Biological conservation is a global endeavor, and for anyone to fully grasp the diversity of such a vital task, it is necessary to become engaged in a diverse biological and cultural environment. One way to do this is to become exposed to a variety, the more the better, of conservation projects that share a similar goal, yet are conducted at various corners of the earth. In 2011, I have had the opportunity to participate in sea turtle conservation projects in three different countries, each with very different species, climate, and culture, and I believe that doing so has made me into a much more seasoned field biologist.
- Playa Piro
While every conservation management project seemingly has its flaws, I believe that the sea turtle research program on Jekyll Island is close to perfect. We have had dedicated, hard-working patrol teams for years, accounting for every female and every nest that we are fortunate enough to call our own on the island. With the help of beach proximity and technology, we always have all of the equipment we need to do our job, and while there are always bumps in the road, we end up getting the work done efficiently and effectively. Experiencing sea turtle tagging programs in other countries has allowed me to better appreciate all the luxuries we really have on Jekyll Island.
The sea turtle conservation project with Osa Conservation is well-established, but it has some inevitable limitations caused by things such as the nature of the unstable terrain, inclement weather, remote location, limited funding, and small staff size. Georgia is a good location to become gently exposed to harsh summer field conditions, but not even National Geographic can quite prepare anyone for exactly what it is like to live and work in a tropical rainforest during rainy season. Water is the one unifying thing that makes the Osa sea turtle project both possible yet unbelievably impossible at times. Thank goodness for tin roofs.
- A beautiful crawl from a Pacific Green Sea Turtle
The biggest difference between the Jekyll Island sea turtle tagging program and the one in the Osa, besides the target species, is the fact that all patrols are done on foot. Osa Conservation monitors up to 4 beach transects, including Piro (2KM), Pejeperro (4.5KM), Rio Oro, and Carate (5KM). An interesting fact, however, is that the average number of kilometers spent patrolling the beach on foot per season in the Osa is about equal to the average number of kilometers spent patrolling the south end of Jekyll Island on foot each season – roughly 1,600 KM! That, of course, does not include the hike to get to the beaches in Osa, which take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes each way. The trails to the beach involve wading across the river and are often flooded with soupy mud, while the beaches themselves consist of soft, rocky black sand. After 2.5 months of patrol and a base diet of rice and beans, I feel like I am in the best shape of my life. The most useful items to have for sea turtle patrol in Costa Rica are rubber boots with knee-high socks, a bright torch, and a rain jacket.
The beaches in the Osa Peninsula are frequented by 4 species of sea turtles: the Olive Ridley or “Lora” (Lepidochelys olivacea), Green/Pacific Black Turtle or “Verde/Pacifica negra” (Chelonia mydas agassizii), Leatherback or “Baula” (Dermochelys coriacea), and Hawksbill or “Carey” (Eretmochelys imbricata). Peak nesting season for the Olive Ridley – by far the most frequent nester in the Osa – runs from July through December, which is when Osa Conservation hires research field assistants, like myself, to assist with the project. Like on Jekyll, Osa Conservation runs both night patrols, in search of nesting females, and dawn patrols, in search of additional nests, false crawls, depredated nests, and nests that have hatched. Osa Conservation, however, does not run a true saturation tagging program like we do here on Jekyll Island – the time and duration of all patrols is heavily dependent on the tides and rainfall, since it is quite easy to get trapped on the beach by high tides and strong rivers. There were some nights where we only patrolled just over one hour, some nights where we patrolled the beach for 9 hours, and other nights where no one patrolled at all. In the month of October, it rained so much that the rivers flooded, and we could not leave the station for a week; not to go to town, not to go for a hike, not even to go on a single patrol. Fortunately we did not run out of food or electricity – which was, at the time, reliant only on solar power.
- An injured Olive Ridley tries to nest on Pejeperro
The Osa Peninsula is the most important non-arriabada nesting site for Olive Ridleys on the entire Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. During the 2011 nesting season, from July to December, we recorded about 2,000 sea turtle crawls and 1,400 nests, and tagged over 400 different nesting sea turtles – quite an impressive number compared to the 2011 season on Jekyll Island, which consisted of 415 sea turtle crawls, 177 nests and over 60 tagged turtles. During my 2.5 months on the project, I saw over 50 Olive Ridleys and 8 Greens – my favorite species of sea turtle. Each and every turtle was unique, but there are a few specific cases that will always stand out in my mind. One was a Lora who false crawled into the river on the beach five times and kept coming back to try again. Several Loras got so tangled in vegetation that I had to cut them free. One night we had both a Green and an Olive Ridley nesting side-by-side at the same time. Another Olive Ridley tried to dig her new egg chamber directly on top of an existing nest that was in the middle of hatching out – throwing hatchlings out of the nest as she dug into it. There was a Olive Ridley with a missing left rear flipper – who I named “Izzy” (short for “izquierda” which means “left” in Spanish) – who still managed to successfully nest without assistance. On Pejeperro there was one Green who completely buried her entire head and the left side of her body into an escarpment of sand. There were so many turtles, but the only turtle I can say for sure I saw twice was an injured Olive Ridley who had a large abscess on her neck and malfunctioning rear flippers – she never nested, and I saw her on a different beach each time.
- An Olive Ridley Hatchling making its way to the sea
Olive Ridleys have a similar body plan to the Loggerhead Sea Turtle, but they are much smaller, only about 60 cm on average (compared to a 90 cm Loggerhead). Their incubation period is also a little shorter, lasting anywhere from 45-60 days. The nests we are able to locate are triangulated using nearby vegetation so that the exact nest location is not as apparent to poachers, another culture-based challenge that we don’t typically have to deal with in the United States. I never did get the chance to see a Green hatchling, but had plenty of opportunities to witness Olive Ridley babies scurrying to the sea. Since there is such a long nesting season, nests had already started hatching as soon as we arrived, so it was a different experience to have a long overlap of mamma and baby turtles on the beach.
- A beautiful sunset from the restaurant at Finca Exotica in Carate
In addition to conducting patrols, I also wrote a 20-page protocol manual for the Osa project – which is being translated into Spanish by another research field assistant. I also organized and managed their database, which I will continue to do even while I am back in Georgia. In the time I was there, all of us research field assistants developed and implemented new and improved protocols, helped improve communication and efficiency, developed a nest excavation schedule, proofed existing data, and became the best of friends. Reflecting upon my experience in Costa Rica, I not only feel like a more culturally-diverse scientist, but a changed person as well. This wasn’t an eco-vacation, it was a chance to truly become engaged in the Costa Rican lifestyle. Having been there for over two months,everyone in town knew exactly who we were, and we made some lifelong friends. Now that I am back in The United States, I have a better appreciation for simple things, like clean socks, a hot water shower, and dry hair. The Osa project, the wildlife and the people of the Osa Peninsula are an important part of my life, and I hope to return there for some time as soon as I find the opportunity. Until then, I am looking forward to being involved in another fantastic sea turtle patrol season right here on Jekyll Island. We will continue our collaborations with the people at Osa Conservation by continuing to host some of their biologists at the GSTC as well.
-Breanna Ondich
Research Member