Page 26 - climate-change2013

MPA CASE STUDY 1

Vulnerability assessment of sea turtle nesting
beaches in Zakynthos MPA, Greece

Sea-level rise is likely to dramatically change the m and 10,8-37,3 m, respectively. In the worst-case
Mediterranean coastline, particularly in low-lying scenario (a 2.0 m storm surge), beach recession was
areas (Ferreira et al., 2008). Many habitats such as estimated between 23,2 to 80,8 m (Velegrakis et al.,
beaches or wetlands may be degraded or destroyed 2013).
by the rising waters and the overlapping effects of
increased precipitation and storm frequency.

In Greece, the National Marine Park of Zakynthos
and the University of the Aegean recently conducted
a vulnerability assessment to examine the potential
climate change impacts and adaptation responses in
sea turtle nesting beaches, which in general have not
yet been properly examined or fully understood (Fish
et al., 2005). The Marine Park, which is situated in the
southernmost part of the island of Zakynthos, holds
the most important nesting sites for the endangered
loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta in the Mediterra- Beach profile transects through Gerakas nesting
nean. Its management objectives are to preserve the beach. From Vlegrakis et al., 2013.
natural environment and conserve the ecological bal- These estimates suggest that the beach will poten-
ance of the marine and coastal area of Laganas Bay tially lose 44–94% of its width in the first three sea-
and the Strophadia Islands, to protect the sea turtles level rise scenarios, whilst in the worst case of a 2.0
and other species, and to develop conservation ac- m storm surge it will be entirely inundated. The beach
tivities in Zakynthos.
cannot adapt to sea-level rise by transgression, as it
is backed by cliffs. The result will be coastal squeez-
A rise in sea level would threaten the endangered sea
turtle population by reducing the available nesting ing, which in turn will dramatically reduce the avail-
able nesting space and increase conflict related to
space on the beaches. Higher temperatures would
also affect the growth and sex ratio of the hatchlings. the recreational use of the beach; it might even force
The intensification of sand dune erosion, storm surge the turtles to nest on other beaches.
frequency, urban infrastructure and disturbances Information from this vulnerability assessment will
from the growing tourist activities would further exac-
erbate the problem. help managers to prioritize conservation efforts,
use realistic measures to mitigate potential sea-level
threats and establish a long-term monitoring and
Photo: Zakynthos National Park archives alarm system. Training for the Park staff in the use of
the tools that have been produced will enable them
to carry out future vulnerability assessments and de-
velop adaptive planning.

Sea turtle hatchings in the National Marine Park of
Zakynthos, Greece
To assess the main effects of climate change on
nesting beaches, modeling sea level rise scenarios,
beach profile measurements, meteorological data as
well as coastal seabed and water column charac-
teristics have been measured. All these parameters
were then related to turtle nesting patterns. The re-
sults indicated that higher sea levels would have a
considerable impact. In the 0.2 m sea-level rise sce-
nario, it was estimated that the beaches would re- Predicted coastline retreat in Gerakas beach for
treat between 0,8 to 15,9m, whereas in the 0,5 m and different sea-level rise scenarios (0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 m).
1.0 m scenarios, they could retreat between 4,9-25,2 From Vlegrakis et al., 2013.

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