The turtle conservation program involves seasonal monitoring of sea turtles nesting on the northern beaches of Madagascar. From November to March, during the nesting season, you’ll help identify and monitor key nesting sites, behaviour, and population changes. From April to October, the off-nesting season, you’ll assist in identifying areas of turtle activity, population size, and re-establishing nesting beaches. When tides allow, you’ll conduct seagrass surveys, turtle watches, and beach cleans.
The research focuses on Green and Hawksbill turtles, with data also collected on Olive Ridley and Loggerhead turtles if encountered. This information helps protect and manage turtle populations. We also engage the local community through education programs promoting turtle conservation.
You will help create a new research database in a relatively unstudied area, searching for signs of turtle activity most days and nights. If turtles or eggs are found, you may handle them as part of data collection, ensuring minimal negative impact.
Program Activities
Beach Cleans: With no recycling or waste disposal facilities in the area, beach cleans are vital to prevent waste, especially plastics, from harming turtles. Turtles cannot regurgitate plastic due to their oesophagus structure, leading to fatal ingestion. Beach cleans are conducted frequently at Nosy Komba and Ampohana.
Turtle Watch: To identify areas of turtle activity, volunteers conduct turtle watches from land, documenting surfacing turtles and other relevant activities. Data on turtle behaviour, size, and environmental factors are collected during these 30-minute watches.
Extreme turtle Watch: Through the turtle nesting season, November to March, marine volunteers (and any other willing volunteers) participate in nightly walks and sleepovers at a nearby turtle nesting beach. The extreme turtle watch team takes turns doing hourly patrols through the night to check for any nesting or hatching activity and monitor existing nests. This activity helps identify which turtles are nesting, compared to our catalogue of recorded individuals from snorkel surveys, and ensures nests are protected to maximize the survival rates of endangered hatchling turtles.
Education: The future of Madagascar’s turtles ultimately depends on the people who live here. We are involved in educating the local community about environmental issues on both local and global scales. We strive to engage with the local people and provide education on protecting their environment, always seeking new ways to inspire conservation of the wildlife that shares the island.
Seagrass Snorkelling Surveys: Seagrass is crucial for marine ecosystems and a primary food source for green sea turtles. Volunteers perform seagrass surveys during low spring tides, assessing seagrass health, species abundance, and signs of turtle feeding.
Active Turtle Surveys (ATSs): To estimate feeding population sizes, volunteers snorkel to identify individual turtles, determining population size based on frequent observations. ATSs are frequent, with alternative activities or basic snorkelling lessons available for those uncomfortable with snorkelling.
Night Walks: During the nesting season (November to March), volunteers participate in nightly walks and sleepovers at nearby beaches, performing hourly patrols to check for nesting or hatching activity and monitor existing nests. This helps identify nesting turtles and ensures nest protection to maximize hatchling survival rates.
Eco-Bricks: Collected trash is converted into eco-bricks by cutting and compressing plastics into water bottles, creating construction materials. This activity combats ocean pollution and provides upcycled materials for various construction projects on and off camp.
Location
Nosy Komba, a charming island off the northwest coast of Madagascar, is known for its lush greenery, stunning beaches, and vibrant coral reefs. Often referred to as “Lemur Island,” it is home to a thriving population of lemurs that roam freely. The island’s picturesque villages are inhabited by friendly locals who practice traditional Malagasy crafts and fishing. Our location is fairly remote, being a 30 minute hike over rocky terrain or accessible by boat.
Project Tasks
- Visual encounter surveys
- Animal handling experience (nesting season only)
- Track surveys
- GPS use
- Turtle identification techniques
- Scientific data collection and analysis
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