Southeast coast sees fewer turtle nests

© 8/7/04 - The Associated Press

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8/7/2004, 8:12 p.m. CT
EMERALD ISLE, N.C. (AP) — About half the usual number of loggerhead turtles have nested between North Carolina and Florida this season, and scientists have no explanation for the drop.

"It's one of the lowest nesting years through the last 20," said Larry Crowder, a professor at Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort and member of the Atlantic Loggerhead Sea Turtle Recovery team. "I don't think it's time to say, 'Oh my God, loggerheads are going extinct.' It's just a bad year. Obviously that can't go on too long."

Loggerheads have laid about 300 nests in North Carolina and more are expected to lay eggs through August, said Matthew Godfrey, biologist for the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Sea Turtle Project. The total will still be far below the 750 nests laid in a typical year, Godfrey said.

Other Southeastern states where loggerheads primarily nest — South Carolina, Georgia and Florida — report similar declines. Loggerheads, the most common sea turtle, are listed as threatened, meaning they could become endangered.

Scientists have several theories about the decline. An upwelling of cold water from the deep ocean last summer settled on the continental shelf and lowered surf temperatures along the Atlantic Coast. That may have reduced the food supply, slowed turtles' reproductive processes or both.
"If the water is cold, then the turtles are cold," said Blair Witherington, research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "And if they are cold, they don't do anything very fast including the metabolic process of making eggs."

The last time North Carolina had a big dip in nesting was in 1993, when 485 nests were recorded. The following year, there were 1,021 nests.
Female turtles nest every two to five years. If they don't have enough to eat, they store protein for an extra year before nesting.

Media Contact: Tim Lucas at 919-613-8084 or tdlucas@duke.edu