King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
August 2017-2023
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Master's Research
My Master's thesis was titled, "Sand temperature profiles at turtle nesting sites in the Red Sea: implications for hatchling sex ratios". I deployed temperature loggers at five nesting sites at a range of nesting sites in the Red Sea. I created a sex-ratio prediction based off the sand temperatures. The sand temperature profile at four of the sites exceeded the pivotal temperature of 29.2°C (commonly cited in literature) throughout the study duration, which suggests feminization of turtles could be occurring, but further studies need to identify the pivotal temperature in this region.
This research was published in Conservation Science and Practice
https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.266
During my Master's at KAUST, I was able to gain a wide variety of experiences through
participating in several research projects and lead turtle monitoring efforts that were
supplementary to my Master's thesis
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Embarked on a two-week long research expedition in the southern Red Sea
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Used SCUBA to conduct fish surveys, coral collections, and water sampling
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Extracted DNA from coral and symbionts
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Biopsied, photo-IDed, and acoustic tagged whale sharks
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Flew a DJI drone to monitor nesting sites
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Monitored turtle nesting sites to count tracks and nests and identify seasonality
PhD Research
Broadly, my research focuses on three major aspects: movement ecology and assessing threats to sea turtles. Additionally, the final chapter examines temperature and success of sea turtle clutches, and includes a study on the implications for clutch relocation as a conservation strategy. I aim to deepen our understanding of sea turtle populations and the impact of human activities to better conserve and manage their populations. My current research takes place in the Red Sea, a largely understudied region regarding sea turtles. My Ph.D. dissertation aimed to fill in these major knowledge gaps to help guide upcoming large-scale development projects to better protect and conserve their sea turtle populations.
Movement Ecology of Sea Turtles in the Red Sea
The first chapter of my dissertation used photo identification and satellite tagging to assess connectivity.
I conducted bi-weekly freediving surveys at Rabigh beach to collect photographs of the facial scutes of sea turtles. We found it was an important foraging ground for critically endangered hawksbill turtles. I created a website for citizen scientists to upload their photographs and participate in this ongoing research. I also created a social media account for science communication and to make it easier for people to submit their photographs.
I satellite tagged foraging hawksbill turtles in the northern Red Sea to understand their home range and core use areas (publication in prep).
I also satellite tagged nesting green turtles in the southern Red Sea to understand their post-nesting migration routes, as well as the internesting and foraging habitat use.
The hope is to use the movement data to help inform conservation and management as there will be a lot of upcoming developments in the region.
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Assessing threats to sea turtles in the Red Sea
Threat assessment is a major knowledge gap in the Red Sea. For my dissertation I assessed heavy metal concentration in the sand at the largest green turtle rookery in the Red Sea, which is located next to a cement factory. We found that the concentrations of heavy metals were higher in the sand downwind from the factory, suggesting that wind is playing a role in the movement of heavy metals. Embryos can accumulate heavy metals while they are incubating, so this can be a major threat.
This work is published in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10661-022-10063-2
Additionally, I assessed the heavy metal concentrations in hatchlings at Ras Baridi, which were found adjacent to or downwind from the cement factory. We compared the heavy metal levels in hatchlings' tissues to what we found in the sand. This manuscript is currently in review.
An additional threat I assessed as part as my PhD dissertation is plastic ingestion. I conducted a total of 11 necropsies from stranded green and hawksbill turtles. I sieved their digestive tracts with a 1 mm mesh sieve to collect ingested plastics. One turtle has over 5 m of nylon fishing line inside of it. Another turtle had a large volume of strands from rope. Some turtles didn't have any plastic particles.
Implication of nest relocation as a conservation strategy
As part of a collaboration with University of Malaysia, Terengganu, I visited Redang Island to get some hands-on experience working with sea turtles. I conducted a study looking at the impacts of relocating clutches. We conducted fitness tests and measured hatchlings' morphology to compare between in-situ and relocated clutches.
This research was published in Ocean and Coastal Management
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105591