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Sea Turtles Timed to Nest for Sea Island Summit
Georgia Students to Name Turtles in Honor of Visiting G8 Nations |
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NUNAVUT, NW TERRITORIES, May. 5 -/E-Wire/--
This summer while foreign leaders are deciding the economic future of the world during the G-8 Summit at Sea Island Georgia, loggerhead sea turtles will be working to conserve the future of their species on the very same shores. These turtles have been nesting along Georgia's coast for centuries, but this year there will be a new twist. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Wildlife Resources Division (WRD) will be fitting 12 nesting female loggerhead sea turtles with satellite transmitters to determine their movements along Georgia's coastline. Children in grades K-5 will have the unique opportunity to name these sea turtles and then they will be able to follow their movements via the Internet at www.seaturtle.org. The final names selected for the turtles will be representative of the countries participating in the G8 Summit which include the United States, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, and Russia.
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"While the G8 Summit will only be in Georgia for a few days, we want the world to see the diversity of our beautiful coast and to appreciate the efforts underway to conserve and protect our barrier islands and the wildlife that depend on these unique areas," said DNR Commissioner Lonice Barrett. "At the same time, we want Georgia children to understand the significance of our state hosting this important meeting of world leaders. Allowing children to name the turtles involved in an important conservation project for the countries participating in the G8 Summit is the perfect way to tie these messages together."
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Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is Georgia's primary nesting turtle. Female sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs from May through August, and the hatchlings return to the sea approximately 60 days later. The turtle telemetry project, made possible by donations from National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, The Environmental Network (T.E.R.N.) and the U.S. Navy, will document movements of Georgia's adult loggerhead sea turtles during the nesting season and compare their distributions with Georgia's shrimp trawling activity. The study will also document migratory pathways and post-nesting forging habitats (home range) of Georgia's nesting loggerhead turtles and compare their distributions with known fishing activity.
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"Unfortunately, very little is known about the migratory movements and habitat usage of loggerhead sea turtles at this time," said Mark Dodd, WRD Wildlife Biologist and project coordinator. "We hope the information gathered from the tagged turtles will help wildlife management agencies develop strategies to aid in the long-term recovery of this species."
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Adult females will be captured after they nest on Cumberland, Jekyll Island and Sapelo Islands and fitted with transmitters. Following release, a satellite will monitor transmitters during daily passes over coastal Georgia. Turtle locations will be plotted on nautical charts and will be available for viewing at www.seaturtle.org under the Georgia Tracking Project. The transmitters will send multiple signals daily while the turtles are actively nesting and less frequently (bi-weekly) following the active nesting period.
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The protection and management of loggerhead nesting populations has occurred in Georgia since as early as 1964, when researchers established a nest protection program on Little Cumberland Island as a result of concern over declining nesting stocks. By 1989, all of Georgia's barrier islands except for Williamson, Little Tybee, Pine and Wolf Islands were being monitored. In 1994, island managers adopted the Georgia Loggerhead Recovery and Habitat Protection Plan to standardize nest management procedures for the state. Loggerhead sea turtle nesting on Georgia beaches reached a 14-year high in 2003 when more than 1,500 nests were counted on Georgia's beaches.
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Official rules and entry forms to submit names for the sea turtles involved in this research project are available at www.georgiawildlife.com. Click "Nongame Wildlife and Plants" and then click on "Sea Turtle Telemetry Project". Entry forms or more information also is available by calling (770) 918-6400. The deadline for entries is May 15, 2004.
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/SOURCE:
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Seaturtle.org |
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05-05-2004 |
/CONTACT:
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Beth Brown,
Public Affairs Program Manager
(770) 918-6400 |
| /WEB SITE: |
http://www.seaturtle.org
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