The Georgia Sea Turtle Center and Georgia Southern University hosted the second week of our Teacher Workshop, July 6 through July 12. Participants included Wanda Allen, Haley Fennell, Sean Fretwell, and Betsy Noland. Read below to view personal accounts of their experiences!

“…right under my nose and I never knew it!” This was my expression as I witnessed a loggerhead sea turtle emerging from the surf for the very first time just last night. Growing up in southeast Georgia, I spent many summer days here at Jekyll Island. Not once in 31 years of weekend getaways, day trips, and late night strolls was I ever aware that sea turtles nested here. Today I was able to assist in bringing awareness to four groups of 4-H campers through some of the many educational programs provided here. It felt fantastic to be able to share with them all of my newly found knowledge and hopefully to foster an understanding and appreciation for the jewels that lie right under their nose! ~ Haley Fennell

“This is what teacher training is all about! This is only the third day of the workshop and I’ve already dove right into the mix with prepping food, cleaning tanks, feeding and weighing the turtles, and even grabbing runaway Loggerheads at one o’clock in the morning to gather scientific data. I am inspired by the care and dedication these scientists have for these turtles, and for the cause they so strongly believe in. This opportunity to become a part of the volunteer staff is truly an honor and has really given me a wealth of knowledge and experience to take back to the classroom and share with my students for years to come.” ~ Sean Fretwell

“What an awesome day! The secrets of the island were revealed to us by renowned naturalist, Taylor Schoettle. It’s amazing how one can live with this natural beauty in ones backyard, and yet not know a great deal about it. The natural history of Jekyll Island was uncovered as we walked along the shores of the Clam Creek Picnic Area. With Mr. Schoettle’s guidance, we could actually see the different geologic time periods. Mr. Schoettle’s enthusiasm and passion for preserving the natural beauty of the island is contagious. I can’t wait to go back to my classroom and share the wonderful knowledge and pass this enthusiasm on to my students.” ~ Wanda Allen

“On the night of 7-8-08 we split into two teams and headed out for turtle patrol. We had a positive outlook since it was incoming tide during the peak of an above average nesting season. Around 9:45pm Stephanie spotted a mass at the edge of the water which was the first sea turtle emergence I ever witnessed. We watched the turtle crawl to the dunes and dig nest #117 on Jekyll Island for the 2008 nesting season. By 12:30 am another five sea turtles had come ashore to nest! What an amazing night of turtle watching! This mix of high quality entertainment and conservation education intensified my interest for the sea turtle project while sparking new ideas for teaching life science to my fourth and fifth grade students.”
~Betsy Noland

A special thanks to all 8 of the teachers who participated in our workshop this summer. I also extend my sincerest gratitude to Dr. Marti Schriver and Dr. Kenneth Clark from Georgia Southern University for all their assistance in the development and implementation of this workshop.

~Alicia Marin, Senior Educator

It’s time once again for a sea turtle nesting update! Here are the numbers, hot off the camo cart….As you can see, we have tripled last year’s numbers! WOW!! The record for JI is 204 nests, and although nesting is starting to slow a bit, we still have a few weeks left to try to break the record! We are still conducting nightly Turtle Walks through July 31. Call the Center for reservations!

In other news……Are you wondering about hatching nests? Well, 8 of our nests have hatched so far! And we are beginning our Hatchling Walks THIS SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2008. These walks will be conducted on Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday mornings. We are scheduling through September, but please note these walks (especially later in the season) are subject to availability of hatching nests. Please see our website for more information and call the Center at 912-635-4444 for reservations today!

Happy Turtling!
Stef
Education and Field Coordinator

Since the GSTC opened we have seen several turtles that had been struck by boats. Nearly everyone knew Nicky and Georgia. Currently in house we have four patients that have suffered boat strikes.

Duffy, a subadult loggerhead, was found during a UGA Marine Extension research trawl conducted on the vessel the Bulldog. Duffy has a very severe boat strike to his right carapace/plastron and right rear leg. The rear leg certainly looks the most dramatic as the femur is completely cut in half and has a very large open wound. The carapace/plastron fracture is actually the most severe as it is very deep and potentially is open to the coelomic cavity.

Duffy, has been getting bandage changes twice a week and Dr. Norton has come up with a very creative bandage technique. Instead of your more conventional things to place in the wound the staff has been using honeycomb! Honey has been used for centuries for wound care, and the honeycomb works the same as a wet to dry bandage by pulling out debris from the wound. So far we have seen great success! Duffy needed to be tube fed upon arrival but is now eating well.

Gail, also was found by the research vessel the Bulldog. Gail has a very dramatic wound on her carapace that was also caused by a boat. There was a very large amount of necrotic tissue and bone that has been slowly removed since she arrived. Gail is eating very well on her own and is recieving bandage changes and bloodwork twice a week.

These three new patients join Charlotte, a green sea turtle that has been at the center since December. Charlotte’s shell wounds have healed and she is eating very well! She has actually been placed on a diet to help her lose some weight! She is still not using her rear flippers due to the compression of her spinal cord. The staff is looking into permanent captive placement options. Every year more and more turtles are being hit by boats

Approx 20% of the turtles that strand on Georgia’s coast have been injured by boats. Please remember that if you are boating to go slow and keep an eye out for turtles!

~Jeannie Miller, Aquarist

Our patience has paid off…DYLAN IS FINALLY IN THE OPEN OCEAN! We can all breathe a sigh of relief now!

She’s had a few high-class ‘hits’ over the past few days, which indicates to us that it is an accurate account of her location! This also leads us to believe our hunch about bio-fouling of the transmitter was probably correct and that once she got into clearer waters, the problem would resolve itself.

Please continue to visit our website, BLOG, and tracking pages for all 3 of our released turtles:
Spitfire, Vida and Dylan!

And remember, all three of these turtles are still eligible for adoption as Option #2(costs associated with these turtles incurred after their release in addition to the purchase of the transmitter include satellite time and someone to manage the data) and Griffin as Option #1. Adoption information can be found on our website, on-line store, or by calling the Center at 912-635-4444

Sincerely,
Stefanie
Education and Field Coordinator

Join the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and guest speaker Brian Shamblin on Monday, July 28 from 7-8pm at the Brunswick Library to learn about the fasinating discoveries we are making about sea turtles here on Jekyll Island and all over the world though genetic research. This hour long class is free and no reservations are required.

Brian Shamblin is a pH.D. student in the wildlife ecology and management program in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. His Masters research utilized genetic techniques to study loggerhead sea turtle mating and nesting behavior. His doctoral research expands on this theme, continuing broader studies throughout the southeastern United States coastlines and focusing on fine scale analysis of turtles nesting along Georgia’s coast. July’s focus class will cover how different types of genetic markers are used to address sea turtle biology questions, ranging from determining the number of loggerhead subpopulations nesting in the United States to identifying individual turtles nesting on Georgia beaches.

We have been anxiously watching and waiting to see if, when, and where Dylan will transmit another signal. The tracking map below (found at http://www.seaturtle.org/) shows her last high-class ‘hit’ was on Sunday, July 6.

It is not abnormal to find juvenile sea turtles in the inter-coastal waterways. They are young and curious, much like teenagers, and spend their ‘growing up’ time in the inshore waters. Dylan has extra curiosity being that she’s never been in the ocean. We will continue to monitor her progress as long as she continues to transmit a signal. Dylan is a unique case and while we are not sure of her fate, we sincerely believe that she will (or has already) revert to natural instincts and find her way in this new home.

Since her last high-quality “hit” on July 6, there have been a few lower-grade “hits” which have a lower accuracy rate, however it shows us that she is still transmitting. Please note that a few things could have gone wrong with the transmitter as well. If she is not on the surface long enough, her transmitter will not give us good “hits” (more accurate location). Only the good “hits” are reliable enough to post on her tracking with any credibility. There is also the chance that her transmitter malfunctioned, the battery died, or the transmitter was removed (turtles often scratch their carapaces on rocks or reef ledges). Also because the environment she is in behind Cumberland (mud, marsh grass, etc.), it is possible that the switches, antennae, etc. could be fouled and therefore not transmitting a signal. If she moves into clearer waters, perhaps it will start transmitting again.

Please note that the website that hosts and manages the satellite tracking data(http://www.seaturtle.org/) is a separate entity from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC). We have no control over any problems you are facing with their website. You must contact them directly. Since Dylan was a cooperative project between the GSTC and the Georgia Aquarium, it is listed separately from Vida, Spitfire and Bevelyn. You’ll have to do an ‘animal search’ from the general tracking link.

Please continue to visit our BLOG (accessible through our website www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org) for any updates about Dylan that may become available.

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette

Education and Field Coordinator

Here’s the latest sea turtle nesting numbers for Jekyll Island:

Can you believe it, we’ve more than doubled last year’s numbers with still a couple of weeks of frequent nesting to go! Go turtles!

And more exciting news, hot off the press…one of our nests began hatching last night! It was nest #2, laid May 16, and hatched a bit sooner than we expected! Typically, the first few nests laid early in the season have longer incubation periods, and will often take 65 or so days before they hatch. This nest hatched in 55 days!

Once we get a few more nests hatching on a regular basis and get all of our patrol interns trained on post-hatching excavations, we can start our early morning Hatchling Walks! More info on that to come soon, so check back on our BLOG and website regularly!

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette

Education and Field Coordinator