Satellite tracking of sea turtles: Where have we been and where do we go next?

Abstract

Many species of marine megavertebrates are of profound conservation concern as the result of a range of past and ongoing impacts such as direct exploitation (Roman & Palumbi 2003, Baum & Myers 2004), indirect take in fisheries (NRC 1990 Gardner et al. 2003). For effective mitigation of direct threats, there is an acute need to understand how these animals use dynamic seascapes. The elaboration of an ever increasing array of tracking technologies has transformed this field of study (Block 2005, Block et al. 2005), with satellite tracking using the Argos system (Argos 1996) having become particularly prevalent in recent decades (Gillespie 2001).