SPCMSC scientists study effects of beach nourishment on sea turtle nesting activity
Scientists RC Mickey and Dave Thompson from the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center wrap up a season of conducting beach surveys to study influences of beach nourishment on sea turtle nesting.
Scientists RC Mickey and Dave Thompson from the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center have been conducting surveys all summer on nourished beaches (where sand has been added) on Florida’s Atlantic Coast beaches to study influences of beach nourishment on green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nesting. The next two weeks of surveys will be the final round of data collection for this season.
This is year four of the five-year collaborative study investigating sea turtle nesting on recently nourished beaches. The primary goal is to quantify beach parameters that may influence sea turtle nesting on nourished beaches, as these beaches typically display rapid reshaping (2 to 3 years) by ocean waves. The results of the study can then be used to suggest improvements for beach nourishment designs to minimize impacts to sea turtle nesting.
USGS's role is to map the beach profile (position and elevation) from the water line into the dune, and map turtle crawl paths at nesting decision locations using precise GPS measurements. These GPS surveys are conducted monthly for two consecutive days during May through September, the height of sea turtle nesting season. The surveys have been conducted at four nourished beaches that also have a high-density of sea turtle nesting sites, including Melbourne Beach, Jensen Beach, Jupiter Island, and Juno Beach. The GPS data is processed to quantify various beach parameters; including water line, dune toe, dune top, and locations of nests or false crawl apex (landward point to where a turtle reached but decided not to nest) locations.
USGS is working with partners at U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS), Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and University of South Florida (USF) on this National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) funded study.
Read what else is new at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Get Our News
These items are in the RSS feed format (Really Simple Syndication) based on categories such as topics, locations, and more. You can install and RSS reader browser extension, software, or use a third-party service to receive immediate news updates depending on the feed that you have added. If you click the feed links below, they may look strange because they are simply XML code. An RSS reader can easily read this code and push out a notification to you when something new is posted to our site.