St. Catherines Island Sea Turtle Conservation Program 2007 Gale A. Bishop Turtles Reptiles
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- Long Range Data Sets
- Historical Nesting in Georgia
- Decline of the Sea Turtles
- The St. Catherines Sea Turtle Conservation Program
- Natural History Science Education Model
- Major Initiative Plug-In
- Outcomes of The St. Catherines Island Sea Turtle Conservation Program
- What Can You Do
- Georgia Southern University , The Eisenhower Higher Education Program (50%) , Georgia Department of Natural Resources , and The St. Catherines Island Foundation, Inc.
Nesting Turtles Mostly Loggerheads; Average 979 Loggerhead nests/year Some Green Turtles Some Leatherbacks N  esting:
Deposition of Nests: May 1-August 30 Emergence of Nests: July 25-Nov. 5 Average clutch size: 113 eggs Average incubation period: 56 days
Little Cumberland Blackbeard Island Wassaw Island Georgia’s coastal Golden Isles consist of 13 barrier islands with 161 kilometers (100 miles) of sandy beaches. Approximately 30.6 kilometers (19 mi) of this habitat is armored by sea walls and revetment,s effectively removing it from viable nesting by sea turtles. Three of the Islands (Tybee, Jekyll, and St. Simons/Sea Island) are urbanized which reduces their viability as nesting habitat. Several of Georgia’s larger Islands are relatively undeveloped and offer excellent habitat for sea turtle nesting (Little Tybee, Wassaw, Ossabaw, St. Catherines, Sapelo/Blackbeard, and Cumberland Islands). Historical Nesting in Georgia 
Decline of the Sea Turtles The number of sea turtles present in the World ocean is declining. Film evidence from the major nesting beach of Kemp’s Ridleys at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico indicates that 40,000 females nested their in a single day in 1947. Closer monitoring of this beach showed about 1,300 females nesting in 1966, since 1967 to 1970 only a few nesting aggregations (called arribadas) of 2,000-2,500 turtles have been reported. Since 1978 all nests have been counted and numbers have declined steadily by about 14 nests per year, with the current level of nesting less than 1% of the estimated nests deposited in 1947 (Decline of the Sea Turtles: 47). Data gathered on Little Cumberland Island, Georgia, for thirty years indicates a clear decline of 3% per year . Parallel data from Cape Island, South Carolina also shows a similar decline over a 17 year interval. A sharp decline was experienced by both populations in the middle 1970’s for yet unknown reasons. Data from Blackbeard Island do not show this decline. Personal observation of various species of sea turtles nesting in many other areas leads scientists to conclude that sea turtle populations are generally declining around the world. The rapid decline of the size of the population of Kemps Ridley sea turtles, the slow, but steady decline of the Loggerhead sea turtles in Georgia and South Carolina, and observational data of the decline of other sea turtles has led conservationist and scientists to the conclusion that sea turtles are in danger of becoming extinct. All sea turtles are now listed as endangered species or as threatened species. Threats to Sea Turtles The Decline of the Sea Turtle documents the many factors which are driving sea turtles toward extinction. These factors are now well documented and include natural causes and human causes. The death of sea turtles caused by various natural factors that have been around for a long time includes: Predation Diseases and Parasites Other nesting sea turtles Vegetation Erosion, Accretion, and Tidal Inundation Heavy Rains Thermal Stress Old Age
Shrimp Fishing 5,000 to 50,000 Other Fisheries 500 to 5,000 Dredging 500 to 5,000 Collisions with Boats 500 to 5,000 Petroleum Platform Removal 10 to 100 Power Plant Intakes 5 to 50 Turtle Fishery 5 to 50 Other threats include Gill Nets Beach Erosion and Accretion Beach Armoring Beach Nourishment Artificial Lighting Beach Cleaning Increased Human Presence Recreational Beach Equipment & Beach Vehicles Exotic Dune Vegetation Poisoning Ingestion of Debris Numbers of Loggerhead sea turtles killed by shrimping have been dramatically reduced since the early 1990s by installation of turtle excluding devices (TEDs) on shrimp nets, indicating that humans and sea turtles, or other endangered species, can live in harmony with one another, if we study and understand the ecology and life history of the organisms with which we share the Earth. When dead sea turtles wash ashore, they are reported to the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network. The St. Catherines Sea Turtle Conservation Program T 
Teacher-interns are mentored to competency. Then proceed as trained sea turtle interns. he St. Catherines Sea Turtle Conservation Program integrates sea turtle conservation, field experiences for school teachers, and scientific research. The program is designed to present school teachers with an opportunity for a hands-on, real world field experience in the unique environment of St. Catherines Island, Georgia. School teacher interns work as colleagues as they daily monitor beaches for nests, validate their presence, protect eggs with wire screens, and document each nest. Daily observations of each nest are recorded in field notebooks and entered on a computer. Upon hatching and emergence, nest success is assessed by excavation. Research studies have included nest clustering, nest and beach stratigraphy, nest temperature profiles, beach hydrology, predation, and general ecology of nesting habitats. This Program’s Learning/Teaching model provides and integrated, holistic approach to science education placing the science teacher in the position to experience a real-world program and carry aspects of it back into their classroom through technology-based synchronous and asynchronous teaching. A Natural History Science Education Model, based on a computer metaphor, consists of a Central Program Core consisting of an tightly configured science and science-education collaborative focused on a significant local problem. The basic collaborative, acting as the program core, must be carefully planned and i  nitiated and must establish a track record leading to a level of credibility. As opportunities arise, additional plug-in modules , representing major initiatives (Major Initiative Plug-In), can be established based upon the work previously done and still being done by the Central Program Core. The major initiatives evolve as funding and time permits and, in turn, act as active programmatic cores themselves, accepting smaller project-level plug-ins (Project Plug-In) as opportunities arise and funding becomes available. All of the plug-ins are based on the central core concept and productivity and produce work which reinforces the core concept and the other plug-ins.
The St. Catherines Natural History Model As conditions change, the Project Plug-Ins can be rapidly exchanged without negatively impacting the Program CPC and, in fact, the Major Initiative Plug-Ins can them-selves be rapidly exchanged as major influences change. As project opportunities arise during evolution of the program, a Project-Plug-In may be established without discrete support and be nurtured initially by the program’s infrastructure. Success is measured by the number of hatchlings put in the sea! Outcomes of The St. Catherines Island Sea Turtle Conservation Program T  he St. Catherines Island Sea Turtle Program documented 1896 sea turtle nests between1992 and 2006 that produced 112,025 bay sea turtles. The Program has been assisted by 202 sea turtle interns, 180 of whom are K-12 teachers who have taught an aggregate of 198,152 school children aspects of endangered species, endangered habitats, and conservation. Seven graduate students served as GaDNR Sea Turtle Interns, three have written theses on aspects of the St. Catherines Program and one has finished a doctorate of veterinary medicine, is administering the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Program, and is working on a Ph.D. Over 46 presentations have been given at professional and educational meetings, 17 papers published, 6 museum exhibits produced, and 11 web sites developed to extend the outreach of the Program. The knowledge gained on St. Catherines Island, Georgia has been extended to assist other sea turtle conservationists and has been extended into the ancient record of sea turtles by discovery of the world's first fossilized sea turtle nest, the study of the taphonomy of sea turtles, and the ichnology of sea turtles.
We invite you to visit our web site at What Can You Do? 
Protecting Georgia’s endangered species, including sea turtles, is up to each one of us. If we want to continue to enjoy sharing the world with other species, we must protect and nurture the environment and the plants and animals which inhabit our area. There are many ways that each of us may help preserve our critical habitats and threatened and endangered species. Can you think of ways that you can help in the movement to preserve our environment and endangered species? You have already taken the first step! We now invite you to read, study, and learn more about Georgia’s threatened sea turtles by using the materials provided in other parts of this exhibit. Perhaps some day you will have the privilege of working more directly with Georgia’s endangered species. This can be accomplished by your continuous hard work, studying and learning, and with the help of your family and friends. Thank you for your interest in Georgia Sea Turtles! This program is supported by Georgia Southern University, The Eisenhower Higher Education Program (~50%), Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and The St. Catherines Island Foundation, Inc. and forges a partnership model in conservation research, service, and education which may be applicable to many other endangered and threatened species and/or habitats. 
Conservation Research Education The St. Catherines Sea Turtle Program  
Loggerhead hatchling scampers to the sea. Seventy- million year old sea turtle nest, Colorado. 
Traveling sea turtle exhibit.  
Selected References Brannen, N. A., Jeff Carter, Mike Harris, Charles Maley, Royce Hayes, Brad Winn, and Gale Bishop. 1993. Handbook for Sea Turtle Interns, Georgia Southern University (Statesboro, Ga.), 78 p. Darrell, J. H., II, N. A. Brannen, and G. A. Bishop. 1993. The Beach, p. 16-18, In K. M. Farrell, C. W. Hoffman, and V. J. Henry, Jr (eds.), Geomorphology and Facies Relationships of Quarternary Barrier Island Complexes near St. Marys, Georgia. Georgia Geological Society Guidebooks 13(1). Bishop, G. A. and N. A. Brannen. 1993. Ecology and paleoecology of Georgia Ghost Shrimp, p. 19-29, In K. M. Farrell, C. W. Hoffman, and V. J. Henry, Jr (eds.), Geomorphology and Facies Relationships of Quarternary Barrier Island Complexes near St. Marys, Georgia. Georgia Geological Society Guidebooks 13(1). Bjorndahl, K. A. 1995. Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles. Smithsonian Institution Press, 615 p. Brannen, N. A. and G. A. Bishop. 1993. Nesting traces of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta (Linne), St. Catherines Island, Georgia: Implications for the fossil record, p. 30-36, In K. M. Farrell, C. W. Hoffman, and V. J. Henry, Jr (eds.), Geomorphology and Facies Relationships of Quarternary Barrier Island Complexes near St. Marys, Georgia. Georgia Geological Society. Bishop, G. A. and N. A. Marsh. 1994. The 1992 St. Catherines Sea Turtle Program: Nest validation by beach stratigraphy, p. 22-24, In Schroeder, B. A. and B. E. Witherington (compilers), Proceedings of the thirteenth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, NOAA Technical Memorandum MNFS-SEFSC 341. Bishop, G. A. and N. B. Marsh 1995. The St. Catherines Sea Turtle Conservation Program. WWW: http://www.gasou.edu/aix2/cturtle/001welc.html; 80 p. Caldwell, D. K., A. Carr, and L. H. Ogren. 1959. The Atlantic loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta caretta (L.), in America. I. Nesting and migration of the Atlantic loggerhead turtle. Fla. State Mus. Biol. Bull. 4(10): 295-308. Clayton, T. D., L. A. Taylor, Jr., W. J. Cleary, P. E. Hosier, P. H. F. Graber, W. J. Neal, and O. H. Pilkey, Sr. Living with the Georgia Shore. Duke University Press (Durham, N.C.), 188 p. Davis, R. E. and R. Dolan. 1993. Nor’easters. American Scientist, 81: 428-439. Frey, R. W. and S. G. Pemberton. 1987. The Psilonichnus ichnoconose, and its relationship to adjacent marine and nonmarine ichnocoenoses along the Georgia coast. Bull. Canadian Petrol. Geol. 35(3): 333-357. Hailman, J. P. and A. M. Elowson. 1992. Ethogram of the nesting female loggerhead (Caretta caretta). Herpetologica 48(1): 1-30. Hopkins, S. R., T. M. Murphy, K. B. Stansell, and P. M. Wilkinson. 1978. Biotic and abiotic factors affecting nest mortality in the Atlantic loggerhead turtle. Proc. Ann. Conf. Southeastern Assoc. Game & Fish Commissioners 32: 213-223. LeBuff, C. R., jr. 1990. The Loggerhead Turtle in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. Caretta Research, Inc. Sanibel (Fla.), 216 p. Mast, S. O. 1911. Behavior of the loggerhead turtle in depositing its eggs. Pap. Tortugas Lab., Carnegie Instit. Washington 3:63-67 National Research Council. 1990. Decline of the Sea Turtles: Causes and Prevention, National Academy Press, 259 p. Marsh, N. A. and G. A. Bishop. 1994. The St. Catherines Sea Turtle Program: Modeling Effective Science Education through Conservation and Research Partnerships, p. 214-215, In Sigma Xi, Proceedings of the Forum on Scientists, Educators, and National Standards: Action at the Local Level, April 14-15, 1994 (Atlanta), 245 p. Stoneburner, D. L. and J. I. Richardson. 1981. Observations on the role of temperature in loggerhead nest site selection. Copeia 1981: 238-241.Van Meter, V. B. 1992. Florida’s Sea Turtles. Florida Power and Light, 60 p. Directory: resources -> docs docs -> Efca eastern District and TouchGlobal, the crisis response ministry of efca docs -> Description docs -> The importance of Regional Jets in the future European Air Transport and the role of Alenia Aeronautica docs -> 2016 ten section Work Programme en docs -> Turkey-eu joint consultative committee docs -> Communicating turkey docs -> Final report docs -> Corridors have docs -> Payment Reform Government docs -> Payment Reform Government Download 0.86 Mb. Share with your friends:
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