Wildlife Conservation: Saving the Loggerhead Sea Turtles

Late summer along many coastal beaches, from Texas to the Carolinas to Florida, the curious sight of dozens of stakes roping off small areas in the sand can be seen. The ropes and stakes protect the nesting grounds of various species of sea turtles from human interference. Hundreds of volunteers in these areas spend many summer hours inspecting and protecting nests. Then when the time is right, they witness and assist the journey of the hatchlings from their nests to their first swim in the sea. The Loggerhead Sea Turtle nesting grounds, mainly along Florida's southern coasts, has one of the largest concentrations of sea turtle nests in the world.

Loggerhead Sea Turtles spend their entire lives in the ocean except when adult females come ashore to lay eggs and that initial crawl to the water made by the baby sea turtles every season. The journey for the hatchlings is short but dangerous. They frequently emerge from the nest at night and use the light from the horizon to help guide them to the ocean. Artificial light from human activities can interfere with their navigation so many locales have introduced lighting ordinances to reduce disorientation.

The females return to the same nesting beach every few years and dig several nests, one about every two weeks. They typically lay between 100 and 126 eggs in each nest. The eggs incubate for an average of 55 to 60 days before hatchlings emerge. During this time, the eggs are vulnerable to predators like raccoons and dogs, as well as human interference from beach furniture, trash, and human curiosity. Many nests are destroyed through carelessness and ignorance. Since the Loggerheads are an endangered species, it is very important to preserve as many nests and eggs as possible.

That's where the volunteers come in. Scores of volunteers like those at the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation in southwest Florida, walk along miles of the gulf beach to mark and monitor nests. From the beginning of the nesting season in May, until the last hatchlings emerge, sometime in late August or September, volunteers monitor nesting activity. They count eggs and emerging hatchlings, clean up dangerous beach debris, and help some baby sea turtles make it to the ocean for their first swim.

Even though nesting females lay an impressive amount of eggs every nesting season. the number of sea turtles is dwindling every year. Many eggs are destroyed or simply don't mature properly. In addition, young sea turtles are vulnerable to sea predators as they mature, and females don't begin to lay eggs until they are about 20 to 30 years old. In addition to these natural life cycle issues, sea turtles also suffer from human interaction. They are still hunted in some places for their meat and shells and many die when they become tangled in fishing and shrimping nets.

Although a law passed in the United States in 1989 required shrimpers to use nets that allow sea turtles to escape, they are still killed in large numbers by watercraft collision, propeller hits, ocean pollution and debris, and other types of commercial fishing operations. Human encroachment and pollution of nesting sites and maturing turtles' feeding grounds continues to be an important issue in the conservation of many species of sea turtles.

The volunteers protecting the Loggerhead nesting grounds in southwest Florida and other areas are the first line of defense against human destruction of an amazing sea reptile. So if you see the roped off areas on your local beach please leave the nests alone and remember to take your trash with you when you leave.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loggerhead_Sea_Turtle

http://www.fws.gov/northflorida/SeaTurtles/Turtle%20Factsheets/loggerhead-sea-turtle.htm

http://research.myfwc.com/features/view_article.asp?id=16538