Dry Tortugas Sea Turtles

A project of USGS Greater Everglades Sea Turtles in conjunction with the partners and sponsors detailed below.

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Introduction

To characterize the population of sea turtles in Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO) and quantify the proportion of time individuals of each species spend in the Research Natural Area (RNA) compared to other areas of the Park, we are conducting a turtle capture, tagging, and tracking project. Turtle captures are performed by intercepting reproductive females on nesting beaches and catching turtles in the water using rodeo, hand-capture, and dip-netting methods. Turtle processing techniques include individually marking each turtle with internal PIT tags and external flipper tags, and taking standard measurements and samples for genetics, isotopes, and diet. Using satellite and acoustic telemetry techniques, we are determining daily locations and movement patterns for tagged turtles, calculating home ranges and core use areas, and statistically summarizing the extent of overlap of these areas with that of the RNA. We are combining these data sets to determine survival, growth rates, and diet of juvenile green turtles; residence times in the Park and core use areas for all three species; and definitive links to other hawksbill nesting grounds (i.e., Cuba) and loggerhead foraging areas in other regions (i.e., Bahamas, southwest coastal Florida). This project links strongly to the benthic habitat mapping task of the USGS Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST) project, funded by the Coastal and Marine Geology (CMG) Program, and is also funded by the USGS Priority Ecosystem Studies Program (PES).