So far it has been an exciting year here at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. The arrival of the new year was followed by the arrival of several new patients! Over the past several weeks, we’ve added 22 new patients to the hospital resulting in a flurry of activity.

In the colder months of winter, it’s not uncommon to have an influx of patients that suffer from cold stunning.

Cold stunning is a condition where sea turtles suffer from hypothermia-like symptoms when water temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Excessive exposure to these cold temperatures can cause normal body functions to shut down. Sea turtles lose the ability to dive and are unable to forage, resulting in emaciation and dehydration. Many wash up on shore and become stranded.

Earlier this year, one Loggerhead Sea Turtle and four green sea turtles arrived from North Carolina with cold-stunning symptoms.

The loggerhead, aptly named ‘Lookout’is from Cape Lookout, NC. In addition to cold stunning, the turtle had a lot of epibiota, like barnacles and algae, on his carapace and plastron. Lookout also had a very strange puncture mark on his skin and plastron. We were unable to figure out what caused it, but the wound was healing nicely and he was released shortly after his arrival.

Jill, the little Kemps Ridley, arrived with small lesions on the plastron and skin, perhaps as a result of being tossed around in the surf. Jill was also skinny, but recovered quickly after a hefty diet of seafood.

Three greens, Carolina, Cape, and Crow, had secondary injuries that needed some atttention. Carolina has a large, but healing, abrasion on the top of her shell. Upon x-ray, Cape had a metal object that was detected in his GI tract. And Crow, with a boat strike injury to the carapace, has the most severe injuries. However, all the turtles are eating very well! When cold stunned turtles arrive at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, they are so sick that they often do not have the willingness to eat.  Their digestive system has been affected by the cold temperature. However, when a turtle is able to eat on their own, it could be an indication that their condition is improving.

Fortunately, the fourth and smallest of the new patients did not have any secondary injuries. Much like the fruit he resembles, this little turtle with a dark brown shell and green insides was named ‘Kiwi’.

As January pressed on, a huge cold stunning event took place along Florida’s coastline. Over 5000 turtles washed up along the east and west coasts, resulting in a massive stranding event and the need for facilities like the Georgia Sea Turtle Center to step in.

The first to arrive were 10 cold stunned green sea turtles from Mosquito Lagoon, Florida. After some good food and supportive care, we were able to release 10 of our new patients, including Lookout the Loggerhead. On January 13^th, Center staff drove south to warmer waters off the coast of Florida to release the rehabilitated turtles and returned with 12 new patients in critical need. With so many new patients, new names were needed in a hurry! The staff came together and each chose a name meaning “cold” in a different language, even adding some names from ancient mythologies. It was a fun way to bring the staff together by naming and helping our new sea turtle patients.

Since then, two more green sea turtles have arrived . Arthur is currently floating with his tail end up, due to a gas and fecal matter built up in his digestive tract. Surry is the victim of a boat strike. Both are receiving the best of care, even with so many other patients in house! As always, we’re keeping a watchful eye on all of our patients.

The start of the new year, new patients in need and witnessing the staff and volunteers coming together to help these turtles, it’s truly inspiring!

Renee Pascale

Americorps Education Member

On February 11^th and 12^th Teddy, Renee, and I went to Savannah for the Georgia Science Teacher Association (GSTA) Annual Conference. Our time was spent presenting, tabling, and attending various seminars. Our presentation, Turtles for Tomorrow, focused on the Center’s three main goals of research, conservation, and education; highlighted upcoming events including Shell-e-brate Earth Day, Nest Fest, and Sea Turtle Camp; and showcased our new Turtle Tracker magnetic display board (generously funded by the Gopher Tortoise Council) during our program “Turtles, Tortoises, and Terrapins…Oh My!”. While tabling in the exhibit hall we made several contacts, had a blast teaching about sea turtles through Tic-Tac-Turtle, and debuted our newest outreach option of My Sea Turtle Journey To Go (more information to come soon). Teddy, Renee, and I also had the opportunity to participate in several seminars including Sand: Up Close and Personal, Water WOW!, Learning and Teaching Science from the Inside Out, and Georgia’s Habitats. Overall, our time at the GSTA Conference “inspired, ignited, and impacted” us to make science come alive through educating others about sea turtles and conservation!

Melissa Q. Daniel, Education Member

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is proud to present our 2nd annual Sea Turtle Camp program!  We invite children ages 6 to 12 to join us for the ultimate camp experience as junior conservationists!  Come be a part of this unique program with fun-in-the-sun activities, sand adventures and unforgettable sea turtles!  You’ll have the opportunity to learn about the five species of local sea turtles, explore the coastal environment through dynamic activities and, of course, visit with our sea turtle patients!

This year we are hosting four weeks of Sea Turtle Camp!  See below for dates and times:

Week of                                 Ages                            Time

June 7 - 11                             10-12                          10:00am to 3:00pm

June 14 - 18                          6-9                               10:00am to 3:00pm

June 21 - 25                          10-12                          10:00am to 3:00pm

June 28 - July 2                    6-9                             10:00am to 3:00pm

Space is limited and reservations are required. You don’t want to miss it, so make your reservation now!

Please visit our Sea Turtle Camp website or contact Alicia Marin at (912) 635-4076 for more information .

~Alicia B. Marin, Education Coordinator

Lecture Series - February

With nearly three-quarters of our planet hidden beneath the sea, a whole new world waits to be discovered. Stunning seascapes, sunken shipwrecks, psychedelically colored fish, and unseen animal behaviors rest just below the surface.  This presentation will offer an overview of the challenges and rewards of underwater photography, and an intimate glimpse of some of the ocean’s incredible creatures including, of course, sea turtles.

Jim Squires recently moved to Saint Simons Island, GA from Charlotte, Vermont where he spent many years as an early childhood education expert and amateur nature photographer. As a scuba diving instructor for over 25 years, underwater photography combined two of his passions into a dream hobby. He has placed in several photography contests, having won Hawaii’s Kona Classic Underwater Photography Competition in 2006 and Grand Cayman’s Digital Madness Photography Contest in 2007.

Brunswick - Glynn County Library

208 Gloucester St.  Brunswick, GA  31520

Thursday February 11, 2010  7:00 p.m.

In the summer of 2009 I worked with Dr. Terry Norton, Amy Hupp and Stefanie Ouellette to conduct a health assessment of two species of shark commonly found off the coast of Georgia and Florida. You may be familiar with these two species: the Atlantic Sharpnose and the Bonnethead. Anglers on the beaches of Georgia’s barrier islands commonly catch both. The Bonnethead is closely related to the Great Hammerheads. We know very little about either species: obtaining baseline health data may help us better understand the life history, habitat use, and population status of these two common sharks.

The project was a collaboration between the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the Georgia Aquarium, the Georgia Marine Extension Services, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. I spent 3 weeks out with the crew of the Georgia Bulldog in July 2009. The Georgia Bulldog is a shrimp boat modified into a research vessel and was out trawling to catch none other than sea turtles! The TEDS (turtle excluder devices) had been removed from the nets of the GA Bulldog and the nets were trawled for 20 minutes many, many times a day. The goal: an in-the-water study of sea turtle abundance off the coast of Georgia and Florida.

So, where did the shark project fit into the catching of sea turtles? Sharks are often captured in the nets as bycatch and Sharpnose and Bonnetheads are the two most commonly caught sharks in the nets of the Georgia Bulldog. We decided to opportunistically sample from the sharks captured: a total of 17 Sharpnose and 16 Bonnethead were bled, measured, weighed, and given a complete physical exam. All sharks used in this study appeared healthy!

While we are still working to process our data, we discovered several very interesting and important things about the wild-caught sharks. We tested for antibiotic resistance in the bacteria that grow just inside the cloaca of the sharks. We found that antibiotic resistance is quite prevalent in sharks sampled, indicating that somehow antibiotics used by people and on farms are making their way into our marine ecosystems.

Another thing we discovered is that the Vitamin A and E levels in the wild sharks are much, much lower than those found in some captive sharks. Interestingly, some captive sharks develop spinal deformities while in captivity. The cause of this spinal deformity is currently unknown. This is where the Vitamin A and E levels play in: a captive shark with spinal deformity had over 100 times the levels of Vitamin A and E that we found in the wild Sharpnose and Bonnetheads! Vitamin A toxicity can cause many health issues in animals with boney vertebrae: most notably demineralization of the bone. (Vitamin A is important in the remodeling of bone.) Since sharks do not have boney vertebrae (they are cartilaginous!) we do not know what the specific mechanism of Vitamin A might be on the cartilage. This definitely warrants additional research!

The next step we will take is to increase our sample size of wild sharks, sample captive sharks, and (hopefully) get a few samples from sharks with spinal deformities. Then we will compare the vitamin and mineral levels between the three groups and if our data still indicate that captive sharks with spinal deformities have extremely high levels of Vitamin A, we will be able to advise aquaria on the nutritional requirements of their captive shark populations!

In closing, we should not overlook the importance of merely knowing the health status of the wild Sharpnose and Bonnethead. As top predators of the coastal marine ecosystem these two species of shark may serve as important indicators of the health of the ecosystem itself. Knowing their health status now will provide useful comparisons for future studies. Overall, we spent the summer conducting research that can and will be applied to monitor and manage the health of not only captive sharks, but also wild sharks and their marine ecosystems!

Sincerely,

Katie Haman

DVM Candidate 2012

University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

EMMA’S DILEMMA

The ocean is the home to a little turtle I know.

I must warn you that her story contains some sorrow.

My little friend’s name is Emma, and she has a dilemma.

Sometimes, turtles get injured when they surface to breathe air.

A boat moving forward may bump into one there.

A propeller moves a boat forward; that is it’s purpose.

Emma and a boat collided at the ocean’s surface.

Injured Emma had washed ashore. We say, “She stranded.”

Don’t worry. She was not left abandoned.

Scientists picked her up and brought her here, fast.

The vet and rehab staff weren’t sure how long she’d last.

Her wound was severe; so she looked rather sickly.

We use honey to help heal Emma quickly.

A vacuum on her bandage at night helped Emma to sleep tight.

We wanted her shell to scar and be well.

Now, here is the issue.

She has infection in one type of tissue.

She is losing strength in her bones, which means she is fragile.

Wild sea turtles need to be strong and agile.

We worry for little Emma because of her dilemma.

We are still using honey on Emma’s shell.

We are also giving her antibiotics so that her infected bones won’t swell.

If you are saddened by Emma’s situation, you may feel compelled to make a donation.

We would appreciate any help we can get so that we will be less likely to fret.

If you live near, come and see our Emma, dear.

If you live far away, do not delay.  Read Emma’s story on this site, today.

~Amanda Noble, Education Member~

If you find a turtle on the beach that looks sick or injured, like Emma:

Call 1-800-2SAVE ME

For more tips, follow this link:

http://www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org/about-us/found-turtles

If you would like to know more about Emma, visit the GSTC or follow this link :

http://www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org/our-patients/sea-turtle-patients/current-patients

Thank you for your concern.

Turtles for Tomorrow

a FREE scout event

Learn all about turtles at this ’scouts only’ event!

Spend a day on beautiful Jekyll Island and join the staff of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, the Jekyll Island 4-H Center and Tidelands Nature Center to learn how you can help ensure that turtles survive for tomorrow!

This FREE event is open to Boy and Girl Scouts (recommended ages 8-12), their troops and leaders.

Space is limited and reservations required!

Contact Kelly Price at (912) 635-4076 or kokeefe@jekyllisland.com to register

Lend us a flipper! Print this flyer to post or bring to your next meeting!

My name is Christine and I’m a third year veterinary student at the University of Wisconsin. The university is located in the capital city of Madison and is home to the Badgers! We have a lot of cold weather and cows here, but certainly no sea turtles! As a student with strong interests in zoological medicine and conservation, I felt extremely happy to have the opportunity to spend a month learning at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center last summer.

Each year the local Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, WI awards the Henry Vilas Zoological Society Scholarship to veterinary students who want to pursue a research project that involves wildlife health, medicine and management. I was fortunate to receive support from this scholarship to work with Dr. Norton on the Loggerhead Nutrition research project. Appropriate nutrition is critical for the health of any animal and is an important part of veterinary medicine, so I was very excited about this study! Some of the goals for my contributions to the project included sorting through DNR records to identify common prey items, organizing and shipping blood samples to various labs, compiling lots of data (ongoing!) and learning how to draw a blood samples from Loggerheads. Dr. Norton is an excellent mentor and I learned an immense amount from him, as well as the entire the GSTC team!

Besides research, I was able to participate in the daily husbandry and care for many of the turtle patients at the center. The individualized care and attention provided to each patient by the dedicated staff and volunteers was remarkable! I learned about transponder placement and prepping animals reintroduction. Aussie, Miss Betty, Route, and Duffy were all released during my month on Jekyll and what a wonderful experience it was to watch these animals swim away into the ocean! Moreover, a few new patients were admitted while I was at the center including Caton and Tunicate. I really liked learning how to work up their cases and watching their progress.

I also had the unexpected opportunity to assist Dr. Norton with some of his work for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and also for St. Catherine’s Island, including a marine mammal stranding event and ring-tailed lemur wellness exams. I went on beach patrol several nights to track nesting Loggerheads and was even lucky enough to see a Leatherback nesting on Jekyll Island!

My time at the GSTC was invaluable to my veterinary education and I feel so grateful to Dr. Norton and the amazing staff, interns and volunteers for such an incredible experience! I look forward to continuing my work on the Loggerhead nutrition study and to visiting the GSTC again soon!

Christine

With Spring still a few months away,  wouldn’t it be nice to have a piece of Jekyll Island around to remind you of all the fun and exciting things you did while visiting here.  We have an array of decorative sculptures handcrafted by a local artist by the name of Tyler Dominey.  Look below to read all about him, his story is amazing and fascinating.

These are just a few samples of some of the sculptures we have in our Gift Shop.  Stop by to see our complete collection!

**(Prices starting at $14.95, selection subject to change)**

Sincerely,
Peggy Van Buren
Gift Shop Coordinator