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Satellite Workshop: Marine wildlife ecology and conservation |
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Fall and rise of the Hawaiian green turtle: a 50-year witness to cultural and conservation changes
Sunday 8th @ 0900-0930
Room 5
George H. Balazs* , Oceania Region of the IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group, USA
Presenter Email: itsahonuworldinhawaii@hotmail.com
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| Seven species of ocean turtles exist globally as descendants of ancient reptilian lineages that have adapted and survived for millions of years. Over the course of human history an array of relationships have developed with turtles, and especially marine turtles amongst coastal and island peoples such as in the Hawaiian Islands. Turtles are woven deeply into the cultural, traditional and contemporary fabric of humanity with uses ranging from food to fortune telling, pets to funerary. In 2012, Hawaii¡¯s green turtles, or honu (Chelonia mydas), were downlisted from Endangered to the category of Least Concern following a comprehensive assessment by the IUCN Marine Turtle Specialist Group (see http://iucnredlist.details/16285718/0). Over the past 50 years, Hawaii¡¯s honu have exhibited new behaviors and adaptations along with an increasing population and expansion into new habitats. These favorable changes have ranged from increases in terrestrial basking to feeding on new types of vegetation, to name a few as witnessed firsthand by the authors. Even more beneficial changes and acclimations can be expected in the future, including shifts in nesting to adapt to climate change, as sea turtles have successfully done with resiliency for millennia. In light of their rise to abundance, green turtles in Hawai¡¯i constitute a unique experimental model to comprehensively understand the restoration dynamics of an increasing sea turtle population. Conservation practices in Hawai¡¯i can serve as a real-life learning ground for people in other regions striving to save and sustainable use their own charismatic and culturally important sea turtle resources. |
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