Meeting Abstract

119-7  Thursday, Jan. 7 11:30  Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) Technology for Locating, Identifying, and Monitoring Courtship and Mating Behavior in the Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) BEVAN, E*; WIBBELS, T; NAVARRO, E; ROSAS, M; NAJERA, B; SARTI, L; ILLESCAS, F; MONTANO, J; PENA, L; BURCHFIELD, P; University of Alabama at Birmingham,1300 University Boulevard; University of Alabama at Birmingham,1300 University Boulevard; Gladys Porter Zoo, 500 E Ringgold St, Brownsville, Texas; Gladys Porter Zoo, 500 E Ringgold St, Brownsville, Texas; CONANP, Nicolas Bravo 35, Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico; CONANP, Nicolas Bravo 35, Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico; Gladys Porter Zoo & CDEN, SC Calle Simon Castro, Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico; Gladys Porter Zoo & CDEN, SC Calle Simon Castro, Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico; Gladys Porter Zoo & CDEN, SC Calle Simon Castro, Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico; Gladys Porter Zoo; Gladys Porter Zoo libby84@uab.edu

The rapidly advancing field of unmanned aerial system (UAS) technology is becoming more widely used in wildlife biology and conservation. UAS technology provides many benefits that enhance the collection of data from a variety of study areas, including remote areas that are difficult to access. In particular, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are highly applicable platforms for identifying and monitoring sea turtles in their in-water habitat. This technology can facilitate ecological and behavioral studies of courtship and mating activities in sea turtles since these behaviors often occur in nearshore areas adjacent to nesting beaches, near or at the water’s surface, and these behaviors can occur for long periods of time. In the current study, the courtship and mating behavior of green sea turtles off a nesting beach at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico, were recorded using a commercially available UAV. A variety of behaviors were observed including some novel behaviors, and some that have been previously described for green turtles. Further, the results exemplify the applicability of UAS technology for studies of adult green sea turtles in nearshore waters.