South Atlantic Bight Researching the coastal and offshore waters of the Carolinas and Georgia

1. How many kinds of sea turtles are out there? What ties turtles to the beach? Nesting and Life History Hey, where did that turtle go? Research Projects Walk this way! Volunteer Programs and Education South Atlantic BightResearching the coastal and offshore waters of the Carolinas and Georgia Sea Turtles Click the turtle to download the presentation! Photo credit GA DNR Written by: Jaclyn Daly, Marine Science Consultant Designed by: Carrie Dixon

2. General Characteristics of SAB Sea Turtles Loggerhead Sea Turtles Cool Links to Sea Turtle Websites! MENU How many species of turtles swim through the South Atlantic Bight (SAB)? Sea turtles roam the world's oceans, nesting mostly in tropical to subtropical beaches. All sea turtles have declining populations and are protected in the United States. So which kinds of turtles can you find while beach walking the coast of the SAB? Click on the turtles!

3. BACK MENU General Characteristics of South Atlantic Bight Sea Turtles • The waters of the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) are home to five out of the eight of sea turtles species. Click the turtles to learn more about each species! Green Sea Turtles Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles Hawksbill Sea Turtles Leatherback Sea Turtles Loggerhead Sea Turtles • These large, air breathing reptiles range in size from the rarest and smallest Kemp’s Ridley, weighing in around 100 pounds, to the enormous leatherback which can grow up to 2,000 pounds!

4. BACK MENU Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle • Visit the NOAA Fisheries website to learn more about these threatened turtles • Teach me more about these endangered turtles! Photo courtesy of the NOAA Fisheries website

5. BACK MENU Green Sea Turtles • Visit the NOAA Fisheries website to learn more about these threatened turtles • Teach me more about green sea turtles! Photos By: Ursula Keuper-Bennett/Peter Bennett From the NOAA Fisheries website

6. BACK MENU Leatherback Sea Turtle • Visit the NOAA Fisheries website to learn more about these threatened turtles • Teach me more about these endangered turtles on the web! Click here to learn more about protecting leatherback sea turtles Photo courtesy of the NOAA Fisheries website

7. BACK MENU Hawksbill Sea Turtle • Visit the NOAA Fisheries website to learn more about these threatened turtles • Teach me more about these endangered turtles! Photo courtesy of the NOAA Fisheries website

8. BACK MENU Loggerhead Sea Turtles • Loggerhead turtles are the most common turtle found nesting along the beaches of the SAB. Their brown to reddish carapace color helps distinguish them from other turtles in the region. • The loggerheads that nest from North Carolina to Cape Canaveral, Florida have been identified as a genetically distinct cohort, which only reinforces the need for conservation and proper management programs of this particular population. • The loggerhead population, based on aerial and nesting surveys, has declined in southeast waters. More information on loggerhead turtles can be found at www.carettaresearchproject.org. Photo courtesy of the NOAA Fisheries website Click the loggerhead to learn more turtle facts!

9. BACK MENU Protecting Leatherback Sea Turtles in the South Atlantic Bight Leatherback turtles (http://www.turtles.org/leatherd.htm) are a species of concern in the SAB. In 1995, the Leatherback Contingency Plan was implemented by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the United Fish and Wildlife Service (UFWS). This plan designated the waters from the North Carolina/Virginia border to Cape Canaveral, Florida as the leatherback conservation zone. As part of a management plan to reduce turtle by catch in shrimp trawlers, weekly aerial survey for leatherback sightings are flown in South Carolina annually from April to June. If more than 10 turtles are sighted per 50 nautical miles of tracklines over a numerous surveys, NMFS will close the waters around that trackline to shrimp trawlers, unless those shrimp trawlers have modified turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) that are big enough to allow leatherbacks to escape through a special vent in the funnel-shaped net. Click here to see a picture of a TED!

10. BACK MENU Cool Sea Turtle Links! Click on the link to find out more about sea turtles in your state: North Carolina: http://www.ncaquariums.com/newsite/seaturtlerehab.htm South Carolina DNR: www.dnr.state.sc.us/marine/turtles Georgia: www.gofishgeorgia.com/content/displaycontent.asp?txtDocument=81 Florida Conservation: www.floridaconservation.org/psm/turtles/turtle.htm Many of the turtles found in the SAB will migrate to warmer Caribbean waters. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation (www.cccturtle.org) and the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) (http://www.widecast.org/) have copious amounts of information on sea turtles on their websites.

11. MENU What Ties Turtles to the Beach?Nesting and Life History Even though sea turtles live in the water their whole life, they are born on land! Turtle eggs, the size of ping-pong ball, are laid in a sandy nest which the mother digs 2-3 feet on the upper parts of a beach. That’s why thebeaches on our coast are important for the survival of sea turtles. Click the bucket to learn more about sea turtle nesting! Photos from Follyturtles.com the Folly Beach Turtle Watch Program

12. BACK MENU Sea Turtle Nesting • The beaches of the southeast are critical nesting grounds for sea turtles. After reaching sexual maturity, females return to land only to lay their eggs, while males rarely emerge from the ocean once they hatch. Age of sexual maturity is species dependant, ranging from fifteen to fifty years. • Nesting season in the SAB occurs from April to October. Females will return several times to lay eggs during a nesting season. The number of nests a female will lay is also species dependent. For example, loggerheads lay an average of four clutches/season while leatherbacks nest an average of six times/season. • The temperature in the nest determines if the newborn turtle, called a hatchling, will be a male or female. Warmer temperature in the nest usually means more hatchlings will be female. If the nest is cooler, more males will be born. • Remarkably, a female will return to the region where she was hatched (natal region) to lay her eggs. This is done after traveling hundreds to thousands of miles in ocean currents Photos from Follyturtles.com the Folly Beach Turtle Watch Program

13. MENU Where did that turtle go?Research Projects If there were “frequent swimming miles,” sea turtles would have lots of free trips. Turtles can travel thousands and thousands of miles in ocean currents and gyres during their lifetime. So with such a big ocean, how do we know where they go? Click the turtle to find out! Photo from Caribbean Conservation Corporation and Sea Turtle Survival league Website

14. BACK MENU Sea Turtle Research Where sea turtles go after they hatch and venture into the ocean has long been a mystery for scientists and sea turtle enthusiasts. Once, biologists relied solely upon metal or plastic tags attached to the carapace or flipper of a turtle. When recovered or reported, the tags traced some sea turtle movement. More recent collaborative research has allowed biologists to obtain a better understanding of sea turtle life cycles, dive behavior, and movement patterns. With radio, sonic, and satellite technology researchers can track sea turtles across the world’s ocean basins. You can track sea turtles too! Check out these Sea Turtle Tracking links! Seaturtle.org www.seaturtle.org/tracking Grays Reef Turtle Tag Project www.graysreef.nos.noaa.gov/turtletag.html South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources: www.dnr.state.sc.us/marine/turtles/sonic.htmwww.dnr.state.sc.us/marine/turtles/sat.htm North Carolina Aquarium Turtle Trails: www.ncaquariums.com/turtletrails

15. Human Threats to Sea Turtles Volunteer! Turtle Rehabilitation Education Resources MENU Walk this way!Volunteer Programs and Education Sea turtles have been around for millions of years! But now their survival is threatened. Human activity and increasing development near beaches pose major issues. So how can you help? Just one person can make a difference! Click the turtle topics to learn more!

16. BACK MENU Human Threats to Sea Turtles Sea turtles first emerged 150 million years ago in geologic history, but now their survival is threatened by human activity. The seven species of sea turtles found in US waters are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. However, sea turtles are still being exploited for their meat, shells, and eggs in many parts of the world. In the US, threats to sea turtles include beach erosion, coastal development, diseases, commercial fishing, and boat activity. Maintaining slower speeds while boating will increase your chance of seeing a sea turtle and also give the turtle time to dive when startled. In the fishing industry, the development and implementation of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) have allowed thousands of turtles to escape drowning in commercial trawl nets. Other threats to sea turtles include beach driving, pollution, and marine debris. Photo of a turtle excluder device (TED) from the NOAA fisheries website. Check out more information on TEDs at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/PR3/Turtles/TEDS.html Photo from NOAA Fisheries website

17. BACK MENU Turtle Rehabilitation Unfortunately there are many incidents where sea turtles get hurt or stranded on beaches. There are several places where a sea turtle can receive aid if hurt when in SAB waters. The Topsail Island Rehab Center: www.seaturtlehospital.org in North Carolina is dedicated to help hurt or sick sea turtles recover. After recovery, many turtles are released back into the wild. The South Carolina Aquarium has a turtle rescue and rehabilitation program in partnership with SC DNR and the University of Charleston. In Georgia, sea turtles can be aided to recovery at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island.

18. BACK MENU Volunteer! As a volunteer, you can assist with sea turtle conservation. Many beach communities offer turtle walks, which safely observe turtle nesting behavior. You can help researchers by volunteering your time. These are just a few of the volunteer programs throughout the SAB: • North Carolina • Folly Beach, South Carolina • Jekyll Island, Georgia You can help online by visiting Wildcoast International Conservation Team

19. BACK MENU Turtle Education Resources • Journey of the Loggerhead • The Bridge: General marine education resources • The Ocean Conservancy: A super coloring workbook in English and Spanish! • Education World: A sea turtle tracking lesson • DLESE: Digital library for earth systems education

20. MENU South Atlantic BightResearching the coastal and offshore waters of the Carolinas and GeorgiaSea Turtles Photo credit J&P Johnson To download a copy of this information, please click here. Adobe Acrobat Reader required.