Sea turtles have roamed our oceans for 250 million years. They evolved to endure natural threats such as storm events, predation, cold stress and disease. Now they have an additional slate of threats to contend with: hardened shorelines, marine debris, the shrimping/fishing industry, and oil in the northern Gulf of Mexico at a time that couldn’t be worse.
Every May through August, mature female sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. Turtle hatchlings emerge under the cover of darkness 45-60 days later. With much oil still being washed toward or on shore in north Florida and around the Gulf, many turtles following their instincts are coming into contact with the toxic substance.
Hundreds of turtles have already died this year amidst the skimming, burning and other oil containment efforts, and just what kind of long-term impacts oiled beaches and waters will have on young is yet to be realized. Eggs, embryos and hatchlings are generally more susceptible to the toxic effects of oil than mature turtles. If fresh oil inundates a nest, the eggs could experience development deformity or suffocation. Hatchlings are extremely sensitive to the effects oil exposure has on their skin, eyes, mucus membranes, lungs and digestive tract.
In the panhandle, an estimated 700 nests there are being relocated by wildlife officials to a climate-controlled facility on Florida’s East Coast. Upon hatching they will be released directly into the Atlantic where they will find a greater likelihood of survival. More research is needed to fully understand how this might impact their homing instincts.
In southwest Florida, with no oil anywhere near our shores, nesting efforts are going extremely well. Collier county numbers are up from 493 to 553 nests as of July 15 according to a recent News-Press article.
In addition to marking and monitoring nest locations, land managers, interns and volunteers erect cages over every nest to prevent predation by raccoons. Although this mechanism is effective against raccoons, another natural predator, ghost crabs, is not so easily deterred. The nocturnal crabs can tunnel underneath or even through the cage wires and cut open the leathery eggs for an easy meal.
Do your part to help sea turtles during nesting season:
- Beach-front property owners must use turtle-friendly lighting
- Remove beach toys and furniture before sunset
- Never disturb nesting sea turtles
- Properly dispose all trash especially plastic bags
For more information on sea turtles click here.
Comments