Iconic sea turtle nesting season off to a great start
On聽the beaches of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas around this time every聽year, a聽band of volunteers comb the sand at daylight in search of telltale flipper tracks and ping-pong-ball-sized orbs. This army of beachcombers is聽聽for the聽nests of loggerhead sea turtles to聽count their eggs. And this season,聽they could聽have聽reason to celebrate.聽聽
After nest totals for the federally-protected聽turtle neared or surpassed record numbers last year, 62 nests were聽recorded as of Monday on beaches in Georgia,聽South Carolina, and North Carolina.
"If we continue our trend, we could have 600 nests this year," David Hoffman, a National Park Service biologist, told the Associated Press about nests on聽Georgia's Cumberland Island alone.聽"You just can't tell until it's over."
Dr. Hoffman and his team of interns recorded 583 nests on the federally-protected island聽last year. For the third time in a row, Georgia's first nest was found on the island.
Floridian聽beaches聽are often covered聽with聽the most nests聽each year by far. Last year,聽89,295聽were recorded there.聽But the state聽doesn't keep a running, season-long tally of the number of nests on 216 reporting beaches.
The success of the sea turtle, which聽can grow upwards of聽300 pounds, is one silver lining in the marine world, as more and more organisms聽become threatened due to human activities and聽climate change.
Yet the loggerhead sea turtle might owe its vitality to its becoming federally protected after the species was listed as threatened through its range in 1978. Its relative, the green sea turtle, experienced a聽similar resurgence聽in Florida and the Mexican Pacific聽because its species status raised attention to conservation efforts, as 海角大神 reported in April.
Now, a loggerhead mother's journey onto these southern beaches ushers in summer much like the change of foliage marks the fall in New聽England. Yet, while fall colors are more or less a constant, the amount of nests that cover the beaches varies in three year cycles.聽聽
The聽turtles聽don't lay eggs every year, so nesting often fluctuates in聽cycles of two strong years followed by a decline. Georgia and the Carolinas聽saw numbers drop聽in 2014, only to rebound last year. Georgia聽recorded 2,292 nests in 2015, and South Carolina and North Carolina reporting numbers just shy of that number.
Experts said this year's nest counts don't predict what the final count will be. But biologists and volunteer nest trackers are optimistic.聽
This report contains material from the Associated Press.
