The world‘s largest population of nesting green turtles is almost twice as large as previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday after the drones allowed better animal surveys.
Australian scientists have determined that there are around 64,000 green turtles awaiting spawning on Raine Island – a reef reef vegetated on the outer edges of the Great Barrier Reef – much more than expected.
“When we compared the number of drones to the number of observers, we found that we had underestimated the numbers in the past by a factor of 1.73,” said Richard Fitzpatrick, research partner at the Biopixel Oceans Foundation , in a press release sent by e-mail.
The research is good news for scientists concerned about the decline in the number of green turtles.
Listed as endangered, many countries have made it illegal to collect or harm them, while nesting sites are often also protected.
But it has been difficult to get an accurate picture of how the species responds to protection efforts.
Previously, researchers painted a non-toxic white stripe on turtle shells and counted them, those with and without white stripes, from a small boat. But this method of counting has proven to be inaccurate due to poor visibility, according to the researchers.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
