1995 Activities Summary

Transcription

1 Marine Turtle Tagging Program Tagging Data for Nesting Turtles and Netted & Released Turtles 199 Activities Summary Submitted to: NMFS - Miami Lab Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program 7 Virginia Beach Drive Miami, FL and FL Dept of Environmental Protection Marine Research Institute Tequesta Field Station SE Federal Hwy. Tequesta, FL Submitted by: Prepared by: Mote Marine Laboratory 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway Sarasota, FL Jerris J. Foote Marine Turtle Permits #028 & 04 January 4, 1996 Mote Marine Laboratory Technical Report No. 48 This document is printed on recycled paper. Suggest reference Foote JJ NMFS. FL Dept of Environmental Protection. Mote Marine Laboratory Technical Report no 48. p. and appendices. Information available: Mote Marine Laboratory Library.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF CONTENTS ii LISTOFTABLES... TAGGING DATA FOR NESTING TURTLES INTRODUCTION... LOCATION... MATERIALS AND METHODS... RESULTS AND DISCUSSION... TAGGING DATA FOR REHABILITATED AND RELEASED TURTLES INTRODUCTION... DISCUSSION..... TAGGING DATA FOR NETTED AND RELEASED TURTLES INTRODUCTION... MATERIALS AND METHODS... RESULTS AND DISCUSSION... iii Appendix A. Data sheets Appendix B. Florida Department of Environmental Protection Marine Turtle Permit Appendix C. Tagging Data: Rehabilitation Appendix D. Tagging Data: Netted

3 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Table 2. Table 3. Table 4. Table. Table 6. Table 7. Table summary of tagged turtles. FL DEP Marine Turtle Permit #04. Mote Marine Laboratory/Sarasota County Natural Resources Department. Summary of multiple sightings for turtles in 199. Combined Tag Summary Report for 199. FL DEP Marine Turtle Permit #04, Sarasota County, Florida. Mote Marine Laboratory/Sarasota County Natural Resources Department. Combined tagging summary, Turtles sighted more than one season with number of sightings per year. FL DEP Marine Turtle Permit #04. Mote Marine Laboratory/Sarasota County Natural Resources. Number of tagged turtles with pattern of appearances by years. Combined tag summary, FL DEP Marine Turtle Permit #04. Mote Marine Laboratory/Sarasota County Natural Resources Department. Turtles tagged on Manasota Key observed elsewhere (observed in 199). Combined Tag Summary, FL DEP Marine Turtle Permit #04. Mote Marine Laboratory/Sarasota County Natural Resources Department. Turtles tagged on Casey Key observed elsewhere (observed in 199). Combined Tag Summary, FL DEP Marine Turtle Permit #04. Mote Marine Laboratory/Sarasota County Natural Resources Department. Turtles sighted on more than one island. Combined Tag Summary, FL DEP Marine Turtle Permit #04. Mote Marine Laboratory/Sarasota County Natural Resources Department. Turtles netted and released, 199. FLDEP Marine Turtle Permit #04. Mote Marine Laboratory. iii

4 TAGGING DATA FOR NESTING TURTLES ABSTRACT: Tagging studies of nesting marine turtles were completed on 4.2 miles of Casey Key beach, Sarasota County, Florida, between June 1 through July 30, 199. Mote Marine Laboratory personnel holding a current Marine Turtle Permit (#04) from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection accessed the beach from 9 p.m. until 3 or 4 a.m. nightly during the peak nesting season. One hundred fifty-three observances were made of 119 individual tagged Caretta caretta. Eighty-two of these were new tagged individuals. Seventeen of the turtles were observed twice, two were observed three times, two were observed four times, and one was observed five times during the two month study period. One turtle, tagged SSM70/SSM71, was tagged June 24, 199, and was found dead entangled in a derelict crab trap off Key Largo, Florida, on August 13, 199. One turtle, tagged SSK776/SSK777, was observed nesting on Venice beach, north of our study area. Another turtle, SSB214, was tagged on Manasota Key by Sarasota County Natural Resources Department on June 8th and was observed nesting on Casey Key July 12, 199. INTRODUCTION While extensive tagging studies have been conducted on female nesting turtles on the east coast of Florida, few comprehensive tagging studies have been conducted on the west coast of Florida. In 1986, the Sarasota County Natural Resources Department initiated a tagging study on female loggerheads (Caretta caretta) during the peak nesting season (June and July) on the most active nesting beach in the Sarasota-Charlotte County area, Manasota Key. Mote Marine Laboratory joined the Sarasota County Natural Resources Department in their efforts in 1987 and began tagging on the second most active beach - Casey Key. LOCATION Mote Marine Laboratory s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program personnel conduct tagging studies for nesting marine turtles on the southern 4.2 miles of Casey Key beach. Casey Key is located on the Gulf Coast of Florida in Sarasota County. Tagging efforts occur from approximately 70 feet south of FLDNR Coastal Construction Control survey profile monument R-94 south to the Venice Inlet at approximately 70 feet south of monument R-114.

5 MATERIALS AND METHODS Tagging surveys were conducted nightly from June 1 through July 30, 199, with one exception. No tagging personnel surveyed on the night of the Fourth of July due to the presence of large numbers of visitors on the beach shooting fireworks. Surveys were conducted nightly between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 3 or 4 a.m. lnconel noncorrosive metal tags (manufactured by National Band and Tag, Newport, Kentucky) supplied by the National Marine Fisheries Service were applied to the trailing edge of the right and left front flippers if no previous tags were observed. Data sheets were completed (Appendix A) and copies were left at the nesting site for the beach patrol to retrieve the following morning. The tagging data sheets were cross referenced to the nesting data sheets by the beach patrol. Principle tagging personnel consisted of Jerris Foote, Marcia Hastings, Heather Henry, David Jenkins, Kelly Samek, Pat Stolberg, and Vicki Wiese. The above activities and personnel are permitted under the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Marine Turtle Permit #04 (Appendix B). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The above procedures resulted in 13 observances of marine turtles (Table 1). One-hundred nineteen individual turtles were observed of which 82 were newly tagged turtles. All turtles observed were Caretta caretta; no Chelonia mydas turtles were observed during the 199 season. Twenty-two of the turtles were observed on the beach more than one time. Of these, seventeen turtles were observed twice, two turtles were observed three times, two were observed four times, and one was observed five times (Table 2). Resights (199 only): TWICE 17 THREE TIMES 2 FOUR TIMES 2 FIVE TIMES 1 The following data represent a combination of the data collected by Mote Marine Laboratory on Casey Key ( ) and that of Sarasota County Natural Resources Department on Manasota Key ( ) located just to the south of Casey Key, also in Sarasota County (Table 1). During the 199 season forty-seven turtles were observed who had been documented nesting in previous seasons (Table 3). Within the boundaries of the two tagging studies 87.49% (n = 1238) of the turtles were observed only one year, 10.2% (n = 14) were observed two different years, 1.7% (n = 24) were observed three different years, 0.42% (n = 6) were observed four years, and 0.14% (n = 2) were observed during four different years 2

6 (Table 4). Because observations of turtles are limited by budget and personnel constraints it is recognized that all nesting activity cannot be documented and that individual turtles nest on nearby beaches. Ten turtles observed in 199 originally tagged on Manasota Key have been observed on both Manasota Key and Casey Key (Table ). Nine turtles observed in 199 originally tagged on Casey Key have been observed on Manasota Key, Casey Key and Venice (Table 6). To date, only 121 turtles out of a total of 1,418 turtles tagged by Mote Marine Laboratory and Sarasota County Natural Resources Department have been observed on more than one nesting beach (Table 7). The majority of these (n = 110) have been observed on both Manasota and Casey Keys within the two study areas. Five additional turtles were observed on the project beaches and incidentally observed outside of the project areas but on the adjacent beaches of Venice and Siesta Key. Few of the turtles tagged within Sarasota County have been observed nesting on distant beaches (n = 6). Of these, two turtles tagged on Casey Key were subsequently observed on Keewaydin Island near Naples, Florida. One additional turtle was tagged on Casey Key, nested on Keewaydin Island in the same year and was observed two years later on Manasota Key (MML #0). Based on data provided to Mote Marine Laboratory by National Marine Fisheries Service, only three turtles tagged on Casey Key have been observed on the Atlantic Coast. All three turtles were observed nesting on Melbourne Beach, Brevard County Florida (Table 7). Turtle MML# 6 flipper tagged QQM149/QQM19 on Casey Key in 1991, was observed nesting on Melbourne Beach in 199. Turtle MML# 40 was flipper tagged QQE679/QQE680 on Casey Key in 1990 and was observed nesting on Melbourne Beach in Turtle MML #44, flipper tagged PPH816 on Casey Key in 1987, was observed nesting on Melbourne Beach in 1994 at which time an additional tag, N4661, was applied. Of note are four turtles tagged on Casey Key in 1987 and 1988 who returned to Casey Key in 199. These four turtles have only been observed nesting on Casey Key. Turtle MML #37 was tagged on Casey Key 6/13/87. She was again observed three additional times in 1987, twice in 1989, twice in 1991, and twice in 199. Turtle MML #174 (QQE879) was tagged on Casey Key 7/24/88 and observed one more time in 1988; she was again observed four times in 1991 and twice in 199. Turtle MML #80 (PPJ306) was tagged on Casey Key 6/28/87. She was again observed one additional time in 1987, once in 1989, twice in 1991, three times in 1993, and twice in 199. Turtle MML #103 (PPJ9) was tagged on Casey Key 7/13/87. She was again observed three times in 1992, and twice in 199. The tag sequence used by Mote Marine Laboratory during the 199 tagging season includes: SSK71-SSK800 AND SSM704-SSM846. Unused tags (bent or lost tag numbers) are: SSK779, 787, 794 and 798; SSM701, 702, 703, 706, 716, 717,719, 73, 74, 72, 761, 76,767, 803, 807, 820,827, 829, 832 and

7 TAGGING DATA FOR REHABILITATED AND RELEASED TURTLES INTRODUCTION Between May 31 st and September 24 th, 199 Mote Marine Laboratory Sea Turtle Program personnel holding a FL DEP Marine Turtle Permit (#04) responded to five live stranded turtles. Four of the strandings were adult Caretta caretta and one was a juvenile Lepidochelys kempi. The first stranded turtle, a C. caretta was diagnosed as having an impacted gastrointestinal tract and was rehabilitated at Mote Marine Lab. The following four animals, three adult C. caretta and the juvenile L. kempi stranded during intense red tide blooms, all were having respiratory and neurological difficulties. Because of lack of rehabilitation tanks these animals were transferred to Clearwater Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg. DISCUSSION On May 31 st a stranded adult female C. caretta was transported from a Siesta Key beach to Mote Marine Laboratory. This turtle was diagnosed by X-ray as having an impacted gastrointestinal tract. On June 19 th, following successful rehabilitation, she was tagged with the flipper tags SSM801/SSM802 (Appendix C) and transported back to the beach where she originally stranded. Because she was a nesting size female she was placed on the beach and was observed to crawl down the beach and into the water. At this point she was observed swimming rapidly away. On June 12th, a juvenile L. kempi was observed in nearshore waters off Siesta Key. This turtle was observed as being extremely lethargic and having difficulty breathing and swimming. The turtle was picked up and transported to Clearwater Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg for rehabilitation. On June 28 th, after successful rehabilitation, this animal was transported back to Sarasota. Flipper tags SSM804/SSM80 were applied to the trailing edge of both front flippers. The turtle was transported by boat approximately one mile offshore and approximately four miles south of the original pickup site and released into the water. This turtle was also observed swimming rapidly away. The remaining three loggerhead turtles were rehabilitated at Clearwater Marine Science Center. Tagging and release of these animals was undertaken by the Science Center.

8 TAGGING DATA FOR NETTED AND RELEASED TURTLES INTRODUCTION During 1993, Mote Marine Laboratory s Center for Shark Research began biological shark surveys along the Gulf of Mexico in Florida state waters. Charles Manire (DVM) who coordinates the shark surveys is also listed on FLDEP Marine Turtle Permit #04 as our veterinarian. Occasionally, sea turtles were captured in the nets and released. Because of this the MML Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program began working with the shark biologists to document information and tag captured turtles before release. MATERIALS AND METHODS The MML Center for Shark Research uses two nets 1) a three to six inch stretch mesh 600 yards long and nine feet deep, and 2) a four and five-eights inch stretch mesh 400 yards long and nine feet deep. Down time is one hour, less if turtles are observed and the net is continuously monitored. If a turtle is caught in the net, it is carefully removed, photographed, straight line measurements are taken and observations documented. Also documented are the location, water temperature, time, water depth, tide, bottom conditions, and salinity. Copies of the tagging data are included in this report (Appendix D); the originals, which included photographs, were previously submitted to the NMFS/SEFC Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging program and to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Marine Research Institute. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION During 199 eight turtles, three Caretta caretta, four Chelonia mydas and one Lepidochelys kempi, were captured tagged and released (Table 8). Fibropapilloma tumors were observed on the eyes and around the flippers of two of the C. mydas. The turtle with flipper tags QQZ711/QQZ712 was captured in Levy County northwest of the Withlacoochee River. This was a juvenile/subadult animal weighing 23 kg with a straight carapace length of cm and a straight carapace width of 44 cm. Although tumors completely covered the right eye and partially covered the left eye the turtle appeared robust at this time. The second turtle, flipper tagged QQZ728/QQZ729, was captured west of Coon Key, Gullivan Bay in the Ten Thousand Island area of Collier County. This subadult animal had a straight carapace length of 64 cm and a straight carapace width of 2 cm, no weight was obtained but the turtle appeared robust. A small tumor was observed on the right eye and the left eye was clear. The remaining six turtles appeared healthy and robust.

9 APPENDICES Information available upon request