2021 quick trips

Various locations along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Coast are home to sea turtle rescue stations, or recovery hospitals. One of these rescue places is on Jekyll Island. We knew so little about these valuable places so were glad to walk through and learn. This brick building used to be the power station for the island.

Inside hanging from the ceiling is the skeleton of a sea turtle.

original power plant building

This power plant began to bring new light to evenings at the Jekyll Island Club in 1903.

Plans to convert the club from gas lights to electric began in 1892 for after the end of the 1893-1894 winter season. However, a yellow fever epidemic in Brunswick, just south of here, resulted in the club being closed that year. This closure meant the club didn’t have the funds to complete planned improvements. A financial panic in May 1894 further delayed construction.

Finally in 1902 the club contracted with a company to build the power plant and install 2 coal-fired Westinghouse generators. When members arrived in January 1903, for the first time they were greeted with the warm glow of electric lights throughout the Club House and the surrounding landscape.

power house to sea turtles

This brick Power Plant was closed to the public in 2001 because of structural concerns and the overall condition of the building.

Ground broke on the sea turtle center project in February 2004 with work beginning in earnest that summer.

In May 2007, a rehabilitated, active historic building was ready to house the sea turtle center.

Sea turtles are large, ocean-dwelling reptiles that have lungs and need to breathe air on the surface.

Like their distant ancestors (land turtles and terrapins), they lay soft-shelled eggs on land. Unlike their cousins, adult sea turtles can swim for years in the ocean.

Since they don’t have diaphragms, sea turtles flap their flippers to cause pressure changes within the lung cavity; this movement helps with both breathing in and out.

Multi-chambered lungs full of flexible spongy tissue allow sea turtles to extract more oxygen from the air than any other reptile.

Because they are so efficient at oxygen exchange, sea turtles can remain underwater for hours, depending on their activity level.

welcome to the center

The Georgia coast, less than 100 miles long, has an outstanding diversity of life. Without a mainland coastline, the state’s unique series of barrier islands, productive salt marshes, and nutrient-rich tidal seas provide habitats for an abundance of marine and coastal wildlife.

Of the 7 species of marine turtles throughout the world’s oceans, 5 species actually nest, forage, or migrate through local waters. All sea turtles are listed as either threatened or endangered and so are protected by federal and state laws.

This center is one of only a few “turtle hospitals” in the U.S. The center provides veterinary care for sea turtles along the Atlantic Coast.

Nearly 12,000 years ago when North America was in its latest glacial period, the northern areas of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas were way too cold for sea turtle eggs to develop, When the temperatures got warmer, turtles moved north to colonize the shoreline.

Scientists studying DNA have determined that female loggerheads nesting from northern Florida up to Virginia belong to a genetically distant population from those turtles nesting in other areas of Florida. This northern group is critically important to the recovery of loggerhead sea turtles.

Sea turtles have existed for at least 250 million years—since the time of dinosaurs. Let’s keep them alive!

5 species of local sea turtles

Let’s learn about the differences so we can tell them apart.

Loggerhead. Named for their large skull and crushing jaws, their reddish-orange “shell” is often covered with living organisms that love to ride along. (More about these organisms toward the end of this post.)

Adult loggerheads reach reproductive maturity at 30-35 years of age. Their average weight is over 250 pounds, and their “shell” can be about 3 feet long. These are the sea turtles that we see nesting most frequently on Georgia’s beaches.

2. Green. This turtle has a small, slender head and serrated lower beak. The shell is brown, not green. They get their name from the color of their body fat and muscle that is tinted from a consistent diet of algae and sea grasses.

This turtle’s average body weight is around 355-350 pounds, and their “shell” is often over 3 feet long. They are the largest of the hard shelled sea turtles.

3. Leatherback. The deepest diving reptile, leatherbacks have a flexible “shell” and thick layers of fat to insulate them from heat loss. Their rigid respiratory pathways (similar to other deep diving marine mammals) allow them to venture nearly 4000 feet below the ocean’s surface.

This sea turtle is the largest living species of marine turtle. Males can weight more than 2000 pounds and can sometimes exceed 9 feet in length.

Leatherbacks often feed in cold northern waters and then migrate thousands of miles to nest on warm, tropical beaches, such as those in the Caribbean. A few leatherneck nests (1 to 5 a year) are found on Georgia’s beaches.

4. Kemp’s Ridley. These are the smallest of all marine turtles. Their “shells” are a dull, grayish brown and are nearly circular in shape. Though they are the most abundant turtle in Georgia’s coastal waters, nearly all females nest in large groups on a single beach in Rancho Nuevo, Mexico.

The weight of an average adult weight is 80-100 pounds, and has a “shell” length of about 2 feet. They reach reproductive maturity at a young age of 10-15 years.

In 1947, an estimated 40,000 females nested in a single day, but by 1994, that number had dropped to fewer than 350 nesting females a year, making them the most critically endangered sea turtles in the world. With conservation efforts, the nesting numbers is now up to 12,000 annually.

5. Hawksbill. These sea turtles were named for their narrow skull and bird-like beak that they use to dine on a specialized diet of sponges.

Hawksbills live worldwide in tropical seas where they play an important role in maintaining the health of coral reefs because their diet of sponges helps to maintain the balance between these sponges and the coral.

One of the smaller sea turtles, they weight only 100-150 pounds and reach a “shell” length of 30-36 inches.

They have been hunted almost to extinction for their beautiful yellow and brown “tortoise” shells used to make jewelry and other products.

sea turtle nests

The best nests for sea turtles are above high tide lines to protect them from ocean waves and roots from vegetation close to the forest edge.

Nests made elsewhere are subject to the following dangers:

1, Below high tide line: eggs can be washed away by the tides and water can penetrate the eggs and drown the developing embryo
2. Underneath artificial light: while incubation isn’t affected by artificial lights, when the eggs hatch, the hatchlings can become mis-oriented and walk toward the stronger light rather than the light of the ocean at night
3. Nests in vegetation: plant roots can invade these nests and they can be found more easily by raccoons or feral hogs

Warm sand acts as a nursery ground for the vulnerable eggs during the 60 days it takes for them to develop. Reptilian eggs are soft and leathery, resembling slimy ping-pong balls. The embryo grows as it receives nourishment from its yolk sac and breathes through the thin, porous shell. I wish we would have been able to get a cut-away picture of these eggs in a nest but the glare was too much. It seemed as though 50 or so eggs were in the nest dug into the sand.

In Georgia, nests begin hatching in mid-July. With the help of a pointed egg tooth, the hatchlings escape from their eggs. Over several days, a virtual escalator of tiny turtles ascend to the surface.

One night, as the temperature drops, a mass emergence occurs as the hatchlings leave the next and instinctively scramble to the sea.

Leaving at night may help them evade hungry predators and keep them from drying out in the sun. Getting all of the hatchlings to the water may last for several days as they instinctively find the sea and swim to deep water.

We found it so interesting that this whole process was into their DNA millions of years ago.

As we’ve said, artificial light can create a problem for these young turtles.

Emerging hatchlings instinctively crawl toward the brightest part of the horizon (normally over the ocean) and away from the darkness of the sand dunes and vegetation.

However, bright, artificial lights can mis-orient them on their journey, often leading them into harm’s way. Even the bright sky glow from distant city lights can confuse them.

So how do we help? During mid-July if you’re on one of their nesting beaches, turn out bright porch or outdoor lights that can be seen from the beach. Cover flashlights with “turtle-friendly” red film, or better yet, leave flashlights at home and walk by the light of the moon.

male or female?

This information is so interesting; let’s take a closer look at it.

Since sea turtles lack sex chromosomes, the hatchlings’ gender is determined by the temperature of the sand. Warmer incubation conditions produce females, while cooler temperatures result in male hatchlings. Makes sense to me because I seek warm weather while Barney likes the temperature cooler.

An individual nest can produce both sexes depending on the season and other conditions. Turtles in the center of a nest are being warmed by other eggs and so are likely to become female. On the other hand, eggs on the outer edge tend to be cooler and so may produce males.

The critical period of gender determination is in the middle third of incubation, at approximately 20-40 days. Other external factors can determine gender too, such as a heavy rain, a heat wave, or even the shade from a tall building.

migration

Sea turtles migrate to 4 different areas.

Let’s look at these areas in more detail.

sargassum – The protection of the Sargasso Sea provides a place to hide and plenty of small prey items to feed upon. We’ll look at this more in depth.

*New England cold water* – a major storm pushes sea turtles into this area from the Gulf Stream current until they can swim back to the safety of the Sargasso Sea.
*Azores* – the North Atlantic subtropical gyre can take the sea turtles to this series of islands in the eastern North Atlantic
*Caribbean Sea* – this gyre close to the sargassum can take the sea turtles to the warm Caribbean water.

Are some of these terms unfamiliar to you too? Let’s learn about them.

Sargassum is large brown algae with berrylike, gas-filled bladders that support flotation. It moves with an ocean current and forms large mats of floating ecosystems in the North Atlantic Ocean. This area is referred to as the Sargasso Sea, and it cover nearly 5 million square kilometers of open ocean (3,106,856 miles).

Sargasso Sea supports millions of dollars annually in eco-tourism, recreation, and commercial fishing. It also provides vital ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and oxygen production. Finally it’s an important habitat for many species like sea turtles, whales, tuna, and American and European eels.

Okay, I don’t know what “carbon sequestration” is so I looked it up: “the long-term removal, capture or sequestration of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to slow or reverse atmospheric CO2 pollution and to mitigate or reverse global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is naturally captured from the atmosphere through biological, chemical, and physical processes.”

I feel smarter now.

The Sargasso Sea covers the Atlantic Ocean.

Gyre is most frequently used as an oceanographic term that refers to vast circular systems of ocean currents, such as the North Atlantic Gyre, a system of currents circling clockwise between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

The 5 major gyres are the North and South Pacific Subtropical Gypres, the North and South Atlantic Subtropical Gyres, and the Indian Ocean Subtropical Gyre.

After swimming miles from the nests they had known, sea turtle hatchlings seek out the offshore floating sargassum where they can forage for food and grow in relative safety.

lab for sea turtle rescue

The center is primarily know for the rescue work they do for hurt sea turtles. From 2010-2015, around 76% of sea turtle strandings (or beachings) in Georgia were caused by human activities, such as commercial fishing and boat strikes.

Since the center’s doors opened in 2007, many sick and injured sea turtles stay here while they recover.

The lab where much of the research is done. We’ll see the rest of the recovery area soon.

survival time for each stage of life

Hatchlings must avoid many natural predators and human activity on the beach that keeps them from reaching the ocean. With luck, they’ll reach the currents of the Sargasso Sea.

Juvenile: In the Sargasso Sea, the sea turtles will live and grow for the next 10-12 years. Then they’ll return to shallow coastal waters and feed on bottom-dwelling invertebrates for over a decade.

hatching, juvenile, sub-adult, and adult

Sub-Adult: If still living after 3 decades of avoiding hazards, they’ll move to deeper waters as a sub-adult sea turtle.

Adult: At approximately 34 years of age, the sea turtle has reach its reproductive maturity and returns to the region where they were born to mate and nest. They may even live longer than most humans.

catching a ride on loggerheads

Loggerhead sea turtles are often joined by others who want to ride along.

Barnacles normally grow on the “shell” of loggerheads and horseshoe crab shells.

Columbus crab has its best quality habitat on the loggerhead where they are larger than they are when found living elsewhere in the marine environment.

Species of sea anemone have also been found living on the loggerhead shell. Interestingly, a loggerhead with 3 propeller scars across the shell had about 200 sea anemones in the 1-inch deep defect.

Several leech species have been found on loggerheads, especially when they are ill. These leeches actually suck blood and can transmit various disease agents. They can be treated by placing the turtle in a freshwater bath.

trash

Dumping our trash in the ocean creates horrible problems for the sea turtles (and others).

The worst item for sea turtles in this picture are plastic bags that last in the water for 10-20 years

In this picture, the worst item for sea turtles are aluminum cans that can last in the water for 80-200 years.

And in this picture, the worst item is monofilament fishing line that can last 600 years. However, the length of time for glass bottles and jars is undetermined.

a solution

Trawl nets are used in coastal waters to catch shrimp and other marine animals, but they also catch everything in their path, including sea turtles. While a resting turtle may be able to go without air for 30 minutes or more, struggling in a net reduces the time significantly that a turtle can survive underwater.

box turtles

Box turtles are the common land turtles in the Eastern United States. They get their name from their ability to pull their limbs and head completely into their shells because of a specialized hinge on the bottom of the shell.

Generally they range from 6-8 inches in length in adulthood and can live up to 100 years.

We got to see these box turtles in their home settings when we were staying at Georgia’s state parks earlier this year during our Covid-19 trips from May to July.

Box turtles can have home ranges as large as 9 football fields and are common on Jekyll Island as well as the rest of southern Georgia.

If they’ve been removed from their home, they’ll spend all their time trying to find their way back, which means they’ll cross roadways. So be careful when driving, and never move box turtles far from where you find them or try to take them home with you.

Hurt box turtles are also helped here.

rehab pavilion

Behind the education center where we’ve been is the Rehabilitation Pavilion where the real work is done.