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Biosphere Expeditions announces first Australian project

11th November 2009 Print
Flatback turtles in Australia

Biosphere Expeditions – the award winning, non profit making conservation specialist which is celebrating its tenth anniversary, has announced its first ever project in Australia. It is on one of the world’s most strikingly beautiful stretches of coastline, 130km south of Broome in Western Australia, and will survey the iconic flatback turtles.

 

The project will determine flatback turtle nesting numbers and how far dispersed this genetic population is along this seashore. These Australian flatback turtles are still listed as ‘Data Deficient’ by the IUCN* Red List and the results of this project will go a long way to assisting to fill in the information gap for this species.

 

The expedition aims and objectives are to conduct consecutive nights monitoring for nesting turtles to determine species and populations, monitor nest predation, beach dynamics and hatching success rates; while also conducting public education and responsible turtle viewing workshops.

 

The project meets the objectives outlined in Australian state and federal management and recovery plans for the turtles.

 

Each turtle will be measured and external tags inserted into the front flipper which are made of titanium and do not corrode or irritate the animal. It is then inspected to record any scars or missing pieces of flipper or the presence of any parasite and a DNA sample will be taken.

 

Members of the expedition will be based at the Eco Beach Wilderness Resort which offers very comfortable accommodation with ensuite bathrooms, pool, gym, yoga room and bar.

 

The project runs between 8-15 November and 15-22 November 2010 and costs £980 excluding travel to and from Australia.

 

For more information visit biosphere-expeditions.org.

 

* International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

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Flatback turtles in Australia