North Carolina Long-Term Sea Turtle Monitoring Project

A project of Seaturtle.org/NCWRC/DUML in conjunction with the partners and sponsors detailed below.

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Introduction

This project seeks to find out more about the migratory movements and foraging behavior of loggerhead sea turtles from North Carolina. Four nesting females have been tracked each year from 2003 through 2008 and made impressive movements as far north as New Jersey, and south as far as the Bahamas and Florida Keys. To date the transmitters have provided novel data about the migratory and foraging behavior and natural history of the loggerhead sea turtle in this region (Hawkes et al 2007). Recent studies suggest that rising temperatures in Florida may threaten successful production of loggerhead hatchlings and that the northern subpopulation of loggerhead sea turtles in the southeastern US (Georgia to North Carolina) may represent a buffer against potential climate change (Hawkes et al 2007). This project complements results from previous years and provide insights in to the long-term movement patterns of this critical segment of the largest loggerhead nesting population in the world. Through the deployment of a small number of satellite transmitters over a large timespan we hope to monitor and document potential changes in individual and population level movement patterns.

Project Partners

Seaturtle.org, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and Duke University Marine Laboratory

Project Sponsors

Hammocks Beach State Park, of the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation, facilitated the tagging of Pati