Green Turtle Tracking San Diego Bay Brad MacDonald Sheila V. Madrak San Diego State University

Overview Goals Methods 2010 field work summary Upcoming objectives Active Tracking Diurnal 24-hour tracks Passive Tracking 2010 field work summary Upcoming objectives

Goals Monitor movements of East Pacific Green Turtles (EPGT) in San Diego Bay calculate home range size map movement patterns assess thermal conditions across use areas

Methods: Diurnal Active Tracking San Diego Bay Grid 500 x 500 meters Listening stations Turtle detections Water temperature 3 sections, 3 days: south, central, and north

Methods: 24 hour Active Tracking Diurnal and nocturnal tracking of an individual turtle for 24 hours Rotating research teams (Thank You!) Scheduling and cancellations Troubleshooting Detection of multiple turtles and/or tags “Following” a tag, not a turtle

Methods: Passive Tracking Submersible Ultrasonic Receiver (SUR) Stations: SUR + Hobo temperature logger 3 stations within the South Bay Power Plant (SBPP) outfall area

2010 Field Work Summary January February Total Field Days: 9 Capture Days: 2 Active tracking: 6 days; 34 hours on-water Passive tracking: SURs & temperature logger retrieval & deployment on 1/5/2010 February Total Field Days: 12 Active tracking: 8 days; 43 hours on-water (not counting 24-hour track) Passive tracking: SURs & temperature logger retrieval & deployment on 2/4/2010 24-Hour tracking: 1 track on 2/25-2/26, 2010 of Turtle 88329 (37 kHz, 5-7-8-7)

2010 Field Work Summary March April Total Field Days: 13 Capture Days: 2 Active tracking: 8 days; 42 hours on-water (not including 24-hour track) Passive tracking: SURs & temperature logger retrieval & deployment on 3/19/2010 24-Hour tracking: 1 track on 3/24-3/25, 2010 of Turtle 33145 (38 kHz, 6-7-8) Research presented at SDSU Graduate Research Symposium on 3/5/2010 April Total Field Days: 11 Active tracking: 8 days; 37 hours on-water (not including 24-hour track) Passive tracking: SURs & temperature logger retrieval & deployment on 4/23 & 4/30 24-Hour tracking: 1 track on 4/22-23, 2010 1 field day cancelled due to wind/waves

Upcoming Objectives Active Tracking 24-hour tracks Diurnal tracking Once per month; twice when personnel and equipment (boats, vehicles, etc.) are available Diurnal tracking 3 tracking days (approximately 8 hours per day) per week Cover all grid locations in 2 days Use 3rd day for extended follows of individual turtles

Upcoming Objectives Passive Tracking Data Analysis Currently 7 SURs deployed Up to an additional 10 SURs will be deployed by June 2010 (pending available funding opportunities) Data Analysis Preliminary analysis of spatial and thermal data based on collection from 2009 – 2010 field seasons.