Hawksbill Turtles Head to the Mangroves!

Scientists made a recent discovery: a population of critically endangered Hawksbill turtles, thought to have been wiped out in the eastern Pacific from Mexico to Peru, has survived by occupying not their traditional coral reefs but a a new habitat ~ mangrove estuaries.

According to Alexander Gaos of Biology Letters, the finding is significant because it suggests that sea turtles can change to improve their odds of survival.

"We now know there are about 500 adult female Hawksbill turtles in at least four inland mangrove saltwater forests in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Ecuador," Gaos said in an interview. "They are among the last remaining strongholds for this species."

Scientists have been working together with coastal villages, to "create community-based conservation programs," said Bryan Wallace, director of science and strategy for Conservation International's marine flagship species program. "All egg clutches are being relocated to hatcheries."

Prior to this discovery, it was believed that the species preferred open coasts and coral reefs in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific regions. As recently as 2007, Hawksbill turtles were considered nearly extinct.

In order to map the travel patterns of the eastern Pacific's remaining turtle population, scientists have attached satellite transmitters to the backs of 12 adult females. 83% of those turtles remained settled in the mangrove forests.  And while it is unclear why they have adapted to this habitat, it's good news for the Hawksbills, especially considering the rapidly disappearing coral reefs they formerly called home.

 

"It is possible that global climate change could, at some point in the future, drive marine turtles into estuaries such as these," Gaos said. "However, at this point, we do not believe that what we are seeing is a pattern that occurred over the past 20 to 30 years."

These findings support the results of a survey released last year, which showed the largest known rookeries of the turtle to be in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

The earliest reports of the Hawksbill turtle date to diaries of 18th century pirates and missionaries who chronicled the growth of "tortoiseshell" industries in northwest Mexico.

Cornerstoregoddess sea turtle jewelry

LA Times article.

Good Sea Turtle News

I recently read an article (below) that predicted record-breaking success for loggerhead sea turtle nests, and to celebrate, a sea turtle charm seemed appropriate.

 

Sea turtle nests might set records, including first leatherback recorded on Hilton Head

By ALLISON STICE

With more than a month remaining in sea-turtle nesting season, reports of loggerhead nests are on pace to break records for some areas of Beaufort County.

And already, leatherback turtle nests have been documented on Hilton Head Island for the first time.
The largest sea turtles, endangered leatherbacks, reach lengths of more than 6 feet and weigh as much as 2,000 pounds.

Some of the tracks left by the leatherbacks' crawl were wider than volunteers are tall, according to Amy Tressler of the Coastal Discovery Museum, who manages Hilton Head's Sea Turtle Protection Program.

Leatherback eggs are the size of racquetballs, far larger than the golf ball-sized eggs of loggerheads, the area's most common sea turtle.

"The leatherback is a huge highlight to the season over here," Tressler said.

Last year, Hilton Head had a record 239 loggerhead nests. This year, volunteers and conservationists on daily dawn beach patrol have already tracked 209, Tressler said.

The leatherback, which can nest several times in a season, left three nests.

Leatherbacks typically nest south of Hilton Head -- in Florida or the Caribbean -- but occasionally swim farther north, said DuBose Griffin, sea turtle coordinator with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

It's likely that the same turtle laid another nest at Hunting Island State Park, which recorded its first leatherback nest last year, although the eggs were unfertilized.

Hunting Island, however, isn't likely to break records this year. Volunteers have found 41 nests, compared to last year's 111.

On Harbor Island, project leader Fran Nolan reported 51 loggerhead nests. With a record 66 nests reported in 1999, Nolan said, volunteers are placing bets on whether this will be the top year.
On Fripp Island, 45 nests have been found, already beating last year's total of 25, according to Janie Lackman, the island's turtle patrol leader. Strict enforcement of a rule barring items from being left on the beaches overnight "makes our mamas very happy," Lackman said.

In the past decade, the island's best year was 2000, with 54 nests.

The "really promising" start to the season extends to beaches statewide, with more than 2,450 nests so far, Griffin said. Nest sites are so dense in some areas that not all reports are in yet, Griffin said.

Last year's statewide total through October was 3,150 nests.

Griffin sees that as a sign that a decades-long nesting decline has leveled off, with increased conservation and surveying efforts a likely factor.

The first eggs on Beaufort County beaches were found in May, meaning hatchlings will soon emerge. Volunteers begin monitoring for hatchlings at 50 days after nesting. The average incubation time is 60 days, but hot, dry weather can hasten the process, Tressler said.

Hooray!  Charm here and here.

Read more: http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/06/30/1710543/sea-turtle-nests-might-set-records.html#ixzz1RpgckHFh