Dry Tortugas National Park sea turtle monitoring program, Monroe County, Florida [Annual Report--1997 season]

Reardon, Russell; Mansfield, Katherine

The 1997 Dry Tortugas Sea Turtle Monitoring Program recorded a total of 451 turtle crawls. Of these crawls, 434 (96.2%) were by loggerheads (Caretta caretta), and 17 (3.8%) were by green turtles (Chelonia mydas). A total of 217 nests and 234 false crawls were documented within the park, with seven nests and 10 false crawls identified as green. The greatest amount of turtle activity was recorded on East Key (53.7%), followed by Loggerhead Key (39.5%). The average loggerhead incubation period was 52.8 days, with an average clutch size of 105.0 eggs. The average incubation period of green turtle nests was 51.5 days, with an average clutch size of 112 eggs. Severe weather, coupled with spring high tides, inundated 40 nests with saltwater. Twenty two of these nests were lost completely to tidal erosion. The average hatching success of all inventoried nests was 72.6%, with an average release rate of 71.5% (n=191). The average loggerhead hatching success was 72.3%, with a release rate of 71.2%. The average green turtle hatching success was 84.4%, with a release rate of 83.3%. An estimated total of 20,078 eggs were documented this n, releasing an estimated 14,358 hatchlings to the Gulf of Mexico. During the last three years of daily monitoring encompassing e entire nesting season, the Dry Tortugas Sea Turtle Monitoring Program has recorded a total of 1,652 turtle crawls, including 924 false crawls and 728 nests, producing an estimated 58,958 eggs A total of 44,978 hatchlings are estimated to have been released to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 2,730 crawls, including 1,088 nests and 1,642 false crawls, have been recorded by researchers within the Park since 1982.