Marathon, Florida Keys

December 5 & 6, 2009

The Marathon Sea Turtle Hospital.

Each year, the Marathon Sea Turtle Hospital hosts an annual Sea Turtle Workshop at their facility in the Florida Keys. Sea turtle staffers and researchers, from all over the world, come together to discuss new data and interesting patient cases from the past year. As part of a small network of sea turtle hospitals, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center staff packed up and migrated south to join and share our experience and expertise with other facilities like ours!

Day one started off with formal presentations in true workshop style. The diversity of topics was unending: Leatherback blood mercury levels, neonate Australian Flatback behavior, 2009 nesting statistics, even future sea turtle facilities under construction. Of the 20 or so lectures, the GSTC staff had the highest Center representation with 5 presentations! There were so many changes at the Center to share since the 2008 conference: Dr. Terry Norton, Michelle Kaylor, Jeannie Miller, Stefanie Ouellette and Rachel Thomas spoke about the past, present and future of the GSTC, interesting patient cases, the start of the AmeriCorps program, sea turtle satellite tracking and the Adopt-a-Sea Turtle program at the GSTC.

Dr. Norton lecturing about the Georgia Sea Turtle Center at the Sea Turtle Workshop.

Day two of the workshop included a hands-on Necropsy (animal autopsy) lab. The brave GSTC folks had the opportunity to perform two necropsies: a sub adult Loggerhead entangled in fishing line and also ingested a two inch fishing hook with fishing line embedded into his intestine; the second, a Green who perished from the effects of fibropapillomatosis, a type of herpes virus. This virus is becoming an epidemic among sea turtle populations worldwide. Although sad and unfortunate, these turtle necropsies offered an unmatchable learning experience. We’ll be able to put that knowledge to use as we see more and more cases in the coming years.

Dr. Terry Norton, Simon Dilts, Michelle Kaylor and Jessica Self performing a necropsy on a Loggerhead sea turtle.

Overall, the short trip to Marathon was a great experience! I personally enjoyed learning about the other facilities and research, as well as meeting people who share the same interest and passion of sea turtle conservation. I also left feeling very grateful to be a part of the GSTC. This center has done so much for sea turtle conservation in a very small amount of time.

Thank you,

Jessica Self

GSTC Americorps Education Member

Caton

Caton and Talbot, 2 loggerhead sea turtles, will be released on Monday December 28, 2009 from the Cape Canaveral National Sea Shore. The water temperatures are too cold in Georgia for a release this time of year; however, in the coastal waters of Cape Canaveral the temperatures are still safe and suitable for a release. The release site will occur around 12pm on a beach on the north end of Cape Canaveral Sea Seashore, on the south end of the Volusia side. Both turtles are doing great and ready to go to their ocean home.

Talbot

There have been 200 sea turtles that have stranded along the New England coast since Mid-October and 60 turtles are being housed in just a few facilities. These were all cold-stunned cases. Over the past 2 weeks North Carolina has seen numerous cold-stunned turtles and all of their facilities are filled to capacity. Releasing Caton and Talbot will free up some much needed space at the GSTC to make room for 4 green turtles, a kemps and a loggerhead, which will arrive on Tues of next week.

We apologize for the short notice and tricky timing within the holiday season. As will all releases, this release is open to the public and we hope to see you there! Thank you for your understanding and support with this situation.

~Terry M. Norton, DVM, Director and Veterinarian

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

June 16 marked the 2 year anniversary of the Georgia Sea Turtle Centers grand opening!   This year, we celebrated in true sea turtle style with a week of fun filled activities!  All events were filled to capacity and we were bursting at the seams with guests ready to celebrate with us! Monday evening at the Center, Director and Veterinarian Dr. Terry Norton gave an update on the Centers progress the last 2 years and where we hope to go from here. Tuesdays Birds & Bees chat with Lydia Thompson and Jim Gertis was a huge success! Guests peeked into the nests of 2 not-very-well-known creatures: the honey bee and the Wilsons Plover.  Movie-goers at Wednesdays Finding Nemo were not only treated to a big-screen hit, but freshly popped popcorn to munch on during the flick. The thought of helping keep our beach clean and an ice cream treat drew a crowd for Thursday mornings Beachsweep. And who could resist our fun-loving mascot, Scute the Loggerhead Sea Turtle? A visit from Scute delighted the young and young-at-heart at an early morning breakfast served on the Center lawn. Scutes visit was followed by a tour of the Center-in our pajamas!  

Despite scorching temperatures, we guesstimated over 1000 visitors joined us for the Saturday finale party at the Beachdeck. Festival-goers were invited to partake in a number of activities on the upper deck. This year, we had the pleasure of hosting Naturalist Georgia Graves, Birding Enthusiast Brad Winn, our friends at Tidelands/4-H & the Coastal ARK- all with so much to share! Don’t know much about nesting on Jekyll Island? If you had the chance to check out the goings-on, consider yourself an expert!

Sea turtles & Diamondback Terrapins, sharks & snakes, the gopher tortoise & other burrow-dwelling animals, American Oystercatchers & Red Knots, horseshoe crabs & even live beach critters were all featured as part of the educational exhibits. It looks like children of ALL ages participated in the fun!

The lower deck gave way to an impromptu dance party with Island Sounds DJ, Justin. Three go-rounds of the Kid’s Turtle Crawl obstacle course throughout the day called to beach athletes itching for a little fun competition. And a festival would not be a festival without a feast! Teddy gave the grillside fare a thumbs up!

We topped off the day with the successful release of Simone & Duffy, two rehabilitated loggerhead sea turtle patients that arrived at the Center just a month apart. After almost one full year in the hospital recovering from illness & injury, the two were returned to their ocean home. Track their ocean adventures at www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org.

A huge thanks to our tireless volunteers & staff, the Jekyll Island Authority and YOU! Thanks for making this event possible!

~ Kelly OKeefe, Educator

In honor of our two year anniversary in June, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and Jekyll Island are celebrating with an entire week of fun-filled events!  Nest Fest 2009 festivities kick-off Monday, June 8^th and continue throughout the week with our finale party on Saturday, June 13^th. 

Join us Monday evening at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center for a discussion with Director and Veterinarian, Dr. Terry Norton. From 5:30-7:00 pm, hear about the Georgia Sea Turtle Center-Two Years Later and Beyond; what we’ve accomplished since opening our doors and how we’re forging ahead with future plans. Free with paid admission to the center. Reservations required. 

Come back Tuesday evening, same time, same place for Turtles Are Not the Only Nesters on Jekyll Island. Island resident beekeeper Jim Gertis will talk about the benefits of honey followed by Lydia Thompson, Chief Naturalist for Wild Birds Unlimited, and her focus on Jekyll’s nesting colony of Wilson’s Plovers.  Free with paid admission to the center. Reservations required. 

Bring the kids Wednesday evening from 7:00-9:00 for GSTC Movie Night featuring Finding Nemo. Don’t forget your favorite pillow and blanket for this under-the-sea flick! Free with paid admission to the center. Reservations required. 

Help us clean up Jekyll’s beach as sea turtle nesting season is underway! Meet at the Beackdeck at 10:00 am for a Beach Sweep. No need to register, just bring yourself! 

Enjoy Breakfast with Scute and Pajama Tour Thursday morning at 8:30-10 am. Bring the whole family for a catered breakfast on the lawn of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and a visit from Scute, the Loggerhead Sea Turtle Mascot! All kids are encouraged to wear their pajamas for an early morning visit the sea turtles! $11 per person, includes breakfast and admission to the Center. Reservations required. 

For the grand finale, head to the Nest Fest Party at the Beachdeck on Saturday, June 13 for sun, sand and a sea turtle release! Join the Georgia Sea Turtle Center Staff and local organizations from 12-4pm for interactive educational activities, arts and crafts, and the Kid’s Turtle Crawl!

Check out www.jekyllisland.com/nestfest for complete event details, schedules and registration information!

~Kelly O’Keefe, Educator

Follow this link to the video highlight of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on CNN!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/02/21/wolf.sea.turtle.rescue.cnn

The segment aired this morning, February 21, and will be featured again this evening.

Pumpkin and Varun made their first television debut and captured the hearts of thousands, we’re certain! Great job to Dr. Terry Norton and Erika Kemler who were both highlighted in the clip.  

Did you have the chance to see it first-hand? Send us your thoughts!

~Kelly O’Keefe, Educator

The video above is the laparoscopic camera inside of Vida, a loggerhead sea turtle (read on for more information about her procedure and recovery!). You are able to see her ovaries, the yellowish material at the beginning of the video, her lung which is the bubbly-looking pink stuff, her liver which is darker red near the bottom of the video. Watch until the end and you will see her heart beating along the left side of the video! Cool, a sea turtles heart!

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center veterinarian, Dr. Norton, preformed laparoscopy and endoscopy on two loggerhead sea turtles. These procedures use a small camera at the end of a scope inserted inside the animal through an instrument called a trocar. The trocar allows the veterinarian to utilize instruments such as a biopsy forceps in order to take samples of any organs or comprimised areas inside the animal. Both procedures went very well and the turtles are recovering nicely.

Vida’s procedure was first, starting at 8:00AM the morning of January 25th. The doctor injected the patient with anesthetic drugs and when she was sleepy enough he inserted a trach tube into her trachea and administered a gas anesthesia to keep her sleeping for the procedure. Laparoscopy requires the animal to be tilted on her side so that her organs fall away from the point of entry of the scope. Once inside, Dr. Norton had a good view of all major organs - kidney, liver, lungs, and we were even able to see the heart beating! Vida is a young female, as we were able to see her ovaries. Her procedure went very well and nothing was observed out of the normal so she was recovered from anesthesia and placed back into water later that day. She is doing great now, eating very well and active in her tank. Hopefully she will remain in good health and will be released this spring.

Griffin is another of our loggerhead sea turtle patients. His endoscopy procedure (endoscopes are long, flexible scopes with a small camera on the end and instrument channels built in) was after Vida had recovered. Dr. Norton placed the endoscope down his trachea (through the trach tube) and was able to see down to where the trachea splits into two bronchi. His suspisions were confirmed as a large amount of mucus was found in the trachea, indicating he has pneumonia. Dr. Norton also took the endoscope and passed it down Griffin’s throat and into his stomach, everything looked good up to that point. Upon moving the camera in the GI tract a little further, it became apparent that the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine) had an ulcer-like appearance. Where you should see nice healthy pinkish tissue, the area looked yellow with several blood spots. Biopsy samples were taken by passing a long biopsy instrument through the scope and into the area in question. The small forceps grabs a small portion of the tissue and tears it out, leaving very small trauma. After the biopsies were taken, the veterinarian decided to check out the other end. He took a different scope and passed it through Griffin’s cloaca. We now know Griffin is for sure a male (we suspected as much with his large, thick tail) because we were able to see his reproductive parts. Everything else on this end appeared as it should. Griffin was recovered from the procedure and is doing well. He has just recently started to show interest in eating on his own again, although hasn’t eaten anything yet. We have cut back on his tube feedings to once a day hoping to encourage him to eat on his own. He continues to get stronger and more alert each day. He is on antibiotics, gut motility drugs, iron, ulcer medication and pancreatic enzymatic powder to help with digestion.

Erika Kemler

Hospital Coordinator

Among the capacity building initiatives is WIDECAST’s regional Sea Turtle Trauma Response Corps (STTRC). The aim of the STTRC is to strengthen and coordinate the efforts of people throughout the Wider Caribbean Region to respond to sea turtles in crisis, whether at sea or stranded along shoreline. The initiative includes the development of a variety of standard guidelines and field procedures manuals, as well as standardized reporting forms and database management software.

In addition to peer-reviewed guidelines, Internet-based resources, information management software, and other technical products, the STTRC provides regular training and internship opportunities for field staff and volunteers, natural resource managers, veterinarians, and rehabilitators. Recently a manual was developed entitled Marine Turtle Trauma Response Procedures: A field Guide, 2006, http://www.widecast.og/trauma). Dr. Norton’s first presentation was an overview of the field guide contents and how Caribbean veterinarians can be involved in first response initiatives for stranded sea turtles. Other presentations by Dr. Norton included “Pertinent Anesthesia and Surgery in Sea Turtles”, “Necropsy Techniques in Sea Turtles”, and “Managing a Sea Turtle Mass Mortality Event”. Other speakers and topics presented included “Sea Turtle Strandings in Barbados” by Barry Kruger and Gus Reader, “Sea Turtle Trauma Response Corps An Overview” by Kimberley Stewart, “Rehabilitation of Sea Turtles” and “Fibropapillomatosis in Sea Turtles” by Charles Manire.

Another objective of the visit was to evaluate some green turtles that have been habituated to hand feeding pieces of fish to attract tourists. Unfortunately, the turtles have become obese. Some solutions and compromises were discussed with local sea turtle conservationists such as feeding more appropriate vegetarian treats such as squash. Future trips may involve evaluating the health status of the habituated turtles and their wild counterparts that are feeding predominantly on sea grasses.