ISTS Day 3: Foraging, Physiology, and Movement... Among Other Sea Turtle Things

There was nothing special about today, but I managed to see most of the presentations dealing with foraging and movement of sea turtles. Most specifically I was able to see a number of presentations about leatherback sea turtles, my new obsession. These gigantic creatures are kind of freaky looking at first, but being the biggest and most unique of the sea turtle species I now find myself absolutely in love with them. I keep hearing Marc Ward of Sea Turtles Forever talk about one leatherback female named Rosie that he's seen nesting repeatedly, and oh gosh I wish I could be there to see her!!


Anywho, back to the conference. I had planned to be here since 8am watching presentations, but honestly I cannot get up that early no matter how hard I try. I arrived just in time to watch a presentations about conservation of leatherbacks and loggerheads in South Africa. It was supposed to be about conservation, but it also talked a lot about how the different biologies of the turtles allowed for one species population to recover faster than the other (the leatherback being better suited for recovery). The reason for leatherbacks having more success is because their nesting is less specific, and so they cover a wide area. The loggerheads return to very selective beaches. There were also several comments made about how now the population of leatherbacks in that area is estimated to be made largely of males now, an explanation for why not more females are coming to nest on South African beaches. Or something like that.


I saw another super cool presentation about loggerhead babies being tagged and released off of Western Florida, and they were observed following the Gulf Stream north, but also swimming away from the stream, unexpectedly. There was another presentation about Australian flatback turtles and their migration patterns, as well as those of Eastern and Western Pacific leatherbacks (yes, there's a difference). The West Pacific leatherbacks are so cool because depending on where they nest and at what time of year, they follow different migration routes. Those that breed in the winter tend to stay around Australia and tend to be larger in size, especially longer in length. Those that breed in the summer migrate across the entire Pacific ocean to forage off the Western U.S. coast, and tend to have a wider carapace (shell).


One last thing I learned today: the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Shelf is an important foraging location for juvenile loggerhead turtles born in Eastern Florida. It was observed in a study being presented that there are distinct seasonal and day/night trends in the sea turtle surfacing behavior. It was observed that loggerheads rarely dive deeply at night, which would make sense because there is less light for foraging so why waste the energy.


Sorry if I bore you, but you did have the choice to stop reading you know.


Now I'm just manning the table, protecting our merchandise with my life. We're out of free chocolate (bummer), but on the bright side I got a free poster of butterflies in Sri Lanka. I also got a free poster from a Nicaraguan organization. And speaking of posters I haven't been able to check out that other plastics one yet. It will happen tonight sometime! One hour until my last poster presentation!

Loggerheads!

Loggerheads (Caretta caretta)

The United States Govt. recently has failed to increase protections for the endangered loggerhead sea turtles, despite overwhelming evidence. It is estimated their Pacific populations have dropped by over 80%, and may soon face extinction in the 21^st century.

Click here for the press release from the Sea Turtle Restoration Project, Oceana, and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Appearance: Reddish-brown in color, with giant heads and powerful jaws, they weigh around 250 lbs and can grow to 4 feet long.

Locations: Found worldwide in warm and temperate ocean waters, and are the most common sea turtles found in the United States. The most important nesting beaches are on South Florida beaches (U.S.) and on Masirah Island (Oman).

The western coast of the United States is a significant migratory corridor for Pacific loggerheads. Pacific loggerheads will swim across the Pacific to California’s coast from their main breeding grounds in Japan. Baja California is an important area for loggerhead congregation.

Reproduction: They don’t reach sexual maturity until they’re between 20-30 years old, another reason why their populations have been suffering. Too many are killed before they’ve had a chance to mate and lay eggs. Females can lay three or more nests during the nesting season! Even so, of every 1,000 to 10,000 juvenile turtles that hatch, only two will grow up to become an adult.

Food: crabs, fish, mollusks, jellyfish, sea urchins, sponges and shrimp

Threats: Threats are pretty much the same for all sea turtle species: fishing gear-related incidents, loss of nesting habitat, bright artificial coastal city lights, boat collisions, accidental ingestion of or entanglement in plastic and marine debris, poaching and global warming.

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, drowning or entanglement in longline fishing gear from commercial fisheries is a primary danger to the loggerheads.

Random Fact: The loggerhead is the state reptile of South Carolina and Florida

*Other General Sea Turtle Fact: The sex of sea turtle babies is dependant on temperature. The turtles that are closer to the surface (warmer) will develop as females, and the deeper eggs (colder) will develop into males. With global warming and climate change, the ratios have begun favoring higher numbers of female turtles.

Let's keep these guys from extinction! Every small effort makes a difference in marine conservation! Start out simple by using reusable grocery bags or reducing your driving.

Peace,Love&Sea Turtles!!

Also, P.S.—To whom it may concern, don't be mad I don't mean to steal this pic, I just found it on google image search.