Marine turtle nesting and hatching in Tun Mustapha park, Malaysia, revealed by community-based monitoring

Jolis, Gavin & Joseph, Juanita & Nishizawa, & Isnain, Irwan & Muin, Hussien. (2023). Marine turtle nesting and hatching in Tun Mustapha park, Malaysia, revealed by community-based monitoring. Herpetological Conservation and Biology. 18. 275-289.

—

ABSTRACT

Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) is a marine protected area in Malaysia where marine turtles are regularly sighted; however, more comprehensive and updated information about nesting marine turtles at Tun Mustapha Park is needed to help guide effective marine turtle conservation. Here, we present the first report on the status of marine turtle nesting and hatching at Tun Mustapha Park. World Wide Fund for Nature-Malaysia (WWF) in partnership with government agencies organized the local community-based monitoring that investigated 11 nesting beaches from 2009 to 2020 (12 y) and recorded the following results: 85 Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), 23 Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), and three Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) nests. Despite a small nesting population of marine turtles compared to other sites in Malaysia, the results showed differences in nesting seasonality and hatching success between Green and Hawksbill Turtles. The Green Turtles nest mainly between June and October, whereas the Hawksbill Turtles nest mainly between March and June. The average hatching success of hatchery-incubated Green Turtle nests (75.7 ± 20.6%; range, 28.9–100.0%, n = 23) was higher than Hawksbill Turtle nests (51.7 ± 23.7%; range, 2.1–92.5%, n = 10). Our study provides an up-to-date status on the nesting and hatching success of marine turtles at Tun Mustapha Park. It demonstrates that community-based monitoring is essential for the conservation of marine turtle populations in Sabah, Malaysia.