Loggerhead turtle nest site selection 157
areas within each beach maximizes reproductive success, thus producing a strategic combination for nest site selection.
Adaptation to global changes
Under future sea-level rise scenarios a net recession of coasts is expected, which will lead to a reduction in sea turtle nest survival (Fish et al., 2005; Varela et al., 2019). Although interest in the effects of climate change on sea turtles is in- creasing (Araujo & Rahbek, 2006;Hawkes et al., 2007;Hays et al., 2010; Fuentes et al., 2011; Dalleau et al., 2012; Abella Perez et al., 2016; Laloë et al., 2017; Patrício et al., 2019), the potential for sea turtles to adapt to this environmental change remains to be investigated. One adaptive strategy could consist of turtles colonizing new suitable areas where sea-level rise or increased temperatures will have less impact. On oceanic islands such as Maio Island this mechanism is limited by the lack of shoreline continuity. This study provides detailed information on sea turtle re-
nesting behaviour in relation to philopatry to nesting areas and at the intra-beach microhabitat level, allowing us to predict potential future responses of sea turtles to sea-level rise. Extreme fidelity to nesting beaches was not observed, which will increase the probability of finding favourable en- vironmental conditions for incubation. However, individual consistency in the selection of areas with medium or low flood risk would facilitate greater reproductive success (Garmestani et al., 2000; Patrício et al., 2018). How these traits will respond to sea-level rise is unknown and, in addi- tion, natural physical factors can influence trends of shore- line erosion and accretion, and anthropogenic factors such as development could influence erosion trends and sea turtle behaviour (Patino-Martinez et al., 2017; Armstrong & Lazarus, 2019; Patrício et al., 2019; Lyons et al., 2020; Veelenturf et al., 2020).
Conservation importance
The data from this study could shape decisions on habitat management and help define future conservation plans for sea turtle nesting habitats. The entirety of Maio Island provides suitable nesting sites for loggerhead turtles and hosts a globally significant, large number of nests (Patino- Martinez et al., 2022a,b), but the east coast Island is a pre- ferred loggerhead turtle nesting area. The inter-annual spa- tial distribution of sea turtle nests is often similar across different species and regions (Wheelwright & Mauck, 1998; Weishampel et al., 2003). Therefore, in view of existing urban development and tourism plans, we recommend that the entire eastern part of Maio Island should be consid- ered a high-priority area for conservation. We recommend that current conditions on these nesting beaches should be preserved and protected against human settlements, modi- fication and lighting.
Acknowledgements We thank the Maio Biodiversity Foundation local rangers, team leaders, supervisors and volunteers for their con- tinuing efforts to collect data; the environmental national authority Direcçao Nacional do Ambiente for the necessary authorizations and for assistance; the MAVA Fondation pour la Nature and US Fish and Wildlife Service for financial support; and Rita Anastacio, Graeme Hays and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive feedback.
Author contributions Conceptualization: JP-M, LDP, AT, AM, FK, AD, MT; analysis: JP-M, RA, SC, TS, RM; investigation: JP-M, LDP, RA, AM, FK, AD, EGD; writing: JP-M; supervision: JP-M, LDP, AT, AM, FK, AD, EGD, RM; project administration: LDP, AT, FK, AD, EGD, TS, RM; funding acquisition: AT, AM, FK, AD, CE, EGD, MT, TS, RM; revision: all authors.
Conflicts of interest None.
Ethical standards This research abided by the Oryx guidelines on ethical standards, and did not involve human subjects, experimenta- tion with animals and/or collection of specimens.
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Oryx, 2023, 57(2), 152–159 © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605321001496
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