Nesting Activity of the Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) in South Carolina I: A Rookery in Transition

• Published in: Copeia 1980-12, Vol.1980 (4), p.709-719
• Main Authors: Talbert, O. Rhett, Stancyk, Stephen E., Dean, John M., Will, John M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal nesting; Beaches; Eggs; Female animals; Loggerhead turtles; Nesting sites; Nesting tables; Predation; Sea turtles; Turtles
• ISSN: 0045-8511; 1938-5110
• DOI: 10.2307/1444448

Surveys of nesting activity of Caretta caretta were performed during nesting seasons from 1972 to 1976 on Kiawah Island, SC. A hatchery, operating from 1973-1976, reduced the effect of raccoon predation on nests and usually yielded a high percentage of hatchlings. Nightly beach patrols from 1973-1976 helped reduce raccoon predation among nests left on the beach; egg poaching ceased during the study period. Nesting females were tagged from 1973-1976 to obtain information on the size of the annual nesting population, in-season renesting, and internesting wanderings. A decline in nesting activity from 1973-1976 could not be correlated with any specific human activity, and appears to have reversed itself since 1976. An average of 34.0 ± 3.7 adult and adolescent loggerhead carcasses washed ashore each year. Occurrence of dead turtles was closely related to intensive commercial shrimping activity in nearshore waters. Kiawah Island is undergoing development as a resort, but the builders have followed many of the management recommendations established relative to Caretta. This could explain the stabilization of nesting activity since 1976, and indicates that prudent beach development need not inhibit reproduction by Caretta.