Marina Observation of Sea Turtles: Establishing a Database of Intracoastal Waterway Green Sea Turtles in Northeast Florida

As conservation efforts regarding green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, continue, it is imperative to document behaviors and foraging habits/habitats of understudied populations. We have conducted an 18-month study dedicated to photographing the local population feeding alongside floating docks within...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animals (Basel) 2023-01, Vol.13 (2), p.279
Main Authors: McGinley, Edward, Cogley, Avery, Palmer, Leslie, McCaul, Patricia, Longo, Lilli, Silvennoinen, Jasmine, Martin, Angela, Gomez, Josalyn, Bachmaier, Sydney, Mackey, Michaela, Kao, Chris, Eastman, Scott, Eastman, Catherine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Aquatic reptiles
Docks
Endangered & extinct species
Endangered species
Estuaries
Floating docks
Foraging behavior
head scales
intracoastal waterway
Intracoastal waterways
juvenile green sea turtle
Marinas
Pattern matching
Populations
Reptiles & amphibians
Sea turtles
Volunteers
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:As conservation efforts regarding green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, continue, it is imperative to document behaviors and foraging habits/habitats of understudied populations. We have conducted an 18-month study dedicated to photographing the local population feeding alongside floating docks within the Guana Tolomato Matanzas estuary to determine the capability of matching head scale patterns efficiently through a pattern matching program: HotSpotter. To date, 195 unique sea turtles have been identified between two different marinas located in St. Augustine, FL. Of these, 98 were spotted more than once, with 39 of them being "tracked" for longer than a year. Temperature trends were also monitored in conjunction, showing that more individuals appeared during the warmer months of the year. The evidence, overall, indicates that these locations host a resident population of green sea turtles, leading to the need for a discussion on potential threats originating from the usage of these marinas by humans.
ISSN:2076-2615
2076-2615
DOI:10.3390/ani13020279