No Cover Image

Journal article 154 views 3 downloads

The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation

Kimberley Stokes, Nicole Esteban Orcid Logo, Jeanne A. Mortimer, Alex Rattray, Graeme C. Hays Orcid Logo

Biology Letters, Volume: 22, Issue: 1, Start page: 20250363

Swansea University Authors: Kimberley Stokes, Nicole Esteban Orcid Logo

  • 70907.VOR.pdf

    PDF | Version of Record

    © 2026 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.

    Download (1.01MB)

Check full text

DOI (Published version): 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0363

Abstract

While satellite tracking is widely used to identify areas of conservation importance, whether there is a need to continue tag deployments across many years is unclear. We show that destinations of migrating animals from the same breeding population can differ significantly across years, and hence we...

Full description

Published in: Biology Letters
ISSN: 1744-957X
Published: The Royal Society 2026
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70907
first_indexed 2025-11-14T17:09:10Z
last_indexed 2026-01-16T05:32:41Z
id cronfa70907
recordtype SURis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2026-01-15T15:25:46.0190683</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>70907</id><entry>2025-11-14</entry><title>The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>9ae3c7349402163dc0fbfe2e6dcd4dae</sid><firstname>Kimberley</firstname><surname>Stokes</surname><name>Kimberley Stokes</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author><author><sid>fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319</sid><ORCID>0000-0003-4693-7221</ORCID><firstname>Nicole</firstname><surname>Esteban</surname><name>Nicole Esteban</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2025-11-14</date><deptcode>BGPS</deptcode><abstract>While satellite tracking is widely used to identify areas of conservation importance, whether there is a need to continue tag deployments across many years is unclear. We show that destinations of migrating animals from the same breeding population can differ significantly across years, and hence we highlight the value of multi-year tracking studies. Between 2012 and 2024, we used Fastloc-GPS Argos and Iridium tags to track 58 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from their nesting sites in the Chagos Archipelago. If tracking had taken place in a single year, the number of countries used as foraging destinations could have been hugely underestimated (n = 1 country in 2024 versus n = 7 countries across years). Overall, 47% of tracked individuals foraged in the Seychelles, which likely hosts hundreds of thousands of foraging turtles across age classes. Further, the importance of foraging in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJs) was only revealed by tracking over multiple years. Across years, 9% of tracked individuals foraged on the Saya de Malha Bank, a remote ABNJ, equating to likely &gt;1000 adult females and &gt;10&#x2009;000 green turtles using this foraging area. This cumulative insight from multi-year tracking likely applies broadly to capital breeders where there is environmental variability across the foraging range.</abstract><type>Journal Article</type><journal>Biology Letters</journal><volume>22</volume><journalNumber>1</journalNumber><paginationStart>20250363</paginationStart><paginationEnd/><publisher>The Royal Society</publisher><placeOfPublication/><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic>1744-957X</issnElectronic><keywords>Kunming&#x2013;Montreal, foraging hotspot, high seas, marine spatial planning, marine megafauna, marine turtle, UNCLOS</keywords><publishedDay>1</publishedDay><publishedMonth>1</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2026</publishedYear><publishedDate>2026-01-01</publishedDate><doi>10.1098/rsbl.2025.0363</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Biosciences Geography and Physics School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>BGPS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm>SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal)</apcterm><funders>This project was supported by the Fondation Bertarelli with the grant numbers BPMS-2017-4 and BPMS-820633.</funders><projectreference/><lastEdited>2026-01-15T15:25:46.0190683</lastEdited><Created>2025-11-14T17:06:36.4522560</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Science and Engineering</level><level id="2">School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Kimberley</firstname><surname>Stokes</surname><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Nicole</firstname><surname>Esteban</surname><orcid>0000-0003-4693-7221</orcid><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Jeanne A.</firstname><surname>Mortimer</surname><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Alex</firstname><surname>Rattray</surname><order>4</order></author><author><firstname>Graeme C.</firstname><surname>Hays</surname><orcid>0000-0002-3314-8189</orcid><order>5</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>70907__36006__2ee74f448648401aa6d1b5d59983c093.pdf</filename><originalFilename>70907.VOR.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2026-01-15T15:22:59.3715071</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>1059210</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>Version of Record</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>&#xA9; 2026 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.</documentNotes><copyrightCorrect>true</copyrightCorrect><language>eng</language><licence>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</licence></document></documents><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2026-01-15T15:25:46.0190683 v2 70907 2025-11-14 The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation 9ae3c7349402163dc0fbfe2e6dcd4dae Kimberley Stokes Kimberley Stokes true false fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319 0000-0003-4693-7221 Nicole Esteban Nicole Esteban true false 2025-11-14 BGPS While satellite tracking is widely used to identify areas of conservation importance, whether there is a need to continue tag deployments across many years is unclear. We show that destinations of migrating animals from the same breeding population can differ significantly across years, and hence we highlight the value of multi-year tracking studies. Between 2012 and 2024, we used Fastloc-GPS Argos and Iridium tags to track 58 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from their nesting sites in the Chagos Archipelago. If tracking had taken place in a single year, the number of countries used as foraging destinations could have been hugely underestimated (n = 1 country in 2024 versus n = 7 countries across years). Overall, 47% of tracked individuals foraged in the Seychelles, which likely hosts hundreds of thousands of foraging turtles across age classes. Further, the importance of foraging in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJs) was only revealed by tracking over multiple years. Across years, 9% of tracked individuals foraged on the Saya de Malha Bank, a remote ABNJ, equating to likely >1000 adult females and >10 000 green turtles using this foraging area. This cumulative insight from multi-year tracking likely applies broadly to capital breeders where there is environmental variability across the foraging range. Journal Article Biology Letters 22 1 20250363 The Royal Society 1744-957X Kunming–Montreal, foraging hotspot, high seas, marine spatial planning, marine megafauna, marine turtle, UNCLOS 1 1 2026 2026-01-01 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0363 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University SU Library paid the OA fee (TA Institutional Deal) This project was supported by the Fondation Bertarelli with the grant numbers BPMS-2017-4 and BPMS-820633. 2026-01-15T15:25:46.0190683 2025-11-14T17:06:36.4522560 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Kimberley Stokes 1 Nicole Esteban 0000-0003-4693-7221 2 Jeanne A. Mortimer 3 Alex Rattray 4 Graeme C. Hays 0000-0002-3314-8189 5 70907__36006__2ee74f448648401aa6d1b5d59983c093.pdf 70907.VOR.pdf 2026-01-15T15:22:59.3715071 Output 1059210 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation
spellingShingle The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation
Kimberley Stokes
Nicole Esteban
title_short The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation
title_full The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation
title_fullStr The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation
title_full_unstemmed The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation
title_sort The value of satellite tracking across multiple year cohorts to identify key areas for conservation
author_id_str_mv 9ae3c7349402163dc0fbfe2e6dcd4dae
fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319
author_id_fullname_str_mv 9ae3c7349402163dc0fbfe2e6dcd4dae_***_Kimberley Stokes
fb2e760b83b4580e7445092982f1f319_***_Nicole Esteban
author Kimberley Stokes
Nicole Esteban
author2 Kimberley Stokes
Nicole Esteban
Jeanne A. Mortimer
Alex Rattray
Graeme C. Hays
format Journal article
container_title Biology Letters
container_volume 22
container_issue 1
container_start_page 20250363
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 1744-957X
doi_str_mv 10.1098/rsbl.2025.0363
publisher The Royal Society
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description While satellite tracking is widely used to identify areas of conservation importance, whether there is a need to continue tag deployments across many years is unclear. We show that destinations of migrating animals from the same breeding population can differ significantly across years, and hence we highlight the value of multi-year tracking studies. Between 2012 and 2024, we used Fastloc-GPS Argos and Iridium tags to track 58 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from their nesting sites in the Chagos Archipelago. If tracking had taken place in a single year, the number of countries used as foraging destinations could have been hugely underestimated (n = 1 country in 2024 versus n = 7 countries across years). Overall, 47% of tracked individuals foraged in the Seychelles, which likely hosts hundreds of thousands of foraging turtles across age classes. Further, the importance of foraging in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJs) was only revealed by tracking over multiple years. Across years, 9% of tracked individuals foraged on the Saya de Malha Bank, a remote ABNJ, equating to likely >1000 adult females and >10 000 green turtles using this foraging area. This cumulative insight from multi-year tracking likely applies broadly to capital breeders where there is environmental variability across the foraging range.
published_date 2026-01-01T05:33:55Z
_version_ 1856987029301100544
score 11.096295

Similar Items