Bennie (RRV371/YYN753) - Sea Grant

TAMUG Kemp's Ridley Nesters - 2011

A project of Texas A&M University at Galveston.

click map for full-size version Bennie (RRV371/YYN753) is a headstart Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that nested on the west end of Galveston Island, Texas near the Seascape Condominiums on 28 June 2011. She also nested in same general area of Galveston Island on 13 June 2011. Bennie is the third Kemp's ridley nester outfitted with a Sirtrack KiwiSat 101 satellite transmitter by TAMUG’s Sea Turtle & Fisheries Ecology Research Lab (STFERL) in 2011. She was previously satellite tagged by the STFERL in 2007 and tracked for nearly 2 years (710 days) before transmissions ceased. Bennie was released at her nesting location on Galveston Island the same day she nested.

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Species: Kemp's Ridley
Life Stage: Adult
Gender: Female
Release Date: 2011-06-28 21:28:00
Release Location: Galveston Island
Last Location: 2012-03-02 11:58:47

Background

Bennie (RRV371/YYN753) is a 1992 year-class, headstart Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that nested on the west end of Galveston Island, Texas near the Seascape Condominiums on 28 June 2011. Her clutch of 113 eggs was excavated by biologists from Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) and transported to Padre Island National Seashore for incubation and subsequent hatchling release. Bennie also nested in same general area of Galveston Island on 13 June 2011.
Bennie is the third Kemp's ridley nester outfitted with a Sirtrack KiwiSat 101 satellite transmitter by TAMUG’s Sea Turtle & Fisheries Ecology Research Lab (STFERL) in 2011. She was previously satellite tagged by the STFERL in 2007 and tracked for nearly 2 years (710 days) before transmissions ceased. Her previous track can be found at "TAMUG Kemp's Ridley Nesters 2007-2008". Satellite tracking of Bennie and other Kemp's ridley nesters by the STFERL in 2011 is part of collaborative Texas Sea Grant and Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) studies assessing impact of Hurricane Ike on sea turtle nesting activity on the upper Texas coast and impacts from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Bennie was released at her nesting location on Galveston Island the same day she nested. She was named in 2007 as a gesture of thanks to Ben Rhame, former Coastal Management Program Team Leader at the Texas General Land Office, for his support of sea turtle research at TAMUG.