Modeling Spatial Population Dynamics of Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) in the Southwest of Indian Ocean

Abstract

International audienceMore than twenty years of active research on green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the South West Indian Ocean (SWIO) have contributed to improve the knowledge of the species biology and ecology. However, lots of gaps still remain regarding the links between the main behavioral processes: alimentation, reproduction and migration, while shifts in these processes at individual scale have major impacts at population scale. On this basis, we have started implementing a spatially explicit individual-based model (IBM) to assess population dynamics of the green turtle in the SWIO. Our simulation experiment aims to unify, in a single model, alimentation, navigation and reproduction constraints as well as potential changes in foraging or breeding sites