Picasso the Gopher Tortoise

The Annual Fall Service Kick-Off event is a time when AmeriCorps programs across the state have the opportunity to come together for a day of service and share in the AmeriCorps spirit. As the AmeriCorps GSTC team prepared to head to Atlanta, there was plenty of anticipation and excitement. There wasn’t however, the expectation of bringing a patient back with them. That is, until the phone rang….

A veterinarian in Albany called the center with a gopher tortoise that had been brought to him in pretty poor condition. He consulted with Dr. Norton and it was decided that the tortoise needed medical care that only the GSTC could provide. The question then became how we get the tortoise from Albany to Jekyll Island.

In a shining example of true AmeriCorps spirit, the Albany Police Cadets, led by Denise Barnes, rose to the challenge and came to the tortoises’ aide. With some guidance from center staff, Denise and her team met with the veterinarian Friday night and transported the tortoise to the Fall Service Kick-Off event Saturday where she met with the AmeriCorps GSTC team.

After an initial triage in a storage closet of the service site the tortoise was tucked in for the day before the long drive back to Jekyll. During the day of service, the AmeriCorps GSTC team was part of the painting crew that was helping to paint murals. The GSTC team was inspired by their service and decided to name the tortoise Picasso.

After a long drive back and spending the night at staff member Jeannie Miller’s house due his critical condition, Picasso finally arrived at the center Sunday morning. Once Picasso got to the center, he received a complete medical evaluation, including x-rays, fluids, antibiotics and tube feeding. Picasso is very severely impacted, emaciated, and likely has multiple infections. Although, his condition is still very critical, the staff and members of the GSTC are fighting to give him every chance possible at recovery.

This one small tortoise and his extra large journey is just one example of the extraordinary impact that AmeriCorps members throughout the nation make on a daily basis.

~ Jeannie Miller AmeriCorps program Coordinator

We have read and listened to your comments & suggestions.  We have discussed our options.  Finally the GSTC is proud to announce, due to popular demand, that we now offer an admission discount to:

Active Duty Military Personnel

Students AND Teachers!

That’s right, you’ll all get $1 off admission price to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center when you present your respective ID.  So you’ll pay $5 instead of $6 when you visit our Center! Who can pass up a deal like that?!

Stroll through our amazing Exhibit Gallery and live the life of a sea turtle; watch our Veterinarian and/or his staff treat our patients through a viewing window looking into our treatment room;  listen to one of our daily programs, visit our patients in the hospital and learn all about why they are here!  Teachers can learn about the different programs the GSTC offers school groups, whether you bring your class here or we come to you! And did you know that all of our programs correspond to the Georgia Performance Standards?

There so much to see at the GSTC! Don’t delay, visit today!

Hope to see us soon!

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette
Marine Field Programs Coordinator

(All proceeds from admissions, special programs, gift shop/online store, Adopt-a-Sea Turtle, Memberships, and Brick sales are used to support the Georgia Sea Turtle Center)

Join us for turtle-inspired Halloween fun!

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center presents
3rd annual Turtleween

Saturday, October 24th from 12-4pm

The GSTC will host a variety of turtle-inspired crafts, games and activities on the Center’s front lawn.
Our special guest,
the Center for Wildlife Education at Georgia Southern, will be on hand with
snakes, creepy crawlers and birds of prey.

Sea you there!

Picking up where Darwin left off:

Studies on the Symbiotic Barnacles of Sea Turtles.

Two decades before he received international notoriety from the publication of ‘On the Origin of Species’, Charles Darwin was recognized as the imminent authority on barnacles. A group of these calcium-shelled crustaceans particularly interested him and helped seed his interest in evolutionary theory. This group is now commonly referred to as ‘turtle barnacles’ and, relatively little has been learned of this interesting group of barnacles in the 125 years following the publication of Darwin’s barnacle monograph.

For the last twelve years Michael Frick has studied this highly symbiotic group of barnacles and has gained some interesting insights into their taxonomy and life history as sea turtle companions. The biology of turtle barnacles is intricately intertwined with the biology of their sea turtle hosts, and as a result, turtle barnacles have evolved some interesting means by which to stay attached to turtles - surprisingly with little or no effect to their hosts. The current focus presentation will examine the variety of turtle barnacles known to date, and what species of turtles they adhere to. It will also illustrate how these animals may help us to understand certain aspects about sea turtle natural history and biology.

Monday October 26, 2009  7:00 p.m.

St. Simons Casino Room 114

530 Beachview Dr # A

St Simons Island, GA 31522

(912) 638-8234

AmeriCorps members: Simon Dilts, Jennifer Breehl, Jessica Self, Ashley Raybould, Renee Pascale, and Melissa Quinn Daniel

A lot of exciting things have been happening at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) this year. After a flurry of activity by our veterinary, education and research departments to prepare ourselves, we welcomed eight full-time members the second week of September as our first AmeriCorps class.

The first week was spent orienting members in topics such as the goals of the GSTC, completing paperwork, gaining insight of activities in GSTC’s various departments, first aid and CPR training, a CNCS Ethic of Service curriculum, and completing more paperwork.. Also during orientation, members had the opportunity to shadow the departments of the GSTC that they wouldn’t be directly serving in to get a better understanding of how everything worked. Throughout the week, Members participated in all of the center’s educational programs. During one program, husbandry member Jessica Thompson was transformed into a sea turtle! She struck a pose and AmeriCorps Next Top Model GSTC was born.

Jessica Thompson, an AmeriCorps Husbandry member, strikes a pose during the Amazing Adaptation program!

Shortly after members arrived, so did a new green sea turtle patient! As a surprise treat, the AmeriCorps team got to name the newest patient! They decided to name him “Ed.” They chose this name because he will be used to educate the public and was exhibiting neurologic symptoms similar to Ed from the movie “The Lion King.”

Ed, the Green Sea Turtle

One of the highlights of orientation week was members participation in the release of three of the center’s patients during a public event on Jekyll Island beach. The members’ character and enthusiasm sparkled as they jumped right in carrying signs and talking to the public about sea turtles and their amazing stories.

Education member Melissa Quinn Daniel carries a sign during the release!

The members’ first week spent at the GSTC gave everyone a preview of the spirit and excitement ahead during this service year!

~ Jeannie Miller, AmeriCorps Programs Coordinator

I recently traveled to Barbados, one of the most eastern windward islands in the Caribbean in late August. Prior to 1998, it was legal to kill sea turtles for food and take their eggs in Barbados. Subsequently, a moratorium was placed and these activities became illegal. A few years later, fisherman noticed that green turtles would eat fish parts that were being discarded off their boats. This situation has evolved into a lucrative business for hotels and other groups in Barbados. Hundreds of people pay to snorkel and feed the turtles. Unfortunately this activity has gotten out of hand and is now potentially having negative impacts on the turtles. During my visit, I was amazed how many boats and people were in the water feeding the turtles.

Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) are herbivores (plant eaters), feeding on sea grass and algae, after they return from their omnivorous (plant, invertebrate and fish eaters) pelagic life stage at about 4 years of age.

In Barbados, feeding them large quantities of fish parts has caused many of these turtles to become significantly over weight. Additionally, these turtles have become habituated to humans. Flipper tag studies in Barbados have shown that once green turtles reach a certain size class, many of them migrate to Nicaragua. It is still legal to take sea turtles for food in Nicaragua, thus these turtles are potentially easy targets.

This project was a collaboration between researchers from the University of West Indies, Ross University, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, and the government of Barbados. The focus of our research was to capture 30 green turtles from 2 populations; a supplementally fed-with-fish group and a group that were feeding on algae and sea grass and not supplemented with fish. Turtles were captured by hand while snorkeling. A very experienced fisherman that previously captured turtles for food caught the majority of turtles and often dove 40 to 60 feet to reach them.

Blood samples were collected for plasma vitamins, minerals, lipids and other health parameters.

Physical examinations, morphometric measurements, and body weights were performed on each turtle.  We have been conducting a very similar study in loggerhead sea turtles in Georgia.

One turtle had a severe boat strike injury that involved the carapace and the plastron. I was able to debride (remove dead tissue) the wound and pack it with gauze.

We then headed to the grocery store and pharmacy to get some saline for flushing the wound and guess what else-not peanut butter, yes you got it-honey. Most of you know the amazing healing properties of honey if you have visited the GSTC. It pulls debris out of the wound because of its high glucose content (hypertonic). The bee produces an enzyme found in honey called glucose oxidase which converts glucose to hydrogen peroxide. Remember the Krebs cycle when you took biochemistry and you thought you would never need that information in real life? When honey comes in contact with tissue, the pH of the honey increases from 4 to 6, which causes this enzyme to be activated. There are several other properties of honey that assist in its ability to fight infection and heal wounds.

Sincerely,
Dr. Terry Norton,
Director and Veterinarian

Miss the last turtle release because you ate too much Shrimp and Grits to get to the beach?  Well, have no fear!  We’re having another turtle release next week during the 7th Annual Georgia’s Colonial Coast Birding & Nature Festival will take place October 8th-12th on Jekyll Island and along the GA coast!

Who are we releasing you ask?  TUNICATE and CATON!!!  Both sub-adult loggerhead sea turtles will be released with satellite transmitters attached to their carapace so we can track their journey as they enter back into the wild blue yonder.  From this data, we hope to gain valuable information about sea turtle behavior, foraging grounds and migration patterns.  CLICK HERE to learn more about satellite tracking!

TUNICATE

CATON

Caton received her transmitter on Thursday, October 1, and all went well.  Tunicate will be receiving his transmitter on Monday, October 5. We’ll begin this procedure at approximately 11am, and will be viewable through our treatment room window in our Exhibit Gallery!  So come on down!

This will most likely be our last turtle release until next spring since the ocean temperatures are quickly falling.  So DON’T MISS OUT! Here are all the details:

When: Friday, October 9, 2009

Time: 4pm

Where: On the beach, north side of the Convention Center, Jekyll Island, GA

*All releases are subject to change at any time (date, time, location) as determined by the GSTC staff, in the best interest of the turtles.

Shortly after their release, Tunicate and Caton will be available as an Option #2 adoption.  These funds will offset costs of satellite time and data management for the duration of time they transmit a signal.  Check our website for more information on our Adopt-a-Sea Turtle Program!

Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette

Marine Field Programs Coordinator

On September 20. 2009 at the end of Jekyll Island’s Annual Shrimp and Grits Festival, the GSTC successfully released 3 rehabilitated turtles back into the wild:

Pumpkin (loggerhead): Pumpkin received a satellite transmitter prior to her release.  CLICK HERE to follow her journey on seaturtle.org.  Soon you’ll also be able to adopt Pumpkin (as Option #2)!  Please visit our website for more information on our Adopt-A-Sea Turtle Program or to purchase and adoption!

Night Watch (loggerhead): Night Watch was too young/small to receive a satellite transmitter.  She still had a dorsal ridge down her carapace, and placing a transmitter would have been difficult, possibly not yield accurate data and potentially cause problems for Night Watch in regards to balance.  But she sure did let the crowd know her final thoughts as she made her way from the beach to the ocean!

and Skidaway (Kemp’s ridley): Skidaway was also too small to receive a satellite transmitter.  The transmitter would have been too big and heavy for such a small turtle!

We wish them all farewell and good luck!

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette
Marine Field Programs Coordinator