USING REMOTE SENSING DATA TO INVESTIGATE THE REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN FACTORS CONTROLLING SEA TURTLE NESTING ALONG THE PACIFIC COASTS OF CENTRAL AMERICA

Olive Ridley female turtles are unique due to their tendency to aggregate in numbers often exceeding 100,000 in events known as arribadas. These arribadas only occur along the Pacific coast of Central America and at Orissa in India. Investigations into these events are limited and do not consider every factor that may be involved. This study investigated these factors using remotely sensed data combined with data sourced from published literature and in situ infonnation, and were then integrated within a GIS. The information was analysed and compared to establish which factors were having an effect on the turtle populations. The distance of the arribada beaches from the various map features i.e. major cities, and 500m bathymetric and topographic contours, were found to influence the turtle populations. It was suggested that the features themselves did not have a direct influence but instead caused indirect impacts on the numbers of nesting females. In addition, it was discovered that the arribada beaches were located in proximity to upwellings that fonned towards the end of the nesting season (July - December). There was insufficient data for the application of appropriate statistical analysis and further work would need to be implemented for this to be possible. As a preliminary study it was successful but significant additions are required to create a practical useable resourceSchool of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Scienc