Loggerhead Marinelife Center is a rehabilitation, education, and conservation center focused on sea turtles. Dr. Justin Perrault, Vice President of Research at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, stopped by our studio to give us an update on the sea turtle nesting season and the very latest in research.
Sea Turtle Nesting Season
Nesting season occurs every year in eastern Florida, southeastern Florida from March through the end of October. During this time, tens of thousands of sea turtles come to our coast every single year of three different species to lay their eggs along our beaches.
Dr. Perrault discussed the new research laboratory that has been rebuilt with the new expansion, which includes a sea turtle hormone laboratory. This laboratory will allow researchers to study the hormones of sea turtles, which can help determine the sex of the turtles.
Sea turtles do not have sex chromosomes, so the temperature at which they incubate determines the sex that they are born with. The hormone laboratory will help researchers understand how climate change is affecting the sex ratios of sea turtles.
Research and Conservation Efforts
The Loggerhead Marinelife Center is also working on placing data loggers in the nests to track the temperatures during the incubation period. This will help researchers estimate how many males and females are being produced and how the temperature is affecting the reproduction of the sea turtles.
The center is also involved in satellite tracking of the sea turtles to understand their migration patterns and habitats. Dr. Perrault emphasized the importance of keeping the beaches dark, flat, and clean to help protect the sea turtles and their nests.
The Loggerhead Marinelife Center is open to the public and offers a variety of educational programs and activities. Visitors can see the sea turtles up close and learn about the conservation efforts.
Original reporting: WPBF West Palm Beach — read the source article.
