Grant: 26-061R
Project Title: Calibrating spatiotemporal vessel strike risk of loggerhead sea turtles in Biscayne Bay
Project Manager: Christopher Long
Organization: University of Miami (Research and Educational Institute)
Grant Amount: $33,212.55
Completion Date:
Summary: Florida's marine turtles face elevated risk of injury and mortality from vessel strikes, particularly in areas of intense boating activity such as Miami-Dade County and Biscayne Bay. Although many boaters are receptive to targeted management and learning about these issues, effective conservation and outreach efforts remain constrained by limited understanding of where and when turtles are most at risk. To address this gap, we will use depth-recording Fastloc GPS tags to develop model-based, spatiotemporally dynamic estimators of loggerhead time-at-surface within the Bay. These data will be integrated with existing telemetry data from project partners, previous aerial surveys of vessel densities, and high-resolution vessel tracking data from NOAA's AccessAIS system to build spatiotemporally explicit models of vessel-strike risk. By combining fine-scale telemetry with advanced spatial modeling, this project will generate detailed, data-driven estimates of loggerhead exposure to vessel strikes. The resulting risk maps will inform targeted management actions and enhance outreach strategies for boaters in one of Florida's most heavily used marine ecosystems.
Results: