Sea Turtle Nesting Season Successful So Far
by Jocelyn Wright, Ocracoke's lead biotechnician for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The Seashore’s sea turtle nest excavation program has become quite popular in the past three or four summers and therefore I’m happy to answer questions regarding this topic on behalf of the National Park Service to keep islanders and our visitors informed about sea turtles and their nesting habits.
In previous years there have been several sea turtle nest excavations and live hatchling releases on the island so why haven’t there been any public events this summer? The answer has multiple reasons, especially this season, with the unusually early hurricane hitting our coastline on July 4th weekend.
First, and foremost, safety of the visitors and staff members is a very important consideration. In order to have a safe public excavation the nest location must be accessible to all visitors whether they are on foot or in a vehicle. These areas are carefully chosen in order to make the experience pleasurable as well as safe as possible. This season the majority of nests were laid in more remote areas of the beach –away from ORV ramps and pedestrian walk-overs – so many of the 42 nests on Ocracoke Island were not in appropriate or easily accessible locations for a public excavation.
Secondly, the park does not announce excavations if the nest’s viability is in question. Nests can be infertile or can be impacted by natural events, such as repeated ocean overwash from storm and lunar events. Unsuccessful nests will often have a strong, offensive odor and little to no hatching activity which creates an unpleasant experience for visitors and their family. This is not the typical experience the average visitor and their children wish to remember as part of their vacation or if they only have the opportunity to see a sea turtle nest excavated once or twice during their lifetime.
Thirdly, the Resource Management staff excavate all nests and when live hatchlings are found there is an opportunity to hold a public release in the evening. The twenty nests that have hatched on Ocracoke this summer to date had very successful emergence rates; most of the hatchlings exited the nest cavity. The few live hatchlings that were found were not enough to hold a public event. For perspective, at one public release during the 2012 season over 160 visitors gathered to view 15 hatchlings being released. The highest number of live hatchlings we’ve found in nest excavations during the 2014 season has been three.
Education and involving visitors in the Seashore’s natural resources through public events is a priority for staff of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and we anticipate more to come in the summers ahead. And it is not over yet! Eight nests are still incubating on Ocracoke Island and although the island’s sea turtle nests did receive impacts from unusual storm events and high tides, more nests have successfully hatched than were lost to the overwash events. Stay tuned for more and thank you for your interest in the sea turtle nesting activities of Cape Hatteras National Seashore!
Thanks to Jocelyn for providing this update for the Current's readers!
