| Summary | Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) used as a proxy for the impact of MPAs on migratory species. The green turtle Chelonia mydas is the only species of sea turtle nesting in the Galapagos Islands and is found on nearly all of the islands, except Rábida, Genovesa, Pinzón and Fernandina. At least 107 beaches are potential nesting sites for this species; however, the densest nesting areas are found on Santa Cruz, Baltra and Isabela Islands |
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| Project | SESMAD |
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| Subtype | Natural Resource Unit |
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| Sector | Marine protected areas |
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| Biotic | Yes |
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| Explanation | |
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| Commons Aggregation | Population |
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| Explanation | Population.
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| Commons Boundaries | Somewhat unclear boundaries (2) |
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| Explanation | defined foraging and nesting grounds, however migratory boundaries are not well known |
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| Commons Indicator | ["Status of highly migratory species"] |
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| Explanation | |
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| Commons Unit Size | Medium (3) |
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| Explanation | Av weight of adult individual 68-190Kg |
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| Environmental Medium | Oceanic |
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| Explanation | Oceanic |
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| Inter Annual Predictability | Moderate (2) |
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| Explanation | Migratory species and number of males is not well understood, however females predictably return to the same nesting beaches every couple years. Approximate numbers fairly predictable. |
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| Intra Annual Predictability | Moderate (2) |
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| Explanation | Availability varies according to season, but these patterns can be predicted. Also population sizes don't fluctuate too much in relation environmental factors. |
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| Commons Renewability | Renewable (1) |
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| Explanation | Renewable, however slow to mature and reproduce, with high infant mortality. |
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| Productivity | Poorly productive (1) |
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| Explanation | Many eggs lain, however high mortality rate. Also very slow to mature and reproduce. |
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| Commons Accessibility | Very accessible (3) |
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| Explanation | Turtles are easy to catch, both as by-catch and intentionally. |
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| Commons Heterogeneity | Moderate (2) |
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| Explanation | Green turtles use many locations and habitats which may be quite distant from one another, however females often return to the same nesting beach. The most important nesting beaches in the Galapagos Archipelago are Quinta Playa and Bahía Barahona in Isabela Island, Las Bachas in Santa Cruz Island, Las Salinas in
Seymour Island and Espumilla in Santiago Island (Zarate et al 2003) |
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| Commons Mobility | High (3) |
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| Explanation | Migratory species |
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| Commons Spatial Extent | 133000 |
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| Explanation | Coded as extent of GMR - but Green turtles in Galapagos range around Central and South America. |
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| Technical Substitute | No |
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| Explanation | |
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