The Marine Turtle Conservation Project (MTCP) have placed 22 satellite trackers on green turtles since 1998 which have revealed several major foraging areas within the Mediterranean. However, recent research using stable isotope analysis suggest that an important foraging area may have been missed due to chance. Therefore, MTCP have taken the opportunity to attach satellite trackers to 5 turtles which the stable isotopes suggest forage in the area of interest.

<p>Kaplumbağaları Koruma Cemiyeti, ilk defa 2018 yılında Karpaz bölgesinde yuvalayan kaplumbağaları uydu vericisi ile takip etmeye başladı. Çalışmalar özellikle yeşil kaplumbağalar (Chelonia mydas) üzerinde gerçekleştirilmekte. Bu çalışma sayesinde Akdeniz'in en önemli yeşil kaplumbağa yuvalama sahillerini barındıran Karpaz bölgesindeki yeşil kaplumbağaların öncelikli denizsel yaşam alanlarını belirlemeyi ve türün korunmasına yönelik değerli bilgiler edinmeyi amaçlıyoruz.<br><br>Ayni zamanda Alagadi'de yumurtlayan iri başlı deniz kaplumbağaları (Caretta caretta) da uydu vericileri ile takip ederek bu tür için önemli beslenme alanlarını belirlemeye çalışıyoruz.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/projects/cyprus/">Marine Turtle Conservation Project</a> is a project of the <a href="http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/">Marine Turtle Research Group</a> and has been monitoring the nesting beaches of Northern Cyprus since 1992. The project is in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Turtles in Northern Cyprus (SPoT) and the Department of Environmental Protection. In Northern Cyprus both green and loggerhead turtles nest. Green turtles in the Mediterranean are listed as critically endangered by the <a href="http://iucn.org//">IUCN</a>, with estimates suggesting that there are as few as 300-400 females nesting annually in this region. Loggerhead turtles nest in slightly greater numbers, with approximately 2000-3000 females nesting annually. Approximately 30 % of the green and 10% of the loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean nest in Northern Cyprus.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/projects/cyprus/">Marine Turtle Conservation Project</a> is a project of the <a href="http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/">Marine Turtle Research Group</a> and has been monitoring the nesting beaches of Northern Cyprus since 1992. The project is in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Turtles in Northern Cyprus (SPoT) and the Department of Environmental Protection. In Northern Cyprus both green and loggerhead turtles nest. Green turtles in the Mediterranean are listed as critically endangered by the <a href="http://iucn.org">IUCN</a>, with estimates suggesting that there are as few as 300-400 females nesting annually in this region. Loggerhead turtles nest in slightly greater numbers, with approximately 2000-3000 females nesting annually. Approximately 30 % of the green and 10% of the loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean nest in Northern Cyprus.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This year we are targeting satellite tracking of loggerheads to specific females at Alagadi. PhD student Julia Haywood has spent a year in the lab using forensics to find out which of the regular Alagadi nesting females may be using certain areas of interest as foraging sites. With a hit list of females in hand we set about tracking known females, but due to a relatively poor turnout of nesting females, not many of our target girls turned up. We therefore only managed to track 4 of our target of 11 females. Seven transmitters are ready to go out in 2018 when we hope to see more loggerhead nesting.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The main aim of this project is to use satellite tracking to understand migration patterns and foraging area location of the largest loggerhead sea turtle breeding aggregation in the Mediterranean on Zakynthos, Greece. Additionally, we aim to further investigate over-wintering behaviour in one of the presumably important foraging areas for the population, the Adriatic Sea.&nbsp;</p><p>Beyond satellite tracking, we investigate the suitability of a complimentary method, namely stable isotope analysis, for the study of sea turtle migration. If these chemical compounds differ in the tissue of turtles occupying geographically distinct foraging areas, it should be possible to infer to an individuals foraging location from samples obtained at the breeding area. To this aim, different tissues allowing non-intrusive sampling are collected.&nbsp;</p><p>ARCHELON tagging data has revealed that most female turtles use different beaches for nesting, both within and between seasons.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The turtle project at Alagadi houses around 20 volunteers at any one time over the summer months. This year we have successfully attached seven satellite transmitters to green turtles nesting at Alagadi.</p><p>The Marine Turtle Research Group has been conducting conservation research and protecting turtle nests in Northern Cyprus since 1992. Alagadi Beach is the eighth largest rookery for green turtles in the Mediterranean, where they are highly endangered, and is also a major nesting beach for loggerhead turtles. An intensive nocturnal monitoring programme allows us to identify each female that lays here and track her breeding success. Wire screens are used to prevent predation of nests by feral dogs at Alagadi and at several other beaches on the North and West Coasts of Northern Cyprus. Satellite tracking continues to be integral to our research, and helps to identify other areas of importance to these species.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It is increasingly evident that small-scale fisheries of the Eastern Mediterranean likely pose the greatest threat to Mediterranean populations of green and loggerhead turtles. In these fisheries many small boats operate close to shore in areas where turtles aggregate both to forage and reproduce and are particularly active during the turtle nesting season. In 2009 we began to investigate these fisheries taking North Cyprus as a study unit. By tracking both fishing vessels and marine turtles simultaneously we hope to delimit boundaries within which bycatch is greatest and where mitigation options can subsequently be considered and trialled. The project forms part of an ongoing PhD undertaken by Robin Snape at University of Exeter UK and is implemented in collaboration with Eastern Mediterranean University’s Biological Sciences Department through Dr Burak Ali Çiçek.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Abstract: The <a href="http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/projects/cyprus/">Marine Turtle Conservation Project</a> is a project of the <a href="http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/">Marine Turtle Research Group</a> and has been monitoring the nesting beaches of Northern Cyprus since 1992. The project is in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Turtles in Northern Cyprus (SPoT) and the Department of Environmental Protection. In Northern Cyprus both green and loggerhead turtles nest. Green turtles in the Mediterranean are listed as endangered by the <a href="http://iucn.org//">IUCN</a>, with estimates suggesting that there are as few as 300-400 females nesting annually in this region. Loggerhead turtles nest in slightly greater numbers, with approximately 2000-3000 females nesting annually. Approximately 30 % of the green and 10% of the loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean nest in Northern Cyprus.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/projects/cyprus/">Marine Turtle Conservation Project</a> is a project of the <a href="http://www.seaturtle.org/mtrg/">Marine Turtle Research Group</a> and has been monitoring the nesting beaches of Northern Cyprus since 1992. The project is in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of Turtles in Northern Cyprus (SPoT) and the Department of Environmental Protection. In Northern Cyprus both green and loggerhead turtles nest. Green turtles in the Mediterranean are listed as endangered by the <a href="http://iucn.org//">IUCN</a>, with estimates suggesting that there are as few as 300-400 females nesting annually in this region. Loggerhead turtles nest in slightly greater numbers, with approximately 2000-3000 females nesting annually. Approximately 30 % of the green and 10% of the loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean nest in Northern Cyprus.&nbsp;</p>