In Florida, Sea Turtle Nests Brave Hazards of Hurricanes

Palmetto, Florida -- The beaches of Sarasota County are boasting the highest sea turtle nesting numbers that they have seen in years. Though the official sea turtle nesting numbers won't be available until after the official close of the season, volunteers and scientists alike are pleased with the numbers they have estimated to date. This has been an added bonus given the damage caused by the storm surge created as Hurricane Gustav churned its way through the Gulf of Mexico last week.

As the path of Hurricane Gustav remained uncertain, volunteers scrambled to remove the cages that protect known nesting sites along Sarasota County's beaches. The cages, built to protect the nests from predators, become almost impossible to remove if they are covered with sand during a storm. Working in the heat of the August day to secure the equipment, everyone wondered what the final toll would be.

The high tides and currents produced by the passing storm swamped nests up and down the west coast of the state. Inundation by seawater destroys the embryos, while those that aren't destroyed often face a challenging dig through extra layers of heavy wet sand. The current estimates place the nest loss at about 25 percent.

Storms have not been the only threat to the protected sea turtles this nesting season. Coyotes have been another troublemaker along Sarasota County beaches. The cages meant to keep out raccoons do nothing to stop the coyote. Morning after morning, sea turtle volunteers were finding the remains of nests that had been ravaged in the night.

Kenya Leonard, Project Scientist with Sarasota County's Coastal Program, implemented a unique solution to the coyote problem. Arming her volunteers with a special blend of red pepper flakes, the nests along a particularly hard-hit beach were treated with 'coyote repellent'. Sometimes the low-tech solutions work the best. And other times, well, the coyote is just smarter. The offensive predator did abandon the territory it had been feeding upon, but then it just moved to a different beach that had not been treated with the red pepper.

With an already active Atlantic hurricane season and storms Hanna, Ike, and Josephine marching their way west, scientists in Florida will be keeping a watchful eye over their small sea turtle charges until they have all hatched. The eggs take about 60 days to hatch, so only time will tell how successful the 2008 sea turtle nesting season has been in Sarasota County, Florida.