Nesting of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) in the southeast Adriatic confirmed

The nesting of sea turtles in Eastern Adriatic has not been previously reported, even though the possible nesting of the loggerhead turtle in Albania has been hypothesized. Data for nesting activities have been collected since 2002 along the Albanian coastline. Anecdotal evidence assembled over the years has provided important information regarding the possibility of the nesting of the loggerhead turtle in Albania. This study confirms the nesting of the loggerhead turtle in Albania. Although sporadic, it takes place along the entire Adriatic coast of Albania. This information shifts the border of nesting known so far from the northeast Ionian (Greece) to the southeast Adriatic Sea (Albania)

Nesting of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) in the southeast Adriatic confirmed

The nesting of sea turtles in Eastern Adriatic has not been previously reported, even though the possible nesting of the loggerhead turtle in Albania has been hypothesized. Data for nesting activities have been collected since 2002 along the Albanian coastline. Anecdotal evidence assembled over the years has provided important information regarding the possibility of the nesting of the loggerhead turtle in Albania. This study confirms the nesting of the loggerhead turtle in Albania. Although sporadic, it takes place along the entire Adriatic coast of Albania. This information shifts the border of nesting known so far from the northeast Ionian (Greece) to the southeast Adriatic Sea (Albania)

Apparent increasing importance of Adriatic Sea as a developmental habitat for Mediterranean green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas)

In the Mediterranean, the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) has exhibited increase in the number of nests over the past two decades. While the Eastern Mediterranean is recognized as a high use area, scarce observations of green turtles in Adriatic Sea suggested only low-level utilization of this area. This study presents new findings of green sea turtles in the Adriatic Sea and analyses the importance of the region for the species. In combination with published records, we present 75 findings of the species in the Adriatic including eight new records. The number of records is generally low but shows an intriguing ten-fold increase since 2000. This may be a result of three confounding factors: (i) positive population trend at main nesting sites in Mediterranean; (ii) increased institutional capacity for sea turtle research and conservation in the past two decades, and (iii) raising sea temperatures. Documented increases in the sea surface temperatures may have established suitable and recurring thermal corridors along Ionian-Adriatic developmental pathway and provided environmental cues for immigration of juvenile green turtles into the Adriatic. As the abundance of the species will likely increase in the future, research and conservation efforts will be needed to avoid the Adriatic Sea becoming a sink habitat for the Mediterranean green turtle population

Priorities for Mediterranean marine turtle conservation and management in the face of climate change

As climate-related impacts threaten marine biodiversity globally, it is important to adjust conservation efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Translating scientific knowledge into practical management, however, is often complicated due to resource, economic and policy constraints, generating a knowledge-action gap. To develop potential solutions for marine turtle conservation, we explored the perceptions of key actors across 18 countries in the Mediterranean. These actors evaluated their perceived relative importance of 19 adaptation and mitigation measures that could safeguard marine turtles from climate change. Of importance, despite differences in expertise, experience and focal country, the perceptions of researchers and management practitioners largely converged with respect to prioritizing adaptation and mitigation measures. Climate change was considered to have the greatest impacts on offspring sex ratios and suitable nesting sites. The most viable adaptation/mitigation measures were considered to be reducing other pressures that act in parallel to climate change. Ecological effectiveness represented a key determinant for implementing proposed measures, followed by practical applicability, financial cost, and societal cost. This convergence in opinions across actors likely reflects long-standing initiatives in the Mediterranean region towards supporting knowledge exchange in marine turtle conservation. Our results provide important guidance on how to prioritize measures that incorporate climate change in decision-making processes related to the current and future management and protection of marine turtles at the ocean-basin scale, and could be used to guide decisions in other regions globally. Importantly, this study demonstrates a successful example of how interactive processes can be used to fill the knowledge-action gap between research and management.This work was conducted under FutureMares EU project that received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869300. The Mediterranean Marine Turtle Working Group was established in 2017 and is continuously supported by MedPAN and the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. The work of AC was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) under the “First Call for H.F.R.I. Research Projects to support Faculty members and Researchers and the procurement of high-cost research equipment grant” (Project Number: 2340).Peer reviewe