Grant: 09-044R
Project Title: Comparing the Fitness and Survivorship of Nourished and Native Beach Hatchlings
Project Manager: Mario Mota
Organization: East Coast Biologists, Inc. (Non-Profit Organization)
Grant Amount: $9194.00
Completion Date:

Summary: This project will compare the physiology and swimming behavior of hatchlings emerging from nourished beaches to those emerging from native beaches. Data show that nests laid in nourished beaches with high sand compactness and high sand calcium carbonate, are subjected to incubation conditions that can negatively impact hatchling physiology. Nourished beach hatchlings had relatively smaller body depth, were more dehydrated, had lower blood glucose, higher blood lactic acid, and crawled slower than native beach hatchlings. This experiment will monitor the incubation of loggerhead sea turtle eggs in nourished and native beach sands. After hatching, a subset of emerging hatchlings will undergo a physical evaluation that includes blood analyses to document baseline physiological differences derived from the beach environment. A second subset of hatchlings will be placed in a circular pool and their behavior and swimming speed monitored for 24- hours. By comparing how native and nourished beach hatchlings behave during their swimming frenzy, it will give us an indication of their ability to swim away from their natal beach and reach offshore waters. Differences in hatchling swimming fitness will be analyzed based on their physiology and incubation conditions. These will be correlated to different beach nourishment practices such as sand CaCO3 concentrations, sand compactness and beach tilling. Knowledge of how sand physical properties can impact hatchling survivorship will help State regulators determine the best practices for beach nourishment and protect the future of this species.

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