First turtle nest laid in New Smyrna Beach; Turtle nesting season officially starts May 1 Turtle nesting season officially starts May 1, but that didn’t matter to the leatherback turtle that nested April 3 in New Smyrna Beach. While April is early to find a sea turtle nest in Volusia County, some turtles in south Florida begin nesting in March. “The 2013 season had the second highest nest count ever in Volusia, with 677 nests laid on county beaches,” said Jennifer Winters, Volusia County’s sea turtle Habitat Conservation Plan program manager. “Of those, 614 were loggerhead nests. The county’s average is around 480 sea turtle nests per season. We don’t know what to expect for 2014, but always hope for a successful season for nesting turtles. Once eggs are laid in a new nest, it takes approximately 48 - 60 days until they will hatch.” Volusia County encourages residents, visitors and business owners to take a proactive role in ensuring a safe and productive nesting season. Floridas east coast is one of two major nesting sites in the world for the loggerhead sea turtle. Green and leatherback sea turtle nests are not as common. At night, female sea turtles that are ready to nest crawl onto the beach from the ocean to lay eggs in the sand. Female sea turtles usually return to the beach where they were born and prefer dark, quiet areas to nest. Under ideal conditions, when baby sea turtles (known as “hatchlings”) emerge from the nest, they crawl out of the nest and into the ocean. Predators abound and sea turtle hatchlings have a very low chance of survival. It is estimated that only one in thousands will survive to reproduce. Lights near the beach create an added danger for sea turtles. Light can deter sea turtles from nesting. Lights also can confuse hatching turtles, leading them away from the ocean. “Unfortunately, artificial lighting that is near nests can lead hatchlings away from the ocean and into streets and storm drains,” Winters noted. Sea turtle hatchlings that are disoriented by lights are also more likely to fall prey to other species such as ghost crabs and raccoons. Beachfront property owners and guests along the coast need to make sure their interior and exterior lights are not visible from the beach. For more information about Volusia County’s sea turtle program, please call 386-238-4668 or 238-4716 or visit volusiaseaturtles.org. For questions about lighting, please call 386-238-477.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 18:41:10 +0000
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