Taxon name
Lepidochelys olivacea
(Eschscholtz, 1829)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Lepidochelys olivacea
(Eschscholtz, 1829)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Reptiles
Species authority
(Eschscholtz, 1829)
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Data deficient
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
Within UAE waters, this species is known from very few records. It is at most an occasional passage visitor to UAE territorial waters, with the eastern coast a transit corridor to nesting sites elsewhere.This species is assessed as Data Deficient for the UAE as there is inadequate information to assign it to any other category.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
This species has been recorded in UAE waters in the western Arabian Gulf and in the Gulf of Oman (<a href=""http://seamap.env.duke.edu/"">OBIS-SEAMAP</a>; Halpin et al. 2009). The species is an occasional visitor to Abu Dhabi Emirate and has no known foraging or nesting sites there (EAD 2016). Within the region, the presence of Olive Ridley turtles has been also reported in the waters of Iran (Tollab et al. 2015), in Bahrain (Abdulqader and Miller 2012), and in Kuwait (Bishop et al. 2007). The first recorded nesting by this species in the Arabian Gulf was in May 2013 at Nayband Marine-Coastal National Park in Iran (Tollab et al. 2015), which is also the most northerly nesting account for the species in the Western Indian Ocean. Nesting activity at this site is believed to be very low.There are seven known confirmed records for the UAE: two from Abu Dhabi, one from Dubai (a rescued animal), two records from Ras Al Khaimah, and one from Khor Kalba. Satellite tracking found that turtles from Masirah Island passed along the eastern coast of UAE on the way to waters off the coast of Pakistan and Iran. No breeding in the UAE is recorded.Globally, this species has a circumtropical distribution, with nesting occurring throughout tropical waters except the Gulf of Mexico, and migratory circuits in tropical and some subtropical areas (Atlantic Ocean -“ eastern central, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, western central; Indian Ocean -“ eastern, western; Pacific Ocean -“ eastern central, northwest, southwest, western central) (Abreu-Grobois and Plotkin 2008). Nesting occurs in nearly 60 countries worldwide. Migratory movements are less well studied than other marine turtle species but are known to involve coastal waters of over 80 countries. With very few exceptions they are not known to move between ocean basins or to cross from one ocean border to the other. Within a region, the species may move between the oceanic and neritic zones or just occupy neritic waters (Abreu-Grobois and Plotkin 2008).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
The utilisation of UAE waters by this species is uncertain but is likely to be for passage only, and no nesting beaches are known in the UAE. Juveniles are believed to occur in similar habitats as the adults (i.e,. pelagic waters) where they forage on gelatinous prey such as jellyfish, salps and tunicates (Kopitsky et al. 2004, Abreu-Grobois and Plotkin 2008). Satellite telemetry studies on Olive Ridley nesting turtles have been undertaken at the south of Masirah Island. Tagging results indicated that six turtles tracked spent most of their time to the west of Masirah foraging at depths of less than 100 m (Rees et al. 2012).Females lay their nests on coastal sandy beaches from which neonates emerge and enter the marine environment to continue their development. They remain in a pelagic phase, drifting passively with major currents that disperse far from their natal sites, with juveniles sharing some of the adults' habitats (Kopitsky et al. 2000) until sexual maturity is reached. Reproductively active males and females migrate toward coastal zones and concentrate near nesting beaches. However, some males appear to remain in oceanic waters and mate with females en route to their nesting beaches (Plotkin et al. 1996, Kopitsky et al. 2000). Their post-breeding migrations are complex, with pathways varying annually (Plotkin 1994) and with no apparent migratory corridors, swimming hundreds or thousands of kilometres, commonly within the 20'°C isotherms.This species displays a unique breeding strategy with females nesting synchronously in large numbers that include hundreds to thousands of females over a period of days in few and specific areas around the world; a phenomenon known as Arribada (word for arrival in Spanish). However, the most common breeding strategy is the solitary or disperse (non-arribada) nesting with no apparent synchronicity and of three or four orders of magnitude lower than arribada nesting populations (Bernardo and Plotkin 2007). At some localities, a mixture of these two forms of nesting can also occur.
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Within the UAE, this species occurs as an infrequent passage visitor, usually found by coastal fishers. At the global scale, Abreu-Grobois and Plotkin (2008) considered the species to be impacted by a range of threats, however, the impact of these threats on animals found in the UAE waters is not known. Fisheries bycatch The primary threat at the global scale: incidental capture of marine turtles in fishing gear targeting other species. Targeted exploitation Direct utilization of turtles or eggs for human use (i.e. consumption, commercial products). Coastal development Coastal development affects critical turtle habitat: human-induced alteration of coastal environments due to construction, dredging, beach modification, etc. Pollution and pathogens Marine pollution and debris that affect marine turtles (i.e. through ingestion or entanglement, disorientation caused by artificial lights), as well as impacts of pervasive pathogens (e.g. fibropapilloma virus, although not thought to be significant in this species) on turtle health. Climate change Current and future impacts from climate change on marine turtles and their habitats (e.g. increasing sand temperatures on nesting beaches affecting hatchling sex ratios, sea level rise, storm frequency and intensity affecting nesting habitats, etc.). Feral animal impacts Predation of eggs by dogs (pet animals and feral) and pigs.
Publication
Els, J., Allen, D., Hilton-Taylor, C., Harding, K. (2019). UAE National Red List of Herpetofauna: Amphibians & Terrestrial Reptiles, Sea Snakes & Marine Turtles. MOCCAE, UAE
