This document provides information about the coastlines and marine life of Tobago, including corals and sea turtles. It describes the location and climate of Tobago. The waters around Tobago contain rich coral reef systems that provide habitat for many species of coral, fish, and sea turtles. Three species of sea turtles regularly nest on Tobago's shores: the leatherback turtle, hawksbill turtle, and green turtle. The document focuses on these three turtle species and describes their physical characteristics, behaviors, diets, and habitats. It also provides details about specific coral reef areas like Buccoo Reef and the types of corals found there.

1. Exploring Tobago’s
Coastlines:
Corals and Turtles
Holly Benyon
09013841

2. Tobago
Tobago is located to theNorth East of the
South American Continent, only 40km
away from thecoast of Venezuelaat the
southern end of theLesser Antilles
Archipelago. As part of therepublic of
Trinidad and Tobago, it is only ashort
33km from it’s sister island Trinidad.
TheCaribbean islands arerich in
geological history, partly dueto Tobago’s
location at theedgeof two tectonic
plates, theSouth American Plateand the
Caribbean Plate. Dueto theposition of
theisland just south of thehurricanebelt, it does experiencesome
hurricanes and tropical storms, butnot much in comparison to it’s
neighbouring Caribbean islands. With atropical climate, Tobago has
an averagetemperatureof 25.7C and has two main seasons, thedry
season, from January to May and thewet season from Juneto
December.
Thewaters surrounding Tobago arefull of
biodiversity. TheWestcoast, which is
situated in theCaribbean Sea, is rich
with coral reef systems and to theEast
is theAtlantic coast, acooler, more
treacherous coastline. These reefs are
incredibly valuablefor both
thewildlifethat inhabits it and the
local Tobagonian people. Thereefs give
host to awideselection of corals, tropical
fish and fauna. This lush coastlinecreates great
feeding and nesting grounds for oneof the world’s oldest reptiles, the
seaturtle. Tobago has 3 species of turtle regularlynesting, with other
species known to havefed and nested within the coastlinesin past
eras.
The Coasts
Due to thewarmer, tropical and moreshallowwaters of the
Caribbean Sea Coast, biodiversity ismuch richeron thisside. Hard
coral does exist on theAtlantic coast, howeverdueto themore
treacherous waters, only themost sturdycoral survives and is often
found broken in mounds. Thereforethefocus of mostmarine
exploringoccurs to theNorth, South and Caribbean Coastareas of the
island.

3. Buccoo Reef and Bon Accord Lagoon
To theSouthwest of theisland ahuge
coral reef system has grown on top
of thevolcanic substrata, which
has resulted in alimestone
platform creatingtheBuccoo Reef
Complex. This important Marine
Protected Areawas designated in
1973 and at 7km2, is a huge
economic asset for theisland. Two
main areas can distinguish it: the
Buccoo Reef system, and thefringingBon
Accord Lagoon.
The Lagoon
Thelagoon is bordered
to theSouth and East
with maturemangrove
wetlands. Red
mangrove(Rhizophora
mangle) is themost populous. This
red mangroveis especially suited to
tropical conditions and has thick
leathery leaves to ensurewater
retention in such salty conditions. Itis
mainly recognisableby its reddish stalk-like roots that delve directly
into theocean floor, seen above. In bloom, yellowish flowers arealso
present on theplant. White mangrove
(Laguncularia racemosa, Black mangrove
(Avicennia germinans) and button mangrove
(Conocarpus erectus) are also present, but to a
far lesser extent. To theWest of thelagoon is
a large seagrass bed with dominant Turtle
grass (Thalassia Testudinum), seen to the
left. This alga is so called becauseof the
Green turtles almost exclusivediet of it.
Microalgae (Bryopsis spp., Dictyota spp.,
Chaetomorphaspp.), seaurchins
(Lytechinus variegatus), mollusks
(Strombus spp.) and oysters (Pinctada

4. radiata) arealso present all around thecoasts
The Corals
The most dominant ofthecoralfamilies are the stony corals,which are
also known as reefbuilding corals dueto their strong,solidforms. Within
this family, thereare3 distinctsub categories.
The stony corals:
Branching and Pillar Corals socalled
because oftheir upwards-growing
patterns andtree likeformations.
Brain Corals –due to the patternofthepolyps
formed into weaving patterns like a brain.
Mound and Boulder corals –Due their
boulder likeformations

5. The
most
prominent family ofcoral in the surrounding waters is the Boulder Star
Complex (montastraeaspp.). Allnamed after their formations, the star
family is knowndueto its star like polyps,which protrude fromthe
surface of thecoral andhave a star–likequality. Mountainous Star,
Boulder Star and Lobed Starcan allbe seen in abundance allaround the
shores of theisland.
The Buccoo Reefcomplexhas a significantly highernumber ofabundant
coral species. Mostly named inrelation totheirappearance theyare
fairly simple torecognize onceyouhave the defining features. Thereef
can be divided vaguelyinto four sections ofpatch reefs each with
defining coralspecies.
Within theLagoon and
immediately South ofit,thefinger
coral (porites porites) can be
found in abundance.With obvious
finger like formations, this coral
has smallporous indentations.
Staghorn coral(Acropora
cervicornis) characterizes theWest
ofthe reefcomplex. Taking after its
name, theformations ofthis coral
species aremore pointed and tend
to look like antlers.
Finger Coral
Staghorn
Boulder starcoral Lobed Star coral
Star coral
polyps

6. This Staghorn continues to theEast
coupling with theFireCoral(Millepora
spp.) to populatemost ofthe Eastern edge.
Whilst some canrelate toit’s fan-like
structure tothat of a flame, it is important
to notethat the fire coral actually acquired
its name fromthe intense burning
sensation it can give if it comes into
contact withthe skin.
The Northern edge of the reefis
primarily associatedwith
formations of various star coral
(montastraeaannularis) and
brain coral (Diploria strigosa).
Brain coral is a boulder shaped
coral which can growto
significant sizes andis
characterizedby the brain-like
pattern ofthe polyps andits
roundedform. Other species
commontothis area ofthe reefare
sea fans (Gorgonia ventalina) and
various other octocorals. Thesea fan,
shapeddistinctlylike a fan, is recognisedby
its purple hue. Octocorals differ fromother
hardcorals due to them
having8 hollowpinnate
tentacles in comparison to
6 simple tentacles that form most other
corals.. The locals havenamedthis area of the
reef as “Coral Gardens”, due to the diversity
andcolours of both thecorals andthefish.
Towards the edge of the BuccooReef complex is a buffer zoneknown as
the reef crest. This part orthe reefis subject to constant wave battering
andtherefore thecorals in this area are sturdier. Species such as elkhorn
(A. palmate)andthe prominent star coral (montastraea annularis) are
some of the onlycorals to survive in this turbulent zone.
Fire Coral
Brain Coral
Sea fan
Octocoral 8
tentacles

7. Tobago’s Turtles
“The Worlds greatest nomads”
The LeatherbackTurtle
The most prevalent of theturtles present on Tobago is the
Leatherback Turtle(Dermochelys coriacea). Unlikeall other turtles the
leatherback does not haveahard exterior shell, instead it is
characterized by its teardrop shaped, leathery carapace(shell). This
carapaceis dark greyish bluein colour. It is made up of tough, rubbery
skin with 7 distinct ridges down thetop of it. Thewholeof its bodyis
covered with palewhite-ishpink patches. As thelargest of all living
turtles, theleatherback has been known to grow up to10 feet,
however averagelength is 4-6 feet and females usually weigh around
320kg. Thelimbs are paddle shaped, clawless and stretch almost the
entirelength of theturtle. They arethemost pelagic of all seaturtles,
spendingmost of their timein significant depths of open ocean, only
comingto shoreto nest.
The
leatherback favours divingin deep waters whereit can foragefor it’s
favouritefood, thejellyfish. Leatherbacks areknown to diveas deep
as 1,280 metres to catch thejellyfish, and for as longas 80 minutes at
a time. Their soft carapacemeans that it is theonly turtleto beableto
withstand such depths withoutits shell breakingunder thepressure.
For this reason they havebeen dubbed theWorld’s greatestdivers.

8. Jellyfish areknown to riseto thesurfaceafter nightfall, and therefore
at night Leatherbacks can beseen in moreshallow waters towards the
surface. This behavioural pattern is repeated throughout theday with
theturtles spendingvaryingamountsof timein deep waters and
shallow respectivelydependingon wheretheir prey is at that time.
Further exampleof the leatherbacks
obsession with its food, is theincredible
distanceit has been know to swim to
follow thejellyfish. Leatherbacks havebeen
tracked as far north as Norway and as far South as
New Zealand in temperatures other turtles areunableto withstand.
Thesemigratory patternsmean that it is themostwidelydispersed of
all theturtles.
The Hawksbill Turtle
At 2 ½ - 3 feet and weighingan averageof 90kgs theHawksbill Turtle
(Eretmochelys imbricate), is significantlysmaller than theleatherback.
Hawksbills arefamous for theirbeautiful carapace, which isa
combination of yellows, oranges and browns; thisunusual design has
becomeknown as thetortoiseshell pattern, for unfortunatereasons.
Their shell pattern was astatus symbol in past eras, and has
unfortunately been hunted excessively for centuries. Its carapaceis
small, elliptical in shapeand hard unlikethe Leatherback’s.
Turtle Trivia
Locals call the leatherbackturtle“The Doctor Turtle”. They seem
to visit other turtle species when they are sick and the spots on
their skin are considered illnesses that they take away from the
other sick turtles!

9. TheHawksbills head is especially
shaped into apoint likeabird’s,
hence, wheretheturtlegets its
name. This design means it is
easier to forage for food in the
hard crevices of the coral reefs.
TheHawksbills tend to befound in shallowcoral reefs and other
ecosystems withhard bottomsand plenty of edibleorganisms. They
areomnivorous and prey on all sortsof organisms found in coral reef
systems includingmolluscs, small fish and crustaceans. However, with
an estimated 90% of their diet, sponges makeup themajority of the
Hawksbills food. Sponges only growin warm, clear and fairly shallow
waters, thus theHawksbill is themost tropical of theTobagonian
turtles and never dives much furtherthan 60 feet.

10. The Green Turtle
Thethird nativeturtle, although much lessabundant, is the
green turtle (Chelonia mydas). Thegreen turtleswims in
warm shallow watersaround fringingreefs, and arerarely
seen out in thedeep ocean. They mainly feed on seagrass
and algae, which is what gives it its iconicgreen appearance
on the skin. Contrary to popular opinion it is theirskin not
their shell wherethenamecomes from and theshell can
actually vary greatly in colour dependingon it’s habitat from
greenish grey through to brown. It’s
carapaceis almost oval and hard with
non over lappingscales. In
comparison to theHawksbill, itsbeak
is blunt and rounded. It is most
recognizableby thepresenceof a
singlepair of enlarged prefrontal
scales between theeyes in comparison
to most other turtles whohavetwo pairs.
Each flipper also has 1 claw present,
which is afeatureuniqueto theGreen
turtles. Greens arethesmallest of the
Tobagonian turtles on average3-4
feet in length and usually weighing
between 100 and 200 kg.http://www.mari
nebio.net/marine
science/05nekto
n/mtspdiv.htm

11. Nesting
All threeturtlespecies areknown tonest on theisland of Tobago.
Nestingfor most turtle species takes placein themiddle monthsof the
year, April – November, but can varyslightlyfrom species to species.
All turtles arethought to be guided by magnetic fields and thelunar
phases, which enablethem to find thebeach they wereborn at, this is
known as natal homing. Below is a table, which describes the
differences between thethreeturtles and their nestinghabits. Oncea
maturefemale is ready to lay its eggs, she will comeashoreand make
a pit in thesand. Thefemale then deposits theeggs and covers again
with sand. Shethen leaves theeggs and will return to another partof
thesamebeach in approximately 2 weeks to lay anotherclutch of
eggs, this process continues for thewholenestingperiod.
Each turtlespecies has it’s own distincttrackin thesand, and it is very
common to spot thesetracks on thesandsof Tobago. Here is howto
distinguish between each turtles tracks:
Can You Track them in the Sand?
Leatherback Hawksbill Green Turtle
Butterfly likestroke.
2 flipper marks.
Trail mark constant
with defined tail points
Commashaped
flipper marks
Alternating.
Constant, wavy
central trail mark
Butterfly likestroke
1 flipper mark
Trail mark in intervals
with defined tail point
marks

12. Each turtlespecies also favours different places and times to nest.
Below is atableof thedifferences between theturtles and whereyou
can go to get thebest chanceof seeing a nestingfemaleor hatchlings:
Leatherback Hawksbill Green
Popular
Nesting
Beaches
Rocky Point
Grafton Beach
Turtle Beach
L’Anse
Fourmi
Beach
Hermitage
Cambleton
Great Courland
Bay
Grafton Beach
Mt. IrvineBack
Bay
Goldsborough
NestingPeriod April - June April -
November
February – August
Frequency
(Approx.)
6-7 clutches
every 9 – 10
days
5 clutches
every 13 –
18 days
Every 14 days
Clutch Size 60 – 100 eggs Avg. 157
eggs
Avg. 112 eggs
Returning Every 2-3years Every 2-3
years
Every 2-3years
Incubation
Period
2 months 2 months 2 months
Interestin
g
The onlyturtle
known to nest
on the Atlantic
Coast
Known to
nest in the
cover of
vegetation
such as sea
grape.
The onlyturtleto
have been known
to come ashore not
for nestingbut for
sunbathing.

13. Oncea hatchlinghas been born, it then has to endurethemost
dangerous trip of it is life. Usually at around dusk, thehatchlings will
break out of their eggs and head towards thesea. Duringthis time
they areat imminent threat from predatorssuch as birds, dogs and
any other carnivores that may benearby. Oncetheturtleis safely in
thewater it will then swim out tosea, still at riskof prey from birds
and now marinecarnivores. Littleis known about theearlystages of a
turtle’s life, but they arethought to stay outin theocean usingtheir
instincts to navigatetheoceans. If it is a malehatchlingit will
probably spend themajority of therest of its lifeat seaand if it is a
female it will migrateback to thesamebeach when it reaches sexual
maturity around 18 – 30 years old (dependingon thespecies).
Below aredetailed maps of each turtles nestingsites on Tobago.
Leatherback
Hatchling
Hawksbill Hatchling Green Hatchling

14. Turtles in Danger
All 3 of Tobago’s turtlespecies arelisted on the IUCNRed List. The
factors for decliningnumbers areboth manmadeand natural.
Unfortunately most of thecoral reefs in Tobago and
thewider Caribbean areaaresubject to coral
bleaching. This is a phenomenon, which is directly
linked to climatechangeand results in thecoral
losing its colouration, known as itszooxanthellae
and its nutrients. This means that parts of thereef
aredamaged or destroyed, which affects theturtles
and leaves them with no feedinggrounds or foraging
habitats. Other impacts of climatechangesuch as
seatemperature risethat can affect thesexes of turtlehatchlings and
also sealevel risecould result in nestinghabitats disappearing.
On top of thesedangers, theTurtles of Tobago arealso threatened by
numerous human related activities. Theleatherbackis theleast in
danger of theturtles, and is listed as vulnerableon theIUCNRed list.
Themature leatherback has very few natural predators, and was a
very successful species until humans started
hunting. In fact, local Tobagonian people
can remember atimewhen leatherbacks
weremuch bigger and much more
abundant on theisland. It is estimated that
only 1 in athousand leatherback hatchlings
surviveto adulthood, this is dueto many
factors and all turtlespecies are very
vulnerableduringinfancy, however,
poachingis still rifein many countries of
theworld and notoriously difficultto control. International and local
laws alongwith conservation effortshaveensured adecreasein
poachingin recent years. Theleatherbacks biggest threat nowis
thought to besealitter. Leatherbacks commonlymistakeplastic bags
and other debris as jellyfish, If too much is ingested theleatherback
will die. Another threat to thesehugecreatures, and all other sea
turtlespecies, is fishing. Turtles frequentlyget caught in commercial
fishingnets.
Turtle Trivia
The Turtle Star
Local legend believes that only when you see
the“TurtleStar”, which is thebrightest, most
colourful star in thesky, will theLeatherback
cometo shoreto nest.
aBefore and after
coral bleaching

15. TheHawksbill turtleis listed as criticallyendangered. It’s beautiful
shell pattern, has meant that it has been highly sought after for
commercial purposes. Although it is internationallyillegal to sell
turtleshell products, theydo still end up in thelocal market places.
Theact of buyingapieceof turtleshell also carries ahigh penalty, so
tourists must bewary of what they arebuyingon theisland.
Take Action
There aremany things residents and tourists can do tohelp protect
thesebeautiful creatures from further decline.
Avoid usingbright lights/torches
Recently it has been noted that bright lights from hotels and
restaurants areconfusingthehatchlings. When theturtles hatch they
instinctively head towards bright light of the horizon, whichwill take
them to thesea. However, large-scale development ontheisland has
meant that theturtles areconfusingthelight from thetourist
attractions with thelight from thehorizon. This means that they run
thewrongway and get lost and often never makeit to thesea.
Keep noisedown
Females can get scared by noiseand movement and will avoid
beaches if they arebusy.
Don’t light campfires
Campfires can burn nests and kill all thehatchlings in them.
Buy sustainablefish
Makesurethat thefish you buy is turtlefriendly and from fisheries,
which follow worldwideregulations.
Don’t buy TurtleShell
Don’t litter
Do your bit to help curb global warming

16. Referencesand Further Reading:
Forestry Division (Government of theRepublic of Trinidad and
Tobago), Saveour Seaturtles-Tobago, and NatureSeekers. 2010.
WIDECAST Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan forTrinidad & Tobago
(Karen L. Eckert, Editor). CEP Technical Report No. 49. UNEP
Caribbean Environment Programme. Kingston, Jamaica. xx + 132
pages. [Availablefrom]
http://www.widecast.org/Resources/Docs/STRAP_Trinidad_and_Tob
ago_2010.pdf [accessed on March 17th 2014]
Coral Cay Conservation (2010) Tobago Coastal Ecosystems Mapping
Project Availablefrom:
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&c
d=5&ved=0CE8QFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coralcay.org%2Fa
pp%2Fdownload%2F5785462531%2FSMACMP%2BFinal%2BReport
_reduce.pdf&ei=0k8nU5XANaWf7AbHxoDAAg&usg=AFQjCNGnad4aFi
CZN289wHOpxpG-
TSIdIg&sig2=5mtJhIUVDV4NdN3gcz2e7Q&bvm=bv.62922401,d.ZGU
[accessed on March 14th 2014]
Richard S. Laydoo, Kurt Bonair, and Gerard Alleng BuccooReef and
Bon Accord Lagoon, Tobago, Republicof Trinidadand Tobago Available
from: http://www.unesco.org/csi/pub/papers/laydoo.htm [accessed
on March 4th 2014]
Dow, Wendy,KarenEckert,MichaelPalmerandPhilip Kramer. 2007. An
Atlas of Sea Turtle NestingHabitatfor the WiderCaribbean Region. The
Wider CaribbeanSea TurtleConservation Network and TheNature
Conservancy. WIDECASTTechnicalReportNo. 6 2007 Available from
http://www.icmyl.unam.mx/pdf/GRAMED/Assessments_Delivery-Item-
1/GRAMED_revised/pdf_support%20information/GRAMED_before%202
012_pdf/An%20Atlas%20of%20Sea%20Turtle%20Nesting%20Habitat.pdf
[accessed on March4th 2014]
Coral Reefs: An Ecosystemin Transition.Editors: Zvy Dubinsky, Noga
Stambler. (2011)
Encyclopedia ofModern Coral Reefs: Structure,FormandProcess.
Hopley, D. (ed) (2011)

17. Coral Bleaching: Patterns,Processes, Causes andConsequences. Editors:
MadeleineJ. H. vanOppen, Janice M. Lough.(2009)
Useful websites:
http://sos-tobago.org - Saveour SeaTurtles Tobago – A registered
community based organization with thesolepurposeto Conserve
Tobago’s turtles and habitat through research, education and eco-
tourism.
http://www.widecast.org - Wider Carribean SeaTurtleConservation
Network – An organization dedicated tohelpingconservethe
Caribbean seaturtles, workingwith 40 nations and territories
http://turtlevillagetrust.org - TurtleVillageTrustTrinidad and
Tobago – To placeTrinidad and Tobago as thepremier turtletourism
destination worldwide
http://www.biodiversity.gov.tt/home/ - TheGovernment of Trinidad
and Tobago local biodiversity
http://www.mytobago.info/diving06.php - My Tobago - General
information on Tourism in Tobago includinginformation for divers
http://www.buccoo.net/seaside/the-famous-buccoo-reef/buccoo-
reef - Information on theUNESCO reef complex
http://www.seeturtles.org/1/see-turtles.html - General information
on Turtles

18. FireCoral: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_coral
PictureReferences
Boulder Star:
http://www.cdislands.com/photos_honduras/roa1/xro10606.jpg
Star polyps
http://www.reefnews.com/reefnews/photos/corals/stars.html
Octocoraltentacles
http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~scf4101/Bambooweb/MoreAboutCoral.h
tm
Jellyfish http://wall.alphacoders.com/big.php?i=20402
Coral bleaching
http://scienceyoucanlove.tumblr.com/post/19279640544/ocean-
warming-and-coral-bleaching-global-warming
TurtleStar:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Electra_(star).jpg
Brain Coral: http://www.mesa.edu.au/cnidaria/gallery.asp
Tobago maps: Coral Cay Conservation (2010) Tobago Coastal
Ecosystems Mapping
Buccoo Reef:
http://santiwah.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/04/tobagos-buccoo-
reef.html

19. Red MangroveFlower: http://www.mangrove.at/rhizophora-
mangle_red-mangrove.html
red mangrove: http://www.unesco.org/cs http://www.kew.org/plants-
fungi/Rhizophora-mangle.htmi/pub/papers/laydoo.htm#Fig.%202
Turtlegrass: http://www.reefs2go.com/product/MAC-TURTLE-
1/Live-Saltwater-Turtle-Grass-Shoot.html
Corals: http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/photos/ocean-
corals/
Turtles: http://www.arkive.org
Turtletracks: http://www.wimarcs.org/reportTurtleActivity.htm
Plastic bags: http://www.worldofknowledge.com.au/cars-run-plastic-
grocery-bags/