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Researcher Information

Biography

For over two decades Dr. Scott Eckert has been active in the field of pelagic marine vertebrate research and conservation. A pioneer in the use electronic technologies to study the at-sea behavior and activities of marine turtles and other large pelagic vertebrates, Eckert's research has greatly increased what is known about leatherback sea turtles and led to new approaches in conservation of this critically endangered reptile.

After receiving his PhD. in Zoology from the University of Georgia in 1989, Dr. Eckert held a post doctoral research appointment at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at University of California, San Diego under Dr. Gerald Kooyman, before joining the National Marine Fisheries Service as Chairman of the U.S. Pacific Marine Turtle Recovery Team in 1990. Currently, Dr. Eckert is the Director of Science for the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) located at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment Marine Laboratory, in Beaufort, N.C.

Eckert is the 1984 recipient of the Department of Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service Recognition Award and has published numerous scientific and general interest articles. He has also served as a consultant to government agencies and non-government groups, including the World Trade Organization and the U.S. Oceans Commission. He is a member of the U. S. Recovery Team for Marine Turtles (Atlantic Ocean), a member of the Marine Turtle Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, Chairman of the U.S. Pacific Sea Turtle Recovery Team, and Editor Emeritus of the globally distributed Marine Turtle Newsletter.

Contact Information:
Widecast
Duke University
Nicholas School of the Environment and
Earth Sciences Marine Laboratory
135 Duke Marine Lab Road
Beaufort, North Carolina USA 28516-9721
Phone: (252) 504-7598

Title

Director

Selected Publications

Eckert, S. A., D. W. Nellis, K. L. Eckert, and G. L. Kooyman. 1986. Diving patterns of two leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) during inter-nesting intervals at Sandy Point, St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands. Herpetologica 42(3):381-388.

Eckert, S. A., K. L. Eckert, P. Ponganis and G. L. Kooyman.1989. Diving and foraging behavior by leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea). Canadian Journal of Zoology 67:2834-2840.

Kooyman, G. L., P. Ponganis, M. Castellini, E. Ponganis, K. Ponganis P. Thorson, S. Eckert, and Y. Le Maho. 1992. Heart rates and swim speeds of Emperor penguins diving under sea ice. J. Exp. Biol. 165:161-180.

Eckert, S. A. 1995. Telemetry and the behavior of sea turtles, p.583-584. In: K. A. Bjorndal (editor), The Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles (rev. ed.). Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. 615 pp.

Sarti, L. M., S. A. Eckert, N. Garcia, and A. B. Barrigan.1996. Decline of world's largest nesting assemblage of leatherback turtles. Marine Turtle Newsletter. 74:2-5.

Eckert, S. A., E. H. Chan, H. C. Liew, and K. L. Eckert. 1996. Shallow water diving by Leatherback Turtles in the South China Sea. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 2(2): 237-243

Eckert, S. A. and L. Sarti M. 1997. Distant fisheries implicated in the loss of the world?s largest leatherback nesting population. Marine Turtle Newsletter. 78:2-7.

Eckert, S. A. 1998. Perspectives on the use of satellite telemetry and electronic technologies for the study of marine turtles, with reference to the first year long tracking of leatherback sea turtles, p.44-46. In: S. P. Epperly and J., Braun (Compilers), Proc. 17th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-415.

Eckert, S. A. 1999. Data acquisition systems for monitoring sea turtle behavior and physiology, p.88-93. In: K.L.

Eckert, K. A. Bjorndal, F. A. Abreu-Grobois and M. Donnelly (editors), Research and Management Techniques for the Conservation of Sea Turtles. IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group Publication No. 4.

Eckert, S. A. and B. S. Stewart. 2001. Telemetry and satellite tracking of whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, and the north Pacific Ocean. Environmental Biology of Fishes 60:299-308.

Eckert, S. A. 2002. Distribution of juvenile leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) sightings. Marine Ecology Progress Series 230:289-293.

Eckert, S. A., L. L. Dolar, G. L. Kooyman, W. Perrin, and R. A. Ridzwan. 2002. Movements of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in Southeast Asia waters as determined by satellite telemetry. J. of Zool. (Lond) 257:111-115

Eckert, S. A. 2002. Swim speed and movement patterns of gravid leatherbacks at St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. J. Exp. Biol. 205: 3689 - 3697.

James, M., S. A. Eckert, K. Drinkwater, in review. First satellite tracking of a male leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) captured at sea off Nova Scotia, Canada. Marine Biology.

Affiliations

WIDECAST