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Rookery Bay’s efforts to protect threatened sea turtles result in increased hatchling success
Tristan Spinski / Daily News
A newly hatched loggerhead turtle makes its way in October from its nest in the dunes on Barefoot Beach in North Naples to the Gulf waters, where it will swim out to sea for roughly 48 hours to reach the protection of the expansive floating beds of seaweed.
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Three species of sea turtle are known to inhabit the waters of Southwest Florida. Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) and green (Chelonia midas) turtles are both listed federally as endangered species, and the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) is listed as a threatened species.
Loggerhead turtles live in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico and are relatively common along Southwest Florida beaches. They feed on mollusks, crabs and jellyfish, and can reach weights between 300 and 500 pounds. Female loggerheads come ashore to lay eggs on our beaches each summer, May through August. Loggerhead populations are decreasing worldwide from loss of nesting habitat, predation of eggs by raccoons and other animals, ingestion of floating trash and entanglement in fishing line or other marine debris.
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve works in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Collier County Environmental Services and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to preserve this threatened species. Rookery Bay staff and volunteers patrol the beaches of Sea Oat Island, Cape Romano, Kice Island and other islands in the Ten Thousand Islands five days a week during nesting season to locate nests. Since 2005, monitoring efforts have been expanded to include placement of cages over nests to protect eggs from predation by raccoons.
“It’s amazing how quickly a nest can be destroyed,” said Greg Curry, an environmental specialist responsible for caging efforts in Rookery Bay Reserve. “If we don’t cage a nest the morning after the eggs are laid, a nearby raccoon will dig right in.”
Each nest contains between 80 and 120 eggs. After about 60 days, baby turtles emerge under the cover of darkness and crawl to the water, swimming until they reach relative safety in seaweed beds. They’re then swept away on currents across the sea. Resource managers monitor each nest, documenting the date laid, date hatched and number of hatchlings.
Although cages cannot protect nests from being submerged by storms or fire ant predation, the incorporation of caging efforts has increased nesting success in the reserve tremendously. As of August 1, 77 nests were caged at the Cape Romano complex and 69 nests in the Ten Thousand Islands. Prior to the arrival of Tropical Storm Fay, 21 nests hatched and 1,400 hatchlings had made their way into the Gulf. Post storm, 21 nests remain intact. Monitoring will continue until the last eggs hatch in early October.
The Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve was established in 1978 as a partnership between the State of Florida and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The reserve is one of 27 research reserves operating across the nation. The Florida Department of Environmental Protections’ Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas manages Rookery Bay along with 45 other sites, which include aquatic preserves, National Estuarine Research Reserves and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Its programs and activities are designed to help Floridians better understand and conserve the State’s resources through research, education and conservation.
Renee Wilson is research translator for Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
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