Home 1-week projects Western Australia - turtles

Beach combing for conservation: monitoring flatback turtles along the stunning coastline of Western Australia. Price/dates/status This voluntourism project will take you to the strikingly beautiful coastline of Western Australia to conduct a survey of iconic Australian flatback turtles. You will measure and tag turtles, as well as observe and record data about their nesting behaviour. You will also help to collect DNA samples. This is a very hands-on project working from a remote but very comfortable and modern beach camp with the aim of determining flatback turtle nesting numbers and how far dispersed this genetic population is along the seashore of Western Australia. With Australian flatbacks still listed as ‘Data Deficient” internationally by the IUCN Red List, the actions of this project will go a long way in assisting to fill in the information gaps for this species.    PRICE = Expedition contribution (land only per slot) £980 (approx. €1070 | US$1590 | AU$1750). Please note: expedition contributions are quoted in British pound sterling and the approximate Euro and US Dollar equivalent. Try the XE currency converter for other currencies and an up to date Euro and US Dollar exchange rate. Where does my money go and other money questions.  Dates 2010: 8 – 15 November | 15 – 22 November (7 nights). Team members can join for multiple slots (within the periods specified). How long can I join for? Status Amber: Expeditions of status amber have few spaces available. To join them you need to decide soon, so please get in touch to talk about availability. Terrain Western Australian beaches, one of the most strikingly beautiful coastlines in the world. Weather expected during expedition Warm to hot with 95% chance of blue skies and sunshine. Expedition base Eco Beach Wilderness Retreat, a remote beach resort with spacious safari-style tents featuring a private verandah, mattress bed, en suite bathroom & showers. The resort also has a pool, gym, yoga room & classes, bar, etc. Team size Up to 12 team members + 2 local scientist + 1 expedition leader. Skills & prerequisites required None. You don't need to be a scientist or have any special qualifications - everyone can take part and there are no age limits whatsoever. Can laypeople really be of help to serious research & conservation projects? Fitness level required Moderate. Research work takes place in the evenings and at night and expedition team members need to be able to walk for up to four hours a night (with breaks) in soft sand wearing footwear. Patrol lengths vary with the maximum distance per night at 10 km. Will it be for me or am I too old/young/unfit? Team assembly point Broome, a major and easily accessible coastal town in Western Australia. What about carbon neutrality and other environmental and social impact? Who books my flights? And finally Our expeditions are not about playing the primitive, neither are we a military style 'boot-camp'. Our expedition leader and the local scientist will be by your side and we believe strongly that we get the best out of our expedition teams by making them comfortable, safe and well fed. You won’t be living in the lap of luxury, but we will do our best to make you feel comfortable and at home in your working environment, as this is the key to a well-balanced and successful expedition. Details Aims & objectives (1) To conduct consecutive nights of monitoring for nesting turtles to determine species and populations, monitor nest predation, beach dynamics and hatchling success rates. (2) To conduct public education and responsible turtle viewing workshops. This project as a whole also meets objectives outlined in Australian state and federal management and recovery plans for Australian sea turtles. Background No known annual or consecutive recording of nesting turtles has occurred in the study site until now. Anecdotal evidence together with some past track counts by the Department of Environment and Conservation of Western Australia provided the basis for the establishment of this new annual monitoring programme.   While the flatback turtle (Natator depressus) is the prime nesting species, green turtles (Chelonia mydas) are quite likely to nest in the study site too. Other species such as hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Olive Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) are also known to inhabit the waters of the study site. Extensive satellite transmitter tracking of nesting flatbacks further south along the coast of Western Australia shows migratory paths past the study site to northern foraging grounds off the coastline of Broome. Where the project’s flatbacks fit in to this overall picture is of prime interest for future conservation measures. Satellite tagging is also planned for the future. Study species Australian flatback turtle (Natator depressus). Other landmark species present: Green turtle, Hawksbill turtle, Loggerhead turtle, Olive Ridley turtle. Terrestrial species include large sand goannas, wallabies and dingoes. Typical day Turtle monitoring takes place during the evening and night and sometimes early mornings before the heat of the day increases. When not undertaking conservation activities, team members have the opportunity to relax at the Eco Beach resort base, where you can have a drink at the bar, use the pool, or take in the surrounds. There will also be some turtle talks for you to attend during the day. Beach patrols will be either on foot or in special golf-cart-like beach vehicles and everyone will be rotated between foot and vehicle patrol. Under normal circumstances there will be three patrol teams each day/night. If you are on vehicle patrol, the high tide time will determine when your patrol sets off to its survey location. Once there, you will sleep in tents or under the stars on the beach until it’s time to patrol the beach for up to four hours and then sleep again until sunrise. You will then rise with the sun and conduct a morning survey of any nests missed overnight before you return back to base and a group breakfast at around 09:00. If you are on foot patrol, you will be leaving from base and returning there afterwards to sleep. After returning from patrol and breakfast, you will then have free time to rest & relax until lunch around noon. Lunch will be prepared by the expedition leader & scientist and you will be asked to help with this on a rotational basis. After lunch there is more free time until an early dinner before your patrol leaves again for its turtle survey and a night camping in tents on the beach. Dinner usually consists of sandwiches, which you will prepare yourself from a buffet. On some days you will have dinner at base, on others you will take your dinner out with you on patrol and eat whilst watching the sun set over the beach. Research area Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising of the mainland, which is the world's smallest continent (also largest island), the major island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it includes a diverse range of habitats from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests, and is recognised as a megadiverse country. Because of the continent's great age, its extremely variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of Australia's biota is unique and diverse. The project’s study site, Eco Beach, is located approximately 130 km south of Broome in a remote part of one of the world’s most strikingly beautiful stretches of coastline. The study area is located at the bottom of Roebuck Bay, a large area of extensive white and red sandy beaches and intertidal mudflats, which is rich in invertebrate fauna and fed by Roebuck Plain. Roebuck Bay is also of international importance for the millions of migratory waders or shorebirds that use it seasonally on migration through the East Asian - Australasian Flyway from their breeding grounds in northern Asia. Partners Our main partner on this project is Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA), a leading Australian non-profit and non-political, practical conservation organisation operating in all States and Territories of Australia as well as New Zealand. Other partners are the Cable Beach community-based monitoring programme in Broome, the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation, the Chelonia Wildlife & Rehabilitation Centre, Environs Kimberley and Seagrass Watch. Our Eco Beach resort base also has a relationship with the traditional aboriginal owners of the land, the Yawuru Native Holders Aboriginal Corporation. Corporate support comes from Land Rover, Swarovski Optik and Snowgum, an Australian outdoor equipment retailer. Maps Map of the region and study site. Map of the Eco Beach study site. Google map of all Biosphere Expeditions study sites, expedition bases, assembly points, office locations, etc.   Pictures Australian flatback turtle. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Australian flatback turtle with tag. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Nesting. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Going back to the ocean after nesting. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane.   Going back to the ocean after nesting. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Hatchling on its way to the ocean. Sand goanna. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Sand goanna going for a walk Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane.   Wallaby hanging round the study site. Turtle tracks. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Eco Beach study site. . Eco Beach study site. Eco Beach study site. Eco Beach study site. Eco Beach study site. Eco Beach study site.  Eco Beach study site. Eco Beach study site.   Sunset over the study site. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Sunset over the study site. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Expedition base. Expedition base safari-style tent. Safari-style tents with private verandah & en suite bathroom & shower (in attachment to tent on the left). View from inside a safari-style tent. It's the hard life of an expeditioner  - pool at base Pool at base. Decking, pool, ocean. Not that we are obsessed by the pool at base or anything Expedition base - central communal area. Special beach buggy for surveying. Turtle with tag. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Measuring a turtle. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. On turtle partol. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. On turtle partol. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Studying a nest. Picture courtesy of Glenn McFarlane. Relaxing before going out on patrol. More images on Biosphere Expeditions'    Video An Australian flatback turtle coming ashore to excavate a nest, lay her eggs, cover them and then return to the ocean. Impressions of the Eco Beach study site. Turtle conservationist Glenn McFarlance talking to a volunteer on Eco Beach, Western Australia. Watch more Western Australia expedition clips on YouTube.   Feedback "Almost every sea turtle monitoring programme around the world relies on volunteers to walk the many miles on nesting beaches at night with researchers gathering valuable scientific data. We welcome Biosphere Expeditions and the support they can bring to our flatback sea turtle monitoring program here in Western Australia. This type of research is all about education, active involvement and understanding that sea turtle species can move through the waters of many countries from feeding to mating to nesting areas such as this one." Glenn McFarlane, Marine Species Manager, Eco Beach programme, Australia. "You have created something big with Biosphere Expeditions and Iwanted to thank you for letting me be part of it. My experience withyou was not only extraordinarily enriching and beautiful, but it hasalso put many wheels in motion in my life, amongst other things a newunderstanding of wildlife and nature, as well as a deep personalfriendship. My expedition has been one of the most inspirational andformative experiences of my life. THANK YOU!” “This is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to and itfelt like a real privilege to wake up here and go out diving with thescientists.” “What a wonderful experience. One that will stay with me for the rest of my life.” “One of the most amazing trips of my life – wonderful people, wonderful experience.” “….absolutely brilliant – this has to be the best ever Biosphere experience! Very impressed by – well everything ……” Feedback from team members about their experiences and reasons for coming (on/from various expeditions). “Congratulations for the Biosphere Expeditions idea and the way thestaff carries it through with their enthusiasm. I came across you onthe internet by chance and your information materials and the way myquestions were answered persuaded me to dare come on the expedition.Once in the field my expectations were more than fulfilled. The teamwas great, as was the food and I gained a real insight into howwildlife research and conservation works on the ground. I'll be back!” "For me this was again a very successful undertaking and I look forwardto receiving a copy of the report. Last year was my first venture into‘responsible travel’ and I feel I made a good choice with BiosphereExpeditions. I would recommend this type of vacation to anyone. I willbe back and follow Biosphere’s development with interest.” “The site was extraordinary, the programme was excellent, theexpedition leader & scientists were extremely well selected forthis kind of an expedition. There was also outstanding care for safetymatters.” “This has been the most wonderful period in my life and I am so glad tohave had the opportunity to spend four weeks here. Many, many wonderfulmemories. Thank you Biosphere for making it all possible and bestwishes to Birgit & Harald for their work here. All in all a very,very memorable and life-changing experience.” “The group dynamic was excellent...our team leader was excellent -really chilled but directive where necessary and the dive master andhis phenomenal knowledge of the sites enhanced all our dives.” “What an incredible experience. Being part of an exciting researchproject with a wonderful team. I am so proud to be part of somethinglike that and so impressed.” Briefing The briefing contains very detailed information on this project, including instructions on how to get to the assembly point, what you will be doing whilst on the project and who your expedition leader and scientists will be. Briefings are provided as pdf documents and you must provide a name, country of residence and valid e-mail address to be able to download one. You can access briefings via the Download Centre. Join Go on, you know you want to