Sea turtle nesting season is here, and in Boca Raton, that is already bringing an unusually big number for one endangered species.
Researchers at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center and Florida Atlantic University say they have seen a record season so far for endangered leatherback sea turtles. The nature center has documented 42 leatherback nests in the area, more than double its typical annual average and the highest number ever recorded locally.
“It’s huge,” Dr. Jeanette Wyneken, professor of biological sciences and director of the FAU Marine Science Laboratory, told WFLX News. “To go all the way up to 42 nests means there’s a lot of turtles nesting this year, which is good news for that species.”
Leatherback sea turtles return to Palm Beach County each year to lay their eggs. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, beaches in the county account for roughly 50 percent of all leatherback nests in Florida.
NOAA Fisheries says the leatherback is the largest sea turtle species and can weigh up to 680 kilograms. It is also the only sea turtle species without scales or a hard shell. The species gets its name from its tough, rubbery skin and has existed in its current form since the age of the dinosaurs.
Leatherbacks can swim more than 16,000 kilometres a year between nesting and foraging grounds, according to NOAA Fisheries. The population is declining, mainly because of fishing bycatch, hunting and the collection of eggs for human consumption. Pacific leatherback turtles are considered most at risk of extinction.
Scientists say the Boca Raton numbers are encouraging, but it is too soon to know if they point to a long-term population recovery. Most nests contain nearly 100 eggs, but only one in 1,000 hatchlings is estimated to survive to adulthood in the wild.
Students at the FAU Marine Lab monitor nests through the season. They place signs and boundaries near nests on the beach and study environmental changes affecting hatchlings.
“What’s exciting is that many of these nests were laid earlier in the season when temperatures weren’t as high,” Emily Turla, laboratory coordinator at the FAU Marine Lab and a Ph.D. student studying integrative biology, told WFLX. “I’m hopeful we’ll see strong hatching success and a lot of baby turtles getting their chance out in the ocean.”
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