Cape Hatteras National Seashore Sea Turtle Monitoring and Management Program: 2018 Annual Report
Thompson W, Doshkov P, Losch K, Wright J, Campbell C, Sweeney N, Ziegler TA. 2019. Cape Hatteras National Seashore Sea Turtle Monitoring and Management Program: 2018 Annual Report. National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Manteo, NC
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore), located on the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Nags Head, NC, to Ocracoke Inlet, contains many ecologically important habitats including those that support sea turtles. Sea turtle nesting activity is monitored annually on the Seashore from May through September. In 2018, 166 sea turtle nests (155 loggerhead, 6 Kemp’s ridley, and 5 green) and 137 false crawls (135 loggerhead, 1 green, and 1 Kemp’s ridley) were documented at the Seashore. The first documented nesting activity was documented on May 17 and the last was on August 30. The mean number of eggs per nest (clutch size) was 108.1. Mean hatch success for all nests was 58.6% while mean emergence success was 51.0%. Seashore staff found 0.8% of eggs depredated and 0.1% of the hatchlings lost. Significant storm and tide events resulted in 19 nests washed away, 8 complete nest failures and multiple partial nest failures. Pedestrian, off-road vehicle (ORV), and dog intrusions were documented in protected areas, but there was no evidence that these intrusions affected nest success. The Seashore documented 156 stranded sea turtles in 2018.
- Type
- Unpublished Report
- Authors
- Thompson, William; Doshkov, Paul; Losch, Konrad; Wright, Jocelyn; Campbell, Carolyn; Sweeney, Nicholas; Ziegler, Tracy
- Date of Issue
- 2019-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Cape Hatteras National Seashore
- Units
- CAHA
- Keywords
- shorebird management, shorebird monitoring, shorebirds
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Amphibians and Reptiles