Léo MAUCOURT

Identifying the vocal repertoire and determining the social bonds of three endangered sea turtle species: new tools to improve population monitoring and conservation

Underwater vocal production in sea turtles had never been referenced. A preliminary study on green turtles has allowed us to highlight an underwater vocal production and thus the possibility of an underwater acoustic communication in this species. This discovery opens great perspectives for the study of social interactions in different species of sea turtles.

Currently, 6 species of sea turtles are classified on the IUCN red list (https://www.iucnredlist.org). In order to fight against the decline of sea turtle populations and to ensure an effective protection of these species, it is necessary to improve our knowledge on their ecology, and more particularly on the areas of vital activities of the turtles. These areas include both nesting beaches that are highly exposed to disturbance from human activities (tourism, recreation), but also feeding and resting sites where fishing activities involving bycatch dominate.

Therefore, the objectives of this PhD are (1) to identify and analyze the sounds produced by 3 species of sea turtles: Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata et Dermochelys coriacea; (2) to determine the social bonds of these species by observing the contexts of sound production; (3) to create disturbance coefficients to map the sensitive areas used by turtles that are most in need of protection; (4) to use the warning sounds in order to limit bycatch in fishing nets.