Predators and Prey, and Catching Turtles

July 30, 2010, 6:33 pm

Predators and Prey, and Catching Turtles

By ELEANOR STERLING

As I said in a previous post, scientists have noted a pattern of a higher ratio of “standing” predator to prey biomass on the atoll, which contrasts with most other marine and terrestrial ecosystems (for example, think about the small ratios of top mammalian predators to grazers on the African savanna). They hypothesize that extremely high rates of production in the prey, including algae; corals, clams and other invertebrates; and smaller fish, supports the predators. This is coupled with high rates at which prey are eaten or otherwise die (called “turnover”). Another possibility is that the larger-bodied fish can live on relatively low amounts of food for many years, even decades, when protected from fishing.

But this focuses on one habitat and one set of species interactions whereas there are many more relationships at Palmyra. Mobile predators, such as sea birds and pelagic sharks, may also be feeding elsewhere, or feeding on food arriving from elsewhere, emphasizing the connections across near-shore, deep-water and terrestrial components of the larger ecosystem. Researchers studying parasites are further showing how complex these food webs are. In a parasite-conscious food web, the larger predators are prey for small-bodied parasites. Graphically, “food chains” are in reality more like a bowl of spaghetti.

Green and hawksbill sea turtles at Palmyra are both predators and prey and thus we are interested in their population size for both basic ecology as well as conservation reasons, but counting turtles is no easy task. During our first several years of research on sea turtles at the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge we only observed turtles at a distance while we determined how best to tally the population. They do not come ashore here like they do at basking sites in Hawaii or at nesting sites around the world; rather they range across the flats surrounding the islets, in the lagoons, and along the deeper fore-reef areas. They are also quite skittish, possibly because of high predator pressure, and if you approach too closely they zip away as fast as their flippers will carry them.

Eleanor Sterling

Earlier Posts From Palmyra

• In the Middle of Nowhere, Snooping on Sea Turtles
• Why So Many Predators?

Ideally we would do a full census of all the individuals, meaning we count every single individual, but that is next to impossible given their behavior. We therefore count a subset and then extrapolate from this subset to the whole. Researchers have a number of population estimation techniques and we are using several of them for the turtles.

Our main technique relies on a mark-recapture system. But first we have to capture them safely for both the turtles and for us. We received special training from sea turtle specialists at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration for care and handling of turtles. We use nets, which entails setting up a short net parallel to shore and waiting for turtles who are heading out to sea, and we capture by hand, which takes excellent hand-eye coordination in order to grasp the front and back of the shell as a turtle whizzes past. Both generally involve a lot of splashing.

Felicity Arengo

A released turtle.

Once we have the turtles in hand, we ensure they are comfortable and kept cool (or warm if it is cold and rainy) and we work quickly to measure and weigh them, check for parasites or other organisms living on the shell or skin of the animals, assess their overall body condition and look for tumors. We paint numbers on the turtles that last for only a few months but are helpful for us to quickly recognize that we have already caught an animal.

We also place small acoustic tags on the shells of some of the turtles. These transmitters send information to a receiver array that the Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium has placed throughout the lagoon areas and let us know when turtles have passed by. We can use this information to understand finer-scale movements of turtles around the atoll. To understand how the sea turtle population at Palmyra connects with turtle populations across the Pacific, an important goal for our funders, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, we use a different kind of tag that sends signals to satellites. We have placed several satellite tags on adult males in the hopes of finding out where they go. We complement the satellite data with genetic analyses, which can help us locate nesting sites for these populations.

When we get back from working with the turtles each day, we still have a full load of work ahead of us, as we need to clean and restock our kits and prepare the samples we have taken, process photos, and enter data into spreadsheets.

In the evenings we also have lots of work reminding us of the outside world, including finishing revisions on a journal article some of us are writing and preparing peer reviews of two manuscripts by other authors.

We have had really great luck this week with the turtles and were able to catch several turtles each day. We finally (and to a great amount of rejoicing) recaptured several animals. Once we get an adequate number of recaptures we can start to measure growth rate in addition to estimating population size, but we still have a tiny ratio of recaptures to captures.

Turtle Feeding Habitats in Malaysia Unaffected By Coral Bleaching - Expert

SANDAKAN, July 27 (Bernama) -- The coral bleaching phenomenon which poses a threat to coral reefs in peninsular Malaysia does not affect the turtle feeding habitats, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Marine Science Department lecturer Dr Juanita Joseph said today.

This is because green turtles eat seaweed while the hawksbill turtles feed on soft corals and crustaceans, she said.

"Currently, coral bleaching in several islands in the peninsula have not affected turtle-feeding areas," she told Bernama, adding that it would only present a problem if the number of crustaceans in the area declined.

Local dailies reported last month that all islands off Terengganu, including Redang, where turtles feed, were critically affected by the condition.

However, the waters off Sabah were not hit by the phenomenon, especially the popular diving spots of Pulau Sipadan and Pulau Mabul in Semporna which are among Malaysia's turtle feeding areas.

Dr Juanita said turtle feeding areas in Pulau Redang were also unaffected by the bleaching, and there had been an increase in turtle landings although their number was small.

She said the bleaching condition could be attributed to many factors such as pollution, but it could also be caused by increased water temperature which kills a type of algae called Zooxanthellae.

"The green pigment of coral reefs is actually Zooxanthellae. When the algae dies, the coral dies too and its colour changes to white.

"The coral reef ecosystem is a productive one and when the coral dies, all other organisms in the area will be affected, especially fish," she said.

Dr Juanita said coral bleaching was a frequently occurring phenomenon but scientists had yet to figure out how to overcome the problem.

She said dead corals would usually recover but required a long period of time to return to its normal state.

-- BERNAMA

Turtles teach life-changing values like patience

By Leti Boniol
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:11:00 07/25/2010

TURTLE ISLANDS, Philippines—It takes a mother turtle at least 30 minutes to crawl up the beach from the sea, two hours to look for, and dig a nest, an hour to lay 50 to 100 eggs and another half-hour to crawl back to the water. And it does this all by itself on Turtle Islands, a group of six islands found in Sulu Sea, south of the Philippines.

Looking for nesters at 7 p.m., a group of turtle watchers stop walking when they spot a turtle moving slowly on the beach. Park wardens have warned them that a turtle will head back to sea the moment it sees and feels any movement.

Sensing no obstacles, a turtle, carrying more than 50 kg of carapace on its back, will look for a place to lay its eggs, usually under the trees, taking a rest every minute or so to catch its breath.

When it finds a suitable site, it starts digging a pit with its flippers, about a meter-deep, and lays 50 to 100 eggs. At this stage, the warden says, the turtle is in such a trance, nothing can disturb it from its nesting activity.

After laying its eggs, the turtle will fill the nest with sand and return to the sea. It will meet other turtles, slowly making their way to the beach to do the same thing. Between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., most of the turtles will return to the sea.

The eggs will hatch only after seven to 12 weeks.

On Baguan Island, some 60 to 80 turtles crawl out of the water every night from April to August, the peak season for nesting that occurs year-round on the protected island.

Turtle lessons

Turtle watching teaches one the virtue of patience. You follow a newly hatched turtle slowly make its way to the sea, where it will chew on planktons and small fish until it grows and live up to 200 years.

It also teaches the importance of caring for the turtles’ habitat. You see the little ones leave the nest, only to be eaten by natural predators such as crabs, birds, big fish, alligators, sharks, and dogs.

Out of 100 hatchlings, only one turtle will return, 25 to 30 years later, to its natal nest, according to members of Conservation International-Philippines (CI-Philippines), an environmental nonprofit organization that has been doing research on turtles in the last two decades. It also teaches the Tausug and the Jama Mapun population how to care for this unique gift of nature.

It is rare for Filipinos to visit the Turtle Islands as it is accessible only to people who are doing research. Visitors have to fly in through Kota Kinabalu, then Sandakan in Sabah, and cross the border to the Philippines via a 45-minute speedboat ride.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) gives permits to special visitors who travel to Turtle Islands.

Ecotourism plan

Environmentalists and local officials in charge of the area have been pushing turtle watching as part of an ecotourism plan which they hope will spur economic development and conserve marine life in the area.

Romy Trono, CI-Philippines country executive director, says the national government has scant resources to improve the lives of the people in this fifth class municipality of Tawi-Tawi, much less enforce environmental protection laws. Nature-based tourism can salvage the so-called “frontline of conservation” in this part of the world.

Until a successful economic development plan is in place, the situation in the area can deteriorate, says Trono, who has been studying turtles for the past 28 years of his life, first with the DENR, later with the World Wide Fund for Nature, and now with the CI-Philippines.

Wildlife sanctuary

Turtle Islands is made up of six small islands, namely, Taganak, Baguan, Langaan, Lihiman, Boan and Great Bakkungan.

With a total population of 6,000, these islands are located within a 138,354-hectare marine sanctuary in the Sulu Sea, called the Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary (TIWS). The area was declared protected in 1999 under the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992.

The six islands and three others from Sabah, Malaysia, comprise the Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area established in 1996 through a bilateral agreement between the Philippines and Malaysia. Together with a group of islands in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, these islands are said to be “the most important nesting areas of green and hawksbill turtles in Southeast Asia and the world.”

Turtles are important indicators of the ecosystem’s health, according to the CI-Philippines. Without them, sea grasses will not be trimmed and fish will be driven away to seek healthier habitats, explains Minda Bairulla, DENR protected area superintendent, who is based in Taganak.

Of the seven species, worldwide, five come to the Philippines, she adds.

Strict Protection Zone

Since the Turtle Islands was declared a national park 30 years ago, the various stakeholders claim success in helping stabilize the sea turtle population in the area, particularly Baguan Island, designated as a Strict Protection Zone.

In the past, islanders with little job opportunities were allowed to collect turtle eggs for food as well as to sell in the market. This resulted in a decline in the turtle population from the ’80s up to the ’90s.

Because of conservation efforts, the turtles are back, Trono says.

However, within the sanctuary, trawl fishing and the use of dynamite have gone unabated due to lack of patrol boats, resources and political will.

For example, 13 fishermen were arrested by the police on Taganak on July 17. Sacks of ammonium sulfate, dynamite, as well as 200 kg of dried and fresh fish were found in their boat. The culprits were released after they paid the fine for illegal fishing.

Turtle Islands police chief Norlito Mata says steps should be made to “regain the harmonious relationship” between the Philippines, where the fishermen are from, and Malaysia, where the fishing vessel is registered.

Area for research, study

With ecotourism, funds can be used to manage the site effectively and provide social services and job opportunities to the people, according to the ecotourism framework developed by Carlos Libosada Jr. and Architect Anna Maria Gonzales, consultants to the CI-Philippines.

The plan is for the 29-hectare Baguan Island to remain primarily a conservation area for research and study, with tourism supporting these endeavors. Thus, visitors will be made to understand that the island is a “research, educational and conservation pilgrimage destination with a premium.”

Only a limited number of visitors will be allowed to stay in a day. They will live in facilities made of light materials.

The nearby Taganak Island will be the entry point to serve as customs, immigration and quarantine port for tourism purposes. (The Philippines’ claim to Sabah, which has been inactive since the Marcos regime, is said to be making this process a complicated one, according to one CI-Philippines personnel.)

Visitors will be able to roam the island and interact with residents at daytime. Scuba diving, snorkeling and kayaking will be allowed.

Life changing

On July 23, ecotourism guidelines were approved in principle by majority of the members of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of the TIWS, says Orlan Maliwanag, CI-Philippines sea turtle corridor assistant.

The PAMB is a multisectoral, multiagency, policy-making body composed of 25 members representing the local government, the regional line agencies, the law enforcement agencies, ethnic and community organizations and nongovernment groups. It is headed by Arleigh Adorable, DENR Zamboanga Peninsula director.

It will take three years to realize this plan, according to environmental architect Gonzales, who believes strict guidelines will minimize the potential negative tourism impact on the island.

Herself a turtle watcher, Gonzales describes her experience with these sea creatures as life changing.

“If you know how to behave, if you’re responsible for your own wants, if you think you deserve to go to the Turtle Islands because you are a good spirit, then you are a candidate to visit and watch the turtles,” she says.

Last large Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchling releases begin today

CORPUS CHRISTI — Kemp's ridley sea turtle hatchlings from about 29 nests will be released between Sunday and Wednesday, Padre Island National Seashore officials said.

It is final large group of nests to be released for the 2010 season, according to a news release.

The releases start at 6:45 a.m. in front of the national seashore's Malachite Visitor Center and will be open to the public.

There have been 139 Kemp's ridley nests found on Texas coasts this year.

Officials recommend calling the hatchling hot line at 949-7163 to confirm the releases still are planned.

Only a few nests will remain in incubation after Wednesday, and all will be released by Aug. 15.

© 2010 Corpus Christi Caller Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Over 30 turtles found dead in Guatemala

GUATEMALA CITY: Over 30 dead sea turtles have been found mutilated and with signs of suffocation on Guatemala's southern coast, authorities said.

The turtles were found on the beaches of Monterrico and Sipacate, the National Council of Protected Areas said.

The animals died of suffocation after being trapped in fishing nets, the organisation said, adding that fishermen were allegedly using fish hooks in prohibited areas.

According to the country's laws, fishing nets must be equipped with turtle excluder devices (TED), which allow trapped turtles to escape easily.

The appearance of dead turtles was worrying because the nesting season has just begun and efforts to protect sea turtles are already under threat, said Jose Martinez, head of the organisation's hydro-biological resources department.

Six sea turtle species nest in Guatemala and all are in danger of extinction due to poaching, over-harvesting of their eggs and pollution.

Sea Turtles, Victims Of Oil Spill, Play Key Role In Ecosystem

The devastation wrought by the BP oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico's threatened and endangered sea turtles could have even further-reaching effects because of the critical role turtles play in the ocean ecosystem, a new report says.

The report, from the ocean conservation group Oceana, is titled: "Why Healthy Oceans Need Sea Turtles: The Importance of Sea Turtles to Marine Ecosystems".

"Sea turtles are ambassadors to our oceans," Elizabeth Wilson, a marine scientist for Oceana said in a statement. "It is tragic that these magnificent animals are being killed by the oil spill. Each sea turtle lost as a result of the oil spill will further disrupt this marine ecosystem."

The report explains that sea turtles perform vital functions such as maintaining healthy seagrass beds with their grazing, making coral reefs healthier by removing sponges as they forage and keeping jellyfish populations in check.

Just as oil-coated seabirds visually represent the damage caused by the oil to the Gulf coast's shorelines, dead and dying sea turtles represent the mostly unseen toll that massive plumes of dispersed oil are taking below the surface.

Graceful and normally long-lived, sea turtles are particularly vulnerable to the effects of oil in the water, as the Huffington Post chronicled here.

Meanwhile, the ongoing mass relocation of hatchlings to Florida's Atlantic Coast has been guided more by hope and guesswork than by science.

Turtles threatened by litter at Eraring outlet

BY DAMON CRONSHAW

23 Jul, 2010 04:00 AM

Anglers have been warned to stop littering at Eraring power station’s outlet and inlet canals if they want to keep fishing there.

Authorities say rubbish threatens marine turtles and questions have been raised about whether fishing should be banned in the canals.

Turtles are protected and threatened and at least three are living in the outlet canal.

John Larkins, of Toronto Bait and Tackle, said he was concerned for the turtles.

‘‘There’s a lot of rubbish down there, it’s ridiculous,’’ Mr Larkins said.

‘‘If the plastic bags or fishing line gets in the water, nine times of out ten the turtle will eat it thinking it’s a squid.

‘‘Greenies are trying to shut waterways down and this gives them an opportunity to say ‘why should you be able to fish there’.’’

Many bait packets were discarded at the canal and beer bottles ‘‘smashed all over the rocks’’, he said.

Turtle enthusiast Alison Dunne said turtles were a threatened species and marine debris was considered a ‘‘key threatening process’’.

‘‘How can they knowingly allow the two to be mixed?’’ she said. ‘‘They have talked about banning fishing activity when the turtles are present, but no one wants to say it because it’s so unpopular.’’

A Department of Environment and Climate Change spokeswoman said the community should be aware of the ‘‘devastating effect of discarding disused or tangled fishing line and other debris’’.

‘‘Entanglement and ingestion of debris, such as plastic bags, cigarette butts, lolly wrappers and discarded fishing gear can be fatal to marine species, particularly threatened species such as turtles, seabirds and whales,’’ she said.

The creatures ‘‘don’t know the difference between harmful debris and food until it becomes stuck in their stomachs.’’

An Eraring spokeswoman said the outlet was cleaned daily and extra clean-ups were done during school holidays at the inlet canal.

Gulin

Over 1,500 Turtle Eggs Confiscated

Written by Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - A total of 1,520 turtle eggs were confiscated by the authorities and saved from ending up in the melting pot, in one of several cases recorded by the police over the past four days.

Among other items seized in the same period were alcoholic drinks and cigarettes without the health warning.

The seizures led to the detention of five foreign individuals. Fifteen theft cases were also reported from a Kg Sg Tilong shop, Kg SgHanching, car park at a flat in Berakas Camp, car park at a government flat in Kg Rimba, the RIPAS Hospital area, Jln Tungku Link, Kg Rimba, Kg Tasek Meradun, Kg Tanjung Bunut, Kg Mulaut Lubuk Sigurun, Kg Selayun, Kg Bebuloh in Jln Limau Maths, Kg Lumapas, Kg Tanah Burok in Penanjong and Kg Sg Damit in Tutong.

The items reported stolen were jewellery, important documents, 28 road signboards, a laptop, a DVD player, three handphones, a Playstation console, four tyres and rims, a car battery, and foreign and local currencies worth B$2,115.

The Marine Police meanwhile conducted 49 sea patrols in a bid to contain smuggling and to maintain security in Brunei waters, while a four-digit lottery activity was also foiled leading to the confiscation of cash and a car as well as the detention of a local man.

One rape case involving a 13-yearold victim, two arrest warrants on two locals for thefts, an attempted theft case in which two men aged 26 and 27 were nabbed, a fraud case, and a case of recovering stolen items.

Also recorded in over the past four days were cases of vandalism (1), runaway maid (6), runaway employee (1) and assault (5), with three men and a woman questioned.

The police also recorded one case of recovering a stolen vehicle, a Toyota Carina that was reported missing on July 13 from the project site near a Seria workshop; three misuse of drugs cases with three local men and a foreign woman nabbed; one case of unpaid wages and four Immigration violations with two foreign men and two foreign women apprehended.

Also reported in the past four days were 43 car accidents involving 18 , collisions, 22 self-accidents, one "car and motorcycle" collision and two cases of motorists knocking down cyclists.

As a result, one person sustained serious injuries and another four had minor injuries. Twenty-six accident cases were reported in the Brunei-Muara District, 10 in Belait District, seven in Tutong District and none in Temburong District. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Gulin

First Baby Sea Turtles Rescued From Gulf Are Released

Endangered wildlife from the gulf region get a chance at life.

Story by Sharon Seltzer, originally published July 2010 on Care2.

After 88 stressful days, the Gulf oil spill seems to be contained and there is good news to report about one group of animals that was threatened. With help from NASA, the first group of baby sea turtles that were part of the massive effort to save endangered wildlife from the dangerous oil-filled water was released into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Associated Press revealed that fifty-six young sea turtles were released on a beach at Canaveral National Seashore in Florida, on July 11. They were part of a group of sixty-seven eggs that were collected June 26 from a nest along the Florida Panhandle and delivered to a temperature-controlled warehouse at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for incubation.

NASA reported that twenty-two of the hatchlings were endangered Kemp's ridley turtles while the others were loggerheads. The remaining eleven eggs from the group did not hatch.

NASA is currently caring for 1,100 eggs at the space center incubation site. This is part of an overall plan to rescue 70,000 eggs from sea turtle nests buried in the sand on beaches along Alabama and Florida before they can hatch and swim into the hazardous water.

Scientists were torn between the consequences of intervening to save the eggs or to leave them alone. They knew the stress of moving the eggs could kill some of the turtles, but if they didn't help they realized many of hatchlings would die from the oil.

They chose to remove the eggs or run the risk of — "killing off an entire generation of an already imperiled species."

A rescue mission of this size has never been done before so NASA scientists and the rescue teams of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA were very happy to see the first group of hatchlings doing so well.

David Godfrey, executive director of the Florida-based Sea Turtle Conservancy told the AP, "The first successful release of hatchlings brings hope that more will survive. It definitely shows that we're on the right track."

The turtle eggs were originally sent to NASA in their nests and gently placed in Styrofoam boxes. They were then transported in specially equipped trucks. Once at NASA the eggs were monitored around the clock until their incubation was complete. They were transferred back to the beach in the Styrofoam boxes for an evening release.

I hope you will watch this interesting video filmed by NASA television about the incubation process and historic release.

Gulin

Gulf animal deaths confuse scientists

Scientists are trying to track down the cause of a growing mystery: Most of the animals that have turned up dead along the Gulf of Mexico since BP’s Deepwater Horizon spill don’t show visible signs of oil contamination, according to The New York Times.

The vast majority of animals found in the waters and studied by scientists since the spill in April—1,866 birds, 436 sea turtles, 59 dolphins and one sperm whale—are in this mysterious category.

Evidence is circulating about a possible culprit, and most of the turtle cases point toward shrimping and other commercial fishing. Other theories point to oil fumes, oiled food and the dispersants that are being used to break up the oil. Some theories point to disease.

The problem seems to be especially bad in Mississippi, where more than half the dead turtles have been found. Scientists will continue to study the dead animals in the months to come. The outcome of their studies will help determine how many millions BP will pay in penalties.

Gulin

Philippines drops turtle poaching charges

The turtle fishermen argued they were not aware they were in Philippine seas. [ABC]

Shirley Escalante, Manila

Last Updated: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:38:00 +1000

Philippine authorities have dropped charges against nine Chinese fishermen, caught poaching turtles in Philippine territory.

But non government organisations say the move endorses Chinese incursions into Philippine waters.

Civil society groups have criticized the government for allegedly adhering to a de facto foreign policy of condoning repeated Chinese incursions into Philippine territory.

The justice department has upheld the respondents' argument that they were not aware they were in Philippine seas since they were guided by a Chinese map that indicated the entire south China sea as part of China's territory.

The nine Chinese fishermen were arrested in May for poaching turtles in Philippine waters.

The Bureau of Fisheries has asked the justice department to reverse its decision.

Gulin

High waves taking toll on Palm Beach County's sea turtle nests

Richard Graulich/Palm Beach Post

Rescued loggerhead turtle hatchlings smim in a tank at the Marine Life Center in Juno Beach Thursday afternoon, July 22, 2010.

JUNO BEACH — Strong winds and waves the past few days are exposing turtle nests by washing away sand and tossing back hatchlings struggling to crawl to the ocean.

And weather through the weekend isn't looking any better as a tropical storm passes close to Florida.

"If these winds and waves keep up, it could get worse," said Kelly Martin, a biologist at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. The center rescues turtles and counts turtle nests between MacArthur Park and the Jupiter Inlet.

About 40 nests, each containing about 100 eggs, have been exposed in north county beaches this week. The eggs, which were damaged and could not be hatched, were found by beach goers and Marinelife employees.

South county officials have had to move twice as many nests as usual because the dry weather caused female turtles to dig their nests too close to the high-tide line, said Kirt Rusenko, marine conservationist at Boca Raton's Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Moving nests saves the eggs from being washed away, Rusenko said.

But others say unearthing and moving the eggs is just as dangerous.

"It's better to let nature take its course," said Dan Bates, head of the county's environmental enhancement and restoration division. The county is responsible for turtle nests in the central part of Palm Beach County.

The good news is that nesting numbers are up for loggerheads and green turtles. Nesting numbers are about the same as previous years for leatherbacks, Bates said.

"So far, it's been a good year," he said.

Anyone who finds a damaged sea turtle egg should leave it on the sand and report the location to authorities. Hatchlings can be brought to Marinelife, Gumbo Limbo or other beach officials.

Each year, close to 8,000 hatchlings - about the size of a silver dollar - are dropped off by beachgoers at Gumbo Limbo, on A1A just north of Palmetto Park Road. About 85 percent are let go by Gumbo Limbo officials on the beach that same night, using darkness to help the hatchlings avoid fish and birds.

The remaining hatchlings are kept for a week or so to regain their health. They are then taken out to the weed line and released, Rusenko said.

More than 90 percent of the county's turtle nesting happens north of the Lake Worth Inlet in Palm Beach. The type of beach sand, the distance of the continental shelf from shore and the wave actions are among the reasons, Bates said.

But Rusenko blames too much beachfront lighting and crowded beaches for the smaller numbers in south county.

"The dunes are higher in north county. The lower dunes here let in lighting to the beach at night. That scares the nesting turtles away," Rusenko said.

An egg from a loggerhead turtle nest south of the Juno Beach Pier Thursday afternoon, July 22. Several nests have been unearthed by recent erosion across Palm Beach County.

Eggs from a loggerhead turtle nest are exposed to the elements south of the Juno Beach Pier Thursday afternoon, July 22, 2010. Several nests have been unearthed by recent erosion across Palm Beach County.

Pictures: Baby Gulf Turtles Released Into Atlantic

Digging for Turtle Eggs

Photograph courtesy Bonnie Strawser, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Federal workers remove sea turtle eggs from a nest in Alabama's Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on June 27.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently began arranging the relocation of some 70,000 rare sea turtle eggs from 700 Gulf Coast nests in the path of the BP oil spill. All seven of the world's sea turtle species—four of which nest in the Gulf—are considered threatened or endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

(Gulf Oil Spill Pictures: Birds, Fish, Crabs Coated.)

If left alone, Gulf sea turtle hatchlings—which crawl through sand layers to leave their underground nests—could get injured or killed through contact with buried oil on their way out to sea, said Riley Hoggard, a resource-management specialist for Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Many turtles annually nest on the protected seashore, which includes sites in both Florida and Mississippi. (See sea turtle pictures.)

In part to address such threats, the babies were hatched in a special facility in a warehouse at eastern Florida's Kennedy Space Center and are being released on several Atlantic Ocean beaches throughout summer 2010—on the other side of the state from the Gulf.

—Christine Dell'Amore

Published July 22, 2010

Leatherback Egg-Layer

Photograph by Steve Winter, National Geographic

The largest sea turtle species, the leatherback sea turtle (above, a female laying eggs in Costa Rica) is one of five sea turtle species that nest on Gulf of Mexico beaches.

Each summer, under the cover of night, female sea turtles climb onto beaches, dig holes with their flippers, deposit clutches of eggs, and return to Gulf waters.

About two months later, the hatchlings break out of the eggs, pop out of the sand, and make a quick scramble back to the Gulf to continue the life cycle.

Published July 22, 2010

Eggs in One Basket

Photograph courtesy Bonnie Strawser, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The U.S. effort to relocate the sea turtle eggs—such as these removed from a nest in Alabama's Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on June 27—hinges on an understanding of the turtles' internal magnetic "maps," Hoggard said.

These maps—apparently "tuned" to Gulf beaches during incubation—should point the animals back to their native Gulf waters, even with the entire Florida Peninsula in their way, he said.

But he admits the massive sea turtle rescue operation is "uncharted territory" and could fail. "We can't afford to lose a generation of them," he said. "That's what gnaws at your stomach."

(See related pictures of a bird rookery "devastated" by oil.)

Published July 22, 2010

Turtle-Egg Protection

Photograph courtesy Denise Rowell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientists Dianne Ingram, left, and Lorna Patrick observe excavated sea turtle eggs in a temperature-controlled container in Port St. Joe, Florida, in a recent picture.

In addition to direct contact with oil, turtles and their eggs could be harmed by nighttime oil-spill cleanup operations, according to a statement by the Deepwater Horizon Joint Information Center.

For instance, bright lights, heavy machinery, and foot traffic may all disturb or injure nesting sea turtles. And hatchlings that use the moon as a compass may be disoriented by lights from cleanup crews.

Published July 22, 2010

Turtles in Waiting

Photograph courtesy Kim Shiflett, NASA

The first group of the excavated Gulf sea turtle hatchlings are pictured recently in a Kennedy Space Center warehouse before being released into the Atlantic Ocean off eastern Florida.

The eggs—which take about 60 days to hatch—were allowed to incubate for 50 days in their native nests and spent the remaining 10 in a temperature-controlled warehouse.

(See related video: "'Cold Stunned' Turtles Get NASA Rescue.")

Published July 22, 2010

Into the Wild

Photograph courtesy Kim Shiflett, NASA

Scientists release Gulf of Mexico sea turtle hatchlings onto the beaches of Cape Canaveral, Florida, in a recent picture.

Most of the released babies are loggerhead sea turtles, though some could also be Kemp's ridley sea turtles, leatherback sea turtles, and green sea turtles, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national sea turtle coordinator Sandy MacPherson said in a statement.

Published July 22, 2010

Intrepid Turtles

Photograph courtesy Kim Shiflett, NASA

The first Gulf sea turtle hatchlings enter the Atlantic Ocean in early summer 2010.

It may be 15 years before these hatchlings mature and return to Gulf waters to nest themselves, Hoggard said—if they do at all.

"We're giving up a whole generation of turtles," he said, "with the hopes that they'll come back."

Published July 22, 2010

Gulin

Why taking home 1 wild turtle could hurt the entire population

Shelburne, Vermont - July 22, 2010

Wood turtles used to flourish in Vermont but their population has rapidly declined, due in large part, to humans. Steve Parren of the Vt. Fish and Wildlife Department studies turtles, like the snapper. He says wood turtles are a species of greatest conservation need. It is illegal in Vermont to possess native turtle species. Yet they are still traded and sold through dealers. Parren says even moving a turtle in the wild can have disastrous results.

"Even if you take it home to show your family, then release it, it's lost. They know their habitat, know the landscape that they live in, and when you remove them all bets are off," Parren said.

Most of the time people do not realize that taking a turtle is illegal. But Parren says the results are long lasting.

"So if somebody takes a pet home, that turtle is not here, it is not passing on its genes, it is not producing the replacements that we need to replace," Parren said. "So just removing a couple of adults can cause the population to decline and possibly to blink out."

Human contact also affects other species as well. Licensed wildlife rehabilitator Ellen Jarecki gets a number of calls every day. While she is licensed by the state, she does not have a permit to photograph or show the animals she is working with. The state made an exception for WCAX on this day for educational purposes only.

The general rule is if a baby bird has feathers and is hopping on the ground, leave it alone. The parents are still taking care of it. But there are exceptions, like if the bird is injured.

"If the bird does not have all its feathers, or is part naked or completely naked, I call that a bird emergency. It needs to be taken in and a rehabilitator needs to be called," Jarecki said.

So when you come across wildlife it is best to leave it alone or if you have to, call an expert.

Judy Simpson - WCAX News

New Turtle Species Discovered

Image comment: Pearl River backwater, Ratliff, Mississippi
Image credits: Charlie Brenner on Flickr

The number of US native turtle species just went up to 57, as a new kind of turtle was discovered. No larger than a small plate, the Pearl River map turtle can only be found in the Pearl River in Mississippi and Louisiana.

US Geological Survey scientists Josh Ennen discovered this new species while preparing his PhD dissertation. The turtle, who's new scientific name is Graptemys pearlensis, is a remnant of the fluctuations of the sea-level between glacial and interglacial periods, more than 10,000 years ago. The differences in the sea-level isolated map turtles in several rivers along the Gulf Coast. Some of the turtles evolved and became unique species restricted to a single river system.

Until now, this turtle species was confused with another from a nearby river, the Pascagoula map turtle. Just like it, the Pearl River map turtle is a reptile that lives in freshwater large or medium rivers. Males are smaller than females (4 to 6 inches) and mainly eat fish and insects, and sometimes some molusks. Females measure between 6 and 11 inches as adults and feed on clams, that they open thanks to the large surfaces on their jaws.

Josh Ennen, the first to discover this turtle species, said: “The Pascagoula River map turtle was one of the only map turtle species believed to occur in two major drainages. I thought it was strange that it was such an anomaly. My professors, Brian Kreiser and Carl Qualls at the University of Southern Mississippi, encouraged me to look further, so I started doing genetic research on the turtles from the Pearl River and the turtles from the Pascagoula River.” As he began to discover genetic differences between the two species, he called Lovitch, who had previously found and named the last two turtle species, back in 1992.

Though differences between the Pearl River map turtle and the Pascagoula River map turtle are very subtle (a discontinuity in a black stripe on the back), genetic data showed that they are from two different species.

Ennen said: “We don’t know as much as we sometimes think we do. When people think about discovery and new species, they think of rainforests, or unexplored and isolated countries. Coming from southern Mississippi, I basically found this turtle in my own backyard.”

This discovery, made by both Ennen and Jeff Lovitch, is published in Chelonian Conservation and Biology. Unfortunately neither Ennen nor Lovich think another turtle species will be discovered very soon.

Gulin

An endangered painted turtle, showing its yellow stripes and brilliantly coloured undershell, pops out of the water. A previously unknown population of the native freshwater turtle has been found in Metchosin.
Photograph by: Todd Carnahan, Habitat Acquisition Trust

When Todd Carnahan saw the photo of a turtle that had wandered into a Metchosin garage, he was elated.

The picture showed signature yellow body stripes and vivid red markings on the belly shell, which clearly identified it as a western painted turtle. It was the first time one of the endangered reptiles had been seen in Metchosin.

"We have never had any reports from the Bilston Creek watershed. It's a population which is new to science," said Carnahan, who serves as land care co-ordinator for the Habitat Acquisition Trust and is asking residents with wetlands on their properties to photograph the distinctive reptiles and phone in sightings.

"Residents may have seen them before, but didn't know the significance and that they are endangered. If it has got a red bottom, it's the one we are looking for."

The garage turtle and another one reported in the area, but not photographed, appear to be healthy, nesting females, meaning they could be the tip of a population iceberg, said Carnahan, who is hoping HAT researchers will find a thriving colony in the ponds, wetlands and watershed, which drain into Witty's Lagoon.

There are also unsubstantiated reports of another population in the Cowichan Valley, but Carnahan isn't getting excited yet, as it's possible there could be remnant populations with no breeding females, since turtles live for 50 years.

About 250 turtles are believed to remain in the Pacific coast population. The numbers are threatened by development on ancestral nesting sites, roads and loss of natural cover on wetlands.

In previous decades, populations would use wetland corridors to link up and breed, but many of those are now blocked.

A new tool in turtle tracking will help identify corridors and provide essential information, such as where the Metchosin turtle population is hanging out. A grant from the provincial Habitat Conservation Trust Fund will allow HAT biologists to attach tiny transmitters to turtle shells.

The contribution of about $7,000 will buy equipment for the high-tech telemetry project, but staff funding is needed and HAT is looking for partners, Carnahan said.

Painted turtles, the only native turtle left on Vancouver Island, are known to live in Elk and Beaver lakes, Langford Lake, Eagle Lake and Great Central Lake near Port Alberni.

They travel up to 300 metres from ponds and wetlands to their nesting areas -- and that's often when they get into trouble.

Signs on Beaver Lake Road warn drivers to slow down to avoid hitting turtles on the move, and Carnahan is hoping similar signs will be erected near Eagle Lake in the Highlands.

"Every year, the turtles come out of the lake and there's a dangerous stretch of road there. A big nesting female looks like a rock if you're going too fast."

Gulin

Ignorance, Obstacles Hamper U.S. Sea Turtle Protection, Experts Find

Environment News Service 15 Jul 10;

WASHINGTON, DC, July 15, 2010 (ENS) - Population sizes of the six species of sea turtles listed as either endangered or threatened in the United States cannot be accurately determined based on available information, says a report released today by the National Research Council.

Reviews of federal sea turtle population assessments and research plans are not sufficiently rigorous and transparent, and there are unnecessary obstacles to the collection and analysis of critical data, including the process for issuing research permits and inadequate training of scientists, finds the committee that wrote the report.

The committee of turtle experts from Oregon State University, the University of Hawaii, Duke University, Old Dominion University, the University of Massachusetts, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the University of Queensland, Australia does not evaluate the cause of sea turtle declines or conduct its own assessment of sea turtle populations.

But the expert panel finds that key data regarding birth and survival rates, breeding patterns, and other information will be required to predict and understand changes in populations and create successful management and conservation plans.

The National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should develop a national plan to assess sea turtle populations, improve the coordination of collecting data and sharing it with other organizations, and establish an external review of the data and models used to estimate the current sea turtle population and predict future population levels, the committee advises.

"The biggest obstacle to assessing the status of sea turtle populations is that we know little about key characteristics of these creatures, such as what size they are at different ages, the average proportion of turtles that will survive through each year, and their growth rates," said Karen Bjorndal, chair of the committee that wrote the report and professor of biology and director of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

"Sea turtles can live for many decades, and can take more than 30 years to reach reproductive maturity," said Bjorndal. "When more is known about their ages, distribution, and genetic differences, models can provide better population estimates and help us understand changes in population abundance."

All species of sea turtles are listed as threatened or endangered. The leatherback, Kemp's Ridley, and hawksbill turtles are critically endangered. The Olive Ridley and green turtles are endangered, and the loggerhead is threatened.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration asked the research council to examine methods that could improve population assessments carried out by National Marine Fisheries Service, which is overseen by NOAA and responsible for the management of sea turtles in the water, and the Fish and Wildlife Service, which is responsible for sea turtles on land.

In its report, the committee emphasized that long lifespans and wide-ranging migrations over different habitats make sea turtles difficult to monitor.

Current sea turtle assessments in the United States are based heavily on estimates of adult females at nesting beaches, which are inadequate measures to make population assessments because adult females usually skip one or more breeding seasons, and nest counts provide no information on the number of immature turtles, adult males, and nonbreeding females.

Although information on the number of sea turtles at various life stages is essential, this alone is not sufficient to understand the causes of sea turtle population trends, develop management plans to protect sea turtle populations, or predict future trends, the report says.

The committee found that the most serious data gaps exist in estimates of the number of immature sea turtles, survival rates of immature turtles and nesting females, age at sexual maturity, the proportion of adult females that breed each year, and the number of nests each female creates in a breeding season.

In addition, adequate information is not available for population assessments because data either have not been collected or have not been analyzed and made accessible.

The report suggests that the NMFS and the FWS develop plans for the collection and analysis of data to address gaps, create a database that identifies datasets in the United States and territories, and review data being collected now under their agencies and evaluate the costs and benefits.

The agencies should support a program to safeguard and make accessible as many sea turtle databases as possible, they committee recommends. They should ensure that all research plans generated from within federal agencies are reviewed by panels of federal and nonfederal scientists, and convene a working group to evaluate the permitting process for research projects and find ways to expedite the process while safeguarding the species.

The report was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are independent, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under an 1863 congressional charter.

Committee members, who serve pro bono as volunteers, are chosen by the academies for each study based on their expertise and experience and must satisfy the academies' conflict-of-interest standards. The resulting consensus reports undergo external peer review before completion.

Sea turtle egg evacuations begin along oiled Gulf

PORT ST. JOE, Fla. — Biologist Lorna Patrick dug gingerly into the beach Friday, gently brushing away sand to reveal dozens of leathery, golfball-sized loggerhead sea turtle eggs.

Patrick, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, carefully plucked the eggs from the foot-deep hole and placed them one-by-one in a cooler layered with moist sand from the nest, the first step in a sweeping and unusual turtle egg evacuation to save thousands of threatened hatchlings from certain death in the oiled Gulf of Mexico.

After about 90 minutes of parting the sand with her fingers like an archaeological dig, 107 eggs were placed in two coolers and loaded onto a FedEx temperature-controlled truck. They are being transported to a warehouse at Florida's Kennedy Space Center where they will incubate and, hopefully, hatch before being released into the Atlantic Ocean.

The effort began in earnest along Florida's Panhandle, with two loggerhead nests excavated. Up to 800 more nests across Alabama and Florida beaches will be dug up in the coming months in an attempt to move some 70,000 eggs to safety.

Scientists fear that if left alone, the hatchlings would emerge and swim into the oil, where most would likely die, killing off a generation of an already imperiled species.

"This is a giant experiment," said Jeff Trandahl, director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which helped organize the plan.

Trandahl acknowledged many of the hatchlings may die from the stress of being moved, but he said there was no other option.

Each nest is monitored from the moment it is made and left in place for about 50 days. Then the eggs will be taken to the NASA temperature-controlled warehouse, kept at roughly 85 degrees, where they should begin hatching within about 10 days or so of arrival. The hope is that the ones that survive will return to nest where they were born after about 30 years, but no one knows if the experiment will be successful.

FedEx has offered to transport the eggs free of charge.

Virginia Albanese, CEO of FedEx Custom Critical, said the company will continue the effort for about four months, averaging three 500-mile trips a week from the Panhandle to Cape Canaveral. By mid-July, the company expects to be making six trips a week in its 53-foot customized 18-wheeler.

The special coolers, manpower and other expenses associated with the plan could cost the federal government, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and private partners hundreds of thousands of dollars, which BP will be asked to pay for, said Thomas Strickland, assistant secretary of the U.S. Interior Department's division of Fish and Wildlife and Parks.

"It's a major rescue effort and it's unprecedented," Strickland said. "There's anxiety and there should be because it's a delicate operation."

After the 1979 Ixtoc spill in the Gulf, there was an effort to save the Kemp's ridley sea turtles. Hatchlings were just emerging, and helicopters ferried the baby turtles to open ocean beyond the slick.

Loggerhead turtles typically lay about 125 eggs per nest. The government has no way of knowing exactly how many of the species live in the Gulf, but use nest numbers to determine population health.

Fish and Wildlife has proposed increasing loggerhead protections under federal law from a threatened species to an endangered species, largely because nest numbers have been steadily declining over the years.

Even without an oil spill, the vast majority of hatchlings don't make it to maturity, in part because they're eaten by predators. Experts estimate about one out of 1,000 survive to reproduce.

Sea turtles have also suffered because of commercial fishing and habitat loss. Some obviously oiled turtles have washed ashore since the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion, while other dead turtles have showed no outward signs of crude.

Recent tests by the federal government indicate some likely drowned in fishing nets, possibly during emergency shrimping seasons opened before the oil reached Louisiana and Mississippi shorelines.

David Godfrey, executive director of the Florida-based Sea Turtle Conservancy, said he was hoping for a 50 percent hatch rate for the evacuated eggs.

"Any turtles that survive is a great success because we know they're doomed over here," he said.

Calvin Luo

Day 15 - All good things come to an end

I was told to finish up the post for the last day of the project and I found myself hard-pressed to find the suitable photos to put up on the blog. Sure, there are a myriad of shots of the beautiful place and the wonderful people. But none of them are quite able to convey my feelings about the subject.

The team left Mangkok in the late morning to head to the airport. Some of the kids,villagers and PEWANIS women came down to the Pink House to send us off and that was really such a touching gesture. Goodbyes are always hard to say but must always be said nonetheless. To that end, we all reluctantly said our final farewells and went about our way.

Nothing much actually happened after that to be honest. We got to the airport, took the flight back and went our separate ways. But somehow, I know that each and every one of us were slowly thinking back on the past 14 days and reflecting on what it all meant to each individual.

I'm a city-kid through and through. As are my fellow team members. In my whole life, I never thought that I would be so affected by something so seemingly unimportant. It never occurred to me that I'll spend half a month in a Malaysian kampung and more importantly, I never knew I could fall in love with a place with such a simple way of life. The sincerity of the villagers and kids; the rustic charm of the place; the determination of the turtles; the single-mindedness of the WWF staff and volunteers to champion their cause and the genuine smiles of everyone has left a lasting impression on me. Seriously, I just never thought I would learn so much from something so small.

Going back to Singapore was certainly one of the harder things I've had to do recently. But life goes on. I can only hope that one day, life will take me back there once again. In some ways, it'll be a lot like going home again.

Chow Wee

Hatchling Emerging

Woot! finally back to singapore. Kind of miss the village now, but anyway as promised this is the video of hatchling emerging (was only the lucky one to see the whole process)

Yong Liang

Signing Off

Day 14 - A Murder ererere~~~

Welcome to Terengganu express where we bring you the latest news.

At 6pm this evening, there was a case of murder at the hatchery. The prime suspect is currently at large blogging in Setiu.

According to the eye-witness, the murderer was digging at the potential hatchling site to see if there were any sighting of late bloomers. Just when he was about to excavate the eggs, a "bursting" feeling was felt by the murderer and soon enough, he fled from the site.

The relevant authorities are still looking for the suspect. It is believed that the suspect is about 23 years old, Chinese, about 182 cm tall, has short hair and wear spectacles, if anyone hasinformation on the suspect, please dial: 1800-save-penyu.

After the 2 days of break that team Orion had taken, we were all set and ready to go. First on the list, Chow Wee, Calvin and Yong Liang went back to the first painted house to do some touch up work on the painting. The auntie was glad that we make another trip just for her.

While the 3 of us were busy with the paint work, the rest of the team was helping the Pewanis to make Kerepek Pisang. While waiting for the last facilitation session to commence, Sijie and I dropped by the Ikan Bilis warehouse as they were sorting out the different sizes and species of fish caught by the net. It was an eye-opener for me as I got to see the weird fishes caught and also the process of sorting and drying the ikan bilis.

Hi guys, this is Mary, River's pet. As River was away for a conference, he conveniently asked Kak Nurol to release it for him. Well if not for River's Pet, I would not know that Chow Wee is scared of snakes.

A classic moment that Chow Wee met Mary

Meaningful signages that made us ponder.

Although there was no night lesson at the pink house, the kids still came over to spend the last night with us. Thanks everyone, we will miss you when we are back in Singapore.

Just tonight itself, we managed to release 225 hatchlings and excavated 3 more nests. Such numbers greatly boost up the turtle counter.

Oh well back to Singapore tomorrow!! See you guys soon!!

The Malay phrase for the day is

Jatuh Cinta- Fall in Love

Yong Liang

Signing off