In-water surveys for sea turtles in two national parks of the Dominican Republic

Abstract

Since 1996, in-water sea turtle research in the Dominican Republic has been conducted exclusively in the area of Jaragua National Park in the southwestern part of the country. Beginning in 2005, we started conducting in-water surveys by boat and snorkelling transects in Montecristi Underwater National Park and del Este National Park, in northwestern and southeastern Dominican Republic, respectively. Turtle captures were performed using the rodeo technique for shallow areas and hand capture by divers in coral reef areas. Immature hawksbill and green sea turtles were found in seagrass beds and coral reef habitats. Captured turtles ranged in size from 24.6-55.6 cm curved carapace length (n = 13). Although sighting frequency (particularly for Montecristi) was much lower than in our main study site at Jaragua, the juvenile aggregation at Saona Island (del Este National Park) showed many interesting features. Particularly noteworthy, was the presence of hawksbills in a very shallow (less than 1m) seagrass bed area in southeast Saona Island. Distribution of sighted turtles, sighting frequencies, habitat observations, threats, and conservation opportunities are reported and discussed.