She thinks about whether oil contamination may decrease survival rates for the hatchlings. Shaver worries a severe drought that has dried Texas' sand and made turtle tracks disappear quickly will make it more difficult for her and her helpers to find and protect this year's eggs. The program has been so successful, some believed the 2020 goal could be reached early.Īnd so, the oil spill and its potential effects have been even more heart-wrenching. Only after they reach the water are the tiny turtles left to contend with the elements on their own. Monitored incubation protects the eggs from coyotes, raccoons, fire ants, vultures and other predators, and netting covering the silver-dollar-sized hatchlings as they make their way from the beach to the water keeps them safe from birds. The turtles' population has long been on the path to recovery. When hatching begins, Shaver sleeps on a cot in her office, caring for the tiny turtles as though they were her babies, making sure to release them into the sea at exactly the right moment. Shaver and her volunteers have patrolled the Texas beaches since 1980, driving SUVs and all-terrain vehicles through heat and humidity to collect turtle eggs in plastic foam boxes and bring them to the National Park Service's lab at Padre Island National Seashore. At that point, the smallest and most endangered sea turtle, could be upgraded to threatened. The goal for the Kemps ridleys is to have 10,000 nesters a season by 2020. The nesting season has long been used to estimate the size of sea turtle populations, and recovery plans for species are based on numbers tallied when females come ashore to lay their eggs. The same is true for some other sea turtle species, although they have just started to nest so it might be too early to have confidence in those numbers. As of May 24, 155 Kemps ridley nests had been spotted on Texas shores - more than in all of last year and more than had been counted by that day in 20. "There is concern that perhaps those turtles have been impacted from the oil and could then have problems with their reproduction," she added.īecause sea turtles don't reach reproductive age for at least a decade, the full effects of the oil spill might not be known for years.īut at the peak of nesting season, their numbers looked good. "There is fear that some of the turtles that took the year off from nesting or after the turtles were done nesting during the 2010 year, that they entered the waters where the oil had been present," said Shaver, explaining that the reptiles often forage off the hard-hit Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi coasts before or after nesting along the Texas Gulf Coast. Fish and Wildlife Service last year were Kemps ridleys. Most of the 456 visibly oiled turtles rescued by the U.S. The Deepwater Horizon explosion on Aphappened when they typically would have been in the area. While scientists in several states are studying the effects of the oil spill on loggerhead and other sea turtles, the Kemps ridley have been of particular concern. Shaver knows this year that each nest she spots has added significance: the turtle that created it survived the largest oil spill in U.S. Each spring, she counts their nests and collects the eggs for safe incubation before releasing the turtles' tiny offspring into the sea. Fish & Wildlife Service, n.d.).They included Donna Shaver, who has been working for more than two decades to save the endangered reptiles. Sexual maturity is reached at 7-15 years of age (U.S. The incubation period for the eggs is 45-58 days (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration 2011, NMFS et al. Females will lay two to three clutches each season with a 100 eggs per clutch. Nesting females are mainly found on the beaches of Rancho Nuevo, Mexico however, they can be found on Texas and Florida beaches also. This process is known as “arribadas” or “arrival” in English. Female Kemp’s ridley sea turtles will arrive to nest at the same time as a large group after gathering offshore of Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. The nesting season is between April and July. Kemp’s ridley sea turtles develop nests in sand along beaches. This process is known as an “arribada,” which means arrival in Spanish. Females arrive to nest at the same time as a large group after first gathering offshore of Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. Kemp’s ridleys primarily eat crabs and other crustaceans. Florida Youth Conservation Centers Network. Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail.Report injured, orphaned or dead manatees.Report fish kills, wildlife emergencies, sightings, etc.
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