Sea Turtle Science Supporting Conservation: Nest to Sea
TURTLE SCIENTIST
Jeanette Wyneken
In association with Florida Atlantic University and Gumbo Limbo Nature Centre
THE NEED FOR RESEARCH
Loggerhead and leatherback turtles are listed by the IUCN as endangered or critically endangered. Population numbers have declined dramatically. Loggerheads declined nearly 27-40% in the past decade (range due to population differences).
Marine turtle nests are buried on beaches, hatch, and then hatchlings begin their migratory life dispersing. They inhabit geographically diverse habitats during different life stages. Many species are imperiled, yet because of their small size and long-distance/long-term dispersal, little is known about their at-sea biology. Their first hours and days at sea are mostly unknown. Large-scale oceanographic features and local features profoundly influence turtle behavior and dominate the “landscape” in which sea turtles live.
PROJECT SUMMARY
To meet conservation goals, it is critical to identify and understand age and sex-specific habitat, survival and risks of the turtle’s younger life stages. The project will (i) identify the sexes of loggerhead and leatherback turtles hatching on Florida beaches with new tools and the temperature gender relationship, (ii) test new very small scale radio tracking tags to determine which allow normal behavior in the lab, (iii) field-track newborn turtles equipped with the most effective microtags, focusing on tag performance and turtle behavior in their first hours swimming offshore, (iv) address species recovery needs, (v) create dynamic displays for the public and student visitors in our laboratory’s gallery.
OBJECTIVES
• To characterize the temperature-gender relationship in a representative sample of nests using new technology high resolution temperature loggers.
• Verify temperature-gender relationships using non-lethal methods and report ways to improve baseline sex ratio accuracy for our and other beach programs
• We will test several new microtags, then track turtles of known gender to begin to discover where turtles go.
• While we know that loggerhead hatchlings associate with flotsam (sargassum) mats after swimming away from shore, no one knows where neonate leatherbacks go. Their nursery habitat is unknown. To examine the dispersal of turtles where loggerheads and leatherbacks nest on the same beaches and overlap in time. Developing the methods to track both as they leave the same waters should enable us to start identifying the leatherback nursery areas.
SPECIFIC CONSERVATION AIMS
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS
Work with the local nature centers and their environmental educators to accurately integrate sea turtle biology, sea turtle and marine conservation needs, and what we learn each year into the science curriculum. Other outreach is through acting as a scientific resource for the popular press, and film crews (including Turtle: The Incredible Journey). The film crew’s enthusiasm engaged the community and inspired a collaborative study tracking the turtle that was the focus of the film.
CONSERVATION OUTCOME
The adaptation of new high resolution environmental monitoring devices and small scale technology will find immediate application in addressing major data gaps in our understanding of (i) developing and (ii) neonate life stages of all sea turtle species and thus has direct relevance to the conservation and management of sea turtles. Defining early life-stage dispersal patterns will allow for oceanic habitat assessments, refined survivorship estimates, spatially explicit risk identification, and will enhance our understanding of recruitment among life stages. The same small-scale technology is likely to be adapted for use other marine species such as small marine mammals, certain fishes, swimming crabs, and sea birds.
TURTLE SCIENTIST
Jeanette Wyneken
In association with Florida Atlantic University and Gumbo Limbo Nature Centre
THE NEED FOR RESEARCH
Loggerhead and leatherback turtles are listed by the IUCN as endangered or critically endangered. Population numbers have declined dramatically. Loggerheads declined nearly 27-40% in the past decade (range due to population differences).
Marine turtle nests are buried on beaches, hatch, and then hatchlings begin their migratory life dispersing. They inhabit geographically diverse habitats during different life stages. Many species are imperiled, yet because of their small size and long-distance/long-term dispersal, little is known about their at-sea biology. Their first hours and days at sea are mostly unknown. Large-scale oceanographic features and local features profoundly influence turtle behavior and dominate the “landscape” in which sea turtles live.
PROJECT SUMMARY
To meet conservation goals, it is critical to identify and understand age and sex-specific habitat, survival and risks of the turtle’s younger life stages. The project will (i) identify the sexes of loggerhead and leatherback turtles hatching on Florida beaches with new tools and the temperature gender relationship, (ii) test new very small scale radio tracking tags to determine which allow normal behavior in the lab, (iii) field-track newborn turtles equipped with the most effective microtags, focusing on tag performance and turtle behavior in their first hours swimming offshore, (iv) address species recovery needs, (v) create dynamic displays for the public and student visitors in our laboratory’s gallery.
OBJECTIVES
• To characterize the temperature-gender relationship in a representative sample of nests using new technology high resolution temperature loggers.
• Verify temperature-gender relationships using non-lethal methods and report ways to improve baseline sex ratio accuracy for our and other beach programs
• We will test several new microtags, then track turtles of known gender to begin to discover where turtles go.
• While we know that loggerhead hatchlings associate with flotsam (sargassum) mats after swimming away from shore, no one knows where neonate leatherbacks go. Their nursery habitat is unknown. To examine the dispersal of turtles where loggerheads and leatherbacks nest on the same beaches and overlap in time. Developing the methods to track both as they leave the same waters should enable us to start identifying the leatherback nursery areas.
SPECIFIC CONSERVATION AIMS
EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS
Work with the local nature centers and their environmental educators to accurately integrate sea turtle biology, sea turtle and marine conservation needs, and what we learn each year into the science curriculum. Other outreach is through acting as a scientific resource for the popular press, and film crews (including Turtle: The Incredible Journey). The film crew’s enthusiasm engaged the community and inspired a collaborative study tracking the turtle that was the focus of the film.
CONSERVATION OUTCOME
The adaptation of new high resolution environmental monitoring devices and small scale technology will find immediate application in addressing major data gaps in our understanding of (i) developing and (ii) neonate life stages of all sea turtle species and thus has direct relevance to the conservation and management of sea turtles. Defining early life-stage dispersal patterns will allow for oceanic habitat assessments, refined survivorship estimates, spatially explicit risk identification, and will enhance our understanding of recruitment among life stages. The same small-scale technology is likely to be adapted for use other marine species such as small marine mammals, certain fishes, swimming crabs, and sea birds.