Sea Turtle Nest Monitoring


2008 Sea Turtle Nest Activity

2008 is off to a great start, with sea turtle nest activity exceeding 2007 numbers to date. So far 19 false crawls and 23 nests have been recorded at the Cape Romano complex. This year, staff at the Reserve are also monitoring nesting activity in the Ten Thousand Islands, where 33 false crawls and 20 nests have been recorded to date.


2007 Sea Turtle Nest Report

The 2007 sea turtle nesting season was down from 2006 at the Cape Romano nesting complex, which includes Cape Romano, Morgan Beach, New Beach and Kice Island. Reserve staff recorded 26 false crawls and 35 nests. 15 of the nests were destroyed by raccoons before staff could erect cages over them, and 3 nests were washed out by summer storms. Morgan Beach and Kice Island supported 9 nests each. Of 1,536 eggs laid, 1,173 hatchlings made it to the sea, yielding a net hatching success of 76%.


2006 Report - An Astounding 3,194 Hatchlings

After a long hot summer the sea turtle nest monitoring and caging program for 2006 is coming to an end. Reserve biologists documented an astounding 3,194 hatchlings, hatchling count for the 2006 season. These numbers were from the Cape Romano nesting complex (Cape Romano, Kice Island and Morgan beach nests only).

The biggest challenge to hatchling success has been nest inundation (high water levels) and raccoon depredation. Although nothing can be done to prevent the water from rising, staff and volunteers were able to protect the eggs from raccoons by placing cages around the nests.

Loggerhead and Green Sea Turtles

Loggerhead and green sea turtles lay their eggs on Reserve beaches from May through August, with usually 80 to 120 eggs per clutch (or nest). After approximately sixty days, the eggs hatch during the night and the tiny hatchlings, which measure only 2 inches long, climb straight up through a foot of sand, crawl from the nest to the surf, then swim until they reach relative safety in seaweed beds before being swept away on currents across the sea.

Rookery Bay NERR volunteers assisted resource management staff in the survival of thousands of these miraculous creatures.

Many thanks to our volunteers!