Sand Temperature Logs from Chagos Archipelago Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches

Encompassing sand temperature records from 83 data loggers deployed across five atolls in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean, between October 2012 and July 2023. It quantifies spatial and temporal thermal variability at green and hawksbill turtle nest depths, with seasonal differences modulating temperatures by up to 3.00°C. The data was collected by researchers to study impacts on temperature-dependent sex determination in sea turtles.

Use Cases

• Analyze seasonal and inter-annual sand temperature variability, quantified as up to 3.00°C and 1.03°C respectively, to model climate impacts on sea turtle hatchling sex ratios.
• Compare intra-beach and inter-beach thermal variability, recorded as up to 0.56°C and 0.85°C, across different nesting habitats (vegetation, open beach, spring high water line).
• Correlate sand temperature recordings from specific depths (30, 50, 70 cm) with logger deployment locations to study nest site selection for green and hawksbill turtles.
• Use the long-term time series from 83 recovered loggers to validate models of temperature-dependent sex determination in a marine protected area.

Strengths

• Long-term temporal coverage spanning over a decade, from October 2012 to July 2023.
• Data from 83 successfully recovered temperature loggers provides a substantial sample for analysis.
• Spatial coverage across five atolls extending 250 km in the Chagos Archipelago.
• Measurements taken at three specific nest depths (30, 50, 70 cm) relevant to sea turtle biology.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to 83 loggers with downloadable data from an original deployment of 132, indicating potential data loss.
• Data from the spring high water line habitat was only collected between 2012 and 2014, creating a temporal gap for that variable.
• The geographic focus is restricted to the Chagos Archipelago, which may limit generalizability to other nesting regions.

Provenance

Source

Dryad Digital Repository via Dataverse.

Collection Method

Sand temperature recorded using Tinytag Plus 2 data loggers buried at nest depths in three nesting habitats.

Time Range

October 2012 to July 2023.

Freshness

Data collection ended in July 2023; the record was last updated in January 2026.

Geography

Five atolls in the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean, including Diego Garcia, Nelson's Island, Ile des Rats, Ile Jacobin, and Petite Ile Coquillage.