NEST PROTECTION

Predation, inundation and damage by beach users, affect a large proportion of nests, and as a consequence the production of hatchlings recruiting to the population is severely compromised. Predators are basically represented by feral dogs and foxes, whose populations have increased thanks to the availability of human waste, and so they should be considered as an indirect anthropogenic threat rather than a natural mortality factor. The project will improve (i) the capacity to detect nests in need of specific protection in areas at risk of predation, inundation or anthropogenic threats and (ii) the capacity to adequately protect the nest in situ or by relocating them in areas with less risk. The current capacity is limited to stranding networks, citizen collaboration (passers-by) or on-foot ground surveys conducted by the limited personnel of the involved organizations (UVEG, HAS) over long coastal tracts. As a consequence, some tracts are inefficiently surveyed (low frequency and delayed intervention in case of need) or not surveyed at all. This results in a number of undetected and unprotected nests per year. The project will also mitigate the effects of climate change on the interested sea turtle populations in two ways. First, the population will be less vulnerable to climate change if nest protection occurs over a larger area with a higher habitat heterogeneity and therefore with higher chances of having sub-areas favorable for egg incubation under future climate conditions. Second, a large area with protection measures in place will allow turtles to adapt to climate changes by shifting their preferred nesting subarea according to new environmental conditions.