Recent years have seen an increase in the number of green turtles nesting in Cyprus, but new research reveals that this recovery is heavily reliant on an Egyptian lagoon where many turtles feed.
An endangered species, green turtles spend the majority of their lives foraging in one location, but they return to the beach where they gave birth to lay eggs.
The University of Exeter and North Cyprus Society for the Protection of Turtles (SPOT) conducted a new study in which they tracked and tagged females who were laying eggs at important rookeries (breeding beaches) in Cyprus. They discovered that 74% of these females foraged at Lake Bardawil in Egypt.
Egyptian lagoon vital to Cyprus turtles
(Photo : YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
The study discovered that the number of nests has almost tripled since the early 1990s; however, turtle populations are vulnerable if conditions at a few feeding sites, particularly Lake Bardawil, change because of their reliance on it, as per ScienceDaily.
According to Dr. Robin Snape of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation at Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall, turtles from Cyprus have been foraging at Lake Bardawil in greater numbers since around 2010. This increase can be attributed to tracking turtles from Cyprus.
The number of adult turtles foraging near Cyprus and Turkey has decreased at the same time, possibly as a result of a high turtle bycatch (accidental catch) in local fisheries.
The protection of nesting sites in Cyprus and the circumstances at Lake Bardawil appear to be the main causes of the overall increase in nest numbers.
The lake may eventually fill to its maximum capacity, at which point the population growth of green turtles may halt.
Turtles and other marine life can swim in and out of Lake Bardawil, a lagoon with a man-made opening that leads to the ocean.
Although it was originally built as a fishery in the 1950s, adult green turtles-which can grow to be over a meter long and weigh more than 100 kilograms-now find it to be an ideal seagrass habitat.
The latest research tracked 19 female turtles that were nesting at significant rookeries on the Karpaz Peninsula in Cyprus using long-term satellite tagging.
One turtle traveled the longest distance ever recorded for a Mediterranean green turtle, traveling 1,500 miles (2,400 km) to the island of Djerba in Tunisia while the majority of the turtles headed to Lake Bardawil.
The average annual nest numbers increased from 186 to 554 when compared to the oldest three-year nest count averages (1993-1995) and nest counts conducted as part of this study (2017-2019).
Read more: Invasive Chinese Softshell Turtles Found in the Philippines, Biodiversity Experts Starting to Worry
Injured turtles are released back into the sea
Following necessary medical care, two green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) hurt by boat propellers over the summer have been returned to their natural environment, the agriculture ministry's department of fisheries and marine research announced on Wednesday, as per CyprusMail.
Aphrodite, a young green sea turtle, and Anastasia, an adult green sea turtle, were "returned healthy to the sea where they belong," the department claimed in a social media post.
The medium-sized turtle "Aphrodite," which weighs 14.4 kg and is 49 cm long and 45.5 cm wide, was discovered by diving schools in Protaras after being struck by a boat propeller.
On August 25, 2022, the turtle was delivered to the Cyprus Marine Aquaculture Research Centre (CyMARC) in Meneou, Larnaca, which also runs a center for sea turtle first aid and rehabilitation.
A veterinarian performed surgery on "Aphrodite" there, where she received extensive care for more than two months.
A boat propeller also struck "Anastasia," a large turtle measuring 92 cm long and 85 cm wide and weighing about 100 kg, which was discovered by park rangers on a beach in Polis Chrysochous.
On August 28, 2022, the turtle was moved to the CyMARC, where it spent more than two months receiving intensive care.
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