so that effective conservation strategies can be implemented. We satellite tagged three hawksbill turtles, one 63 cm curved carapace length adult male captured near Wahlei Island, one 55 cm turtle captured in the Gulf of Aqaba, and one 56 cm turtle suffering from a floating syndrome which was captured at Waqqadi Island, rehabilitated, and released at Waqqadi Island. Turtles were tracked for 156, 199, and 372 days between October 2020 and November 2021. Results: We calculated the home ranges and core use areas of hawksbill turtles using kernel-density estimations and found that each turtle showed high fidelity to their foraging sites. Home ranges calculated with GPS-derived locations ranged between 13.6 and 2.86 km2, whereas home ranges calculated with Argos-derived locations ranged from 38.98 to 286.45 km2. GPS-derived locations also revealed a higher proportion of time spent in coral and rock habitats compared to Argos, based on location overlap with the Allen Coral Reef Atlas. We also found that turtles were making shallow dives, usually remaining between 0 and 5 m. Conclusions: While the number of tracked turtles in this study was small, it represents an important contribution to the current understanding of spatial ecology among foraging hawksbill turtles globally, and provides the first-ever reported hawksbill turtle tracking data from the Red Sea. Our results suggest that protecting coral reef habitats and implementing boating speed limits near reefs could be effective conservation measures for foraging hawksbill turtles in the face of rapid coastal development.

Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea) hosts important nesting habitat for leatherback sea turtles, with the main nesting beaches found on the island's southern end. Nest monitoring and protection have been ongoing for more than two decades, although distribution and habitat range at sea remains to be determined. This study uses satellite telemetry to describe the movements of female leatherback turtles (n = 10) during and following the breeding season, tracking them to presumed offshore foraging habitats in the south Atlantic Ocean. Leatherback turtles spent 100% of their time during the breeding period within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Equatorial Guinea, with a core distribution focused on the south of Bioko Island extending up to 10 km from the coast. During this period, turtles spent less than 10% of time within the existing protected area. Extending the border of this area by 3 km offshore would lead to a greater than threefold increase in coverage of turtle distribution (29.8 ± 19.0% of time), while an expansion to 15 km offshore would provide spatial coverage for more than 50% of tracking time. Post-nesting movements traversed the territorial waters of Sao Tome and Principe (6.4%of tracking time), Brazil (0.85%), Ascension (1.8%), and Saint Helena (0.75%). The majority (70%) of tracking time was spent in areas beyond national jurisdiction (i.e. the High Seas). This study reveals that conservation benefits could be achieved by expanding existing protected areas stretching from the Bioko coastal zone, and suggests shared migratory routes and foraging space between the Bioko population and other leatherback turtle rookeries in this region.

AbstractThe oceanic manta ray (Mobula birostris) is a circumglobally distributed species, but little to no information exists for many parts of their range. The eastern central Atlantic Ocean is a particularly data-deficient area, where manta ray presence has seldom been reported and regional descriptions of the distribution, movement, and connectivity of populations are unavailable. This study makes use of satellite telemetry, coupled with ecological niche modeling, to provide the first description an oceanic manta ray population in the region based on observations from Cabo Verde, and describes the most likely distribution of the species in the region. Repeated surveys between 2015 and 2019 and data from 11 satellite-tracked individuals revealed a reliable and continued presence of manta rays in the archipelago, although the number of sightings was considerably lower than those reported for some of the major aggregation sites for the species and no individual was ever re-sighted. Ecological niche modeling indicates suitable habitat for manta rays exists in Cabo Verde for most of the year, though in considerably higher extent during the summer months. The model furthermore suggests possible seasonal connections between the archipelago and the wider Gulf of Guinea. The role of Cabo Verde in the life-history of oceanic manta rays in the region remains to be elucidated, though the low abundance and re-sighting frequency, coupled with modeling suggesting expanding and contracting suitable habitat, suggests that Cabo Verde might be a key stop-over along a potentially longer movement corridor.

The Red Sea is particularly biodiverse, hosting high levels of endemism and numerous populations whose extinction risk is heightened by their relative isolation. Elasmobranchs and sea turtles have likely suffered recent declines in this region, although data on their distribution and biology are severely lacking, especially on the eastern side of the basin in Saudi Arabian waters. Here, we present sightings of elasmobranchs and sea turtles across the north-eastern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba collected through a combination of survey methods. Over 455 survey hours, we recorded 407 sightings belonging to 26 elasmobranch species and two sea turtle species, more than 75% of which are of conservation concern. We identified 4 species of rays and 9 species of sharks not previously recorded in Saudi Arabia and report a range extension for the pink whipray (Himantura fai) and the round ribbontail ray (Taeniurops meyeni) into the Gulf of Aqaba. High density of sightings of conservation significance, including green and hawksbill sea turtles and halavi guitarfish were recorded in bay systems along the eastern Gulf of Aqaba and the Saudi Arabian coastline bordering the north-eastern Red Sea, and many carcharhinid species were encountered at offshore seamounts in the region. Our findings provide new insights into the distribution patterns of megafaunal assemblages over smaller spatial scales in the region, and facilitate future research and conservation efforts, amidst ongoing, large-scale coastal developments in the north-eastern Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba.

The study presents the first national assessment of a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) population, conducted using a combination of transect surveys and baited remote underwater videos (BRUVs). Density of nurse sharks in Belize was found to be higher in reefs than in lagoons, and in the atolls furthest away from the mainland and human settlements. Only large and old protected areas were found to have a positive impact on nurse shark abundance. Absolute abundance of nurse sharks was estimated using distance sampling analysis, giving a total nurse shark population in the range of 3,858 to 14,375 sharks. Thanks to a vast area of suitable habitat for nurse sharks in the country and legislation already in place for the safeguard of the species, Belize could represent an important hotspot for nurse sharks in the Western Atlantic. The data presented here hence offers a baseline for the long-term monitoring of the Belizean nurse shark population and improves our understanding of nurse shark abundance and distribution in the wider Caribbean basin.

AbstractThe Western Central Atlantic (WCA) hosts a population of manta rays whose distribution and habitat preference is poorly understood. Addressing this lack of knowledge will be essential to aid the effective implementation of targeted conservation measures. Here, we use ensemble ecological niche modeling to predict the monthly distribution of manta rays in the WCA using multiple sources of species occurrence data, and consequently identify core areas, which represent suitable habitat in all months of the year. Models suggest a seasonal cycle of expansion and contraction of suitable habitat from coastal areas in spring‐summer, to open ocean in autumn‐winter. Core areas are concentrated along the coast of the USA, Mexico, and Venezuela. Only 24% of predicted suitable habitat is encompassed by the present regional network of MPAs, and is intersected by numerous, heavily trafficked shipping lanes. Manta rays are slow‐growing animals that only produce a limited number of offspring; as such, this species is sensitive to even moderate increases in mortality rates. For this reason, the existing regional network of MPAs may offer them limited protection. As manta rays in the WCA are challenged by a complex landscape of threats and protective measures, future marine conservation planning in the region should explicitly address the conservation of manta rays, focusing on areas identified as key habitats for the species.