Methodological processes for the placement of satellite transmitters in hard-shelled sea turtles on nesting beaches

Abstract

Sea turtles are migratory species that occupy several marine and coastal habitats along their different life stages. The study of the spatial and temporal distribution of these vertebrates has been revolutionized with technological advances such as satellite telemetry, which in the last two decades has substantially increased its implementation. This technology attends the need of knowing and locating their critical habitats (such as inter-nesting, migrating, feeding and mating) as well as know their migratory movements for the understanding of their biology and protection through the deployment of satellite transmitters on sea turtle individuals. Because the cost of a satellite transmitter is high, its effective deployment on a sea turtle in a quickly, safely, and firmly way is of vital interest to the researcher to ensure that the transmitter persists for an extended time maximizing the information contribution and benefit the research. In this context, the objective of this contribution is to describe and document experiences applying standardized and verified methodological steps for deploying satellite transmitters on hard shell marine turtles. This contribution represents a documented and step-by-step viable description on the path to have clear and versatile basis as reference for the satellite transmitter deployments.