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RESEARCH
East Coast Biologists, Inc. (ECB) monitor the population of sea turtles inhabiting the nearshore hardbottom and artificial reefs in east central Brevard County, FL.
But where do these turtles come from? Preliminary genetic research conducted by University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources indicates that the natal origin of the juvenile green turtle population in this area were hatched from locations as far away as Costa Rica!
To better understand how turtles interact with the habitat in our study area, ECB placed acoustic transmitters on juvenile green and subadult loggerhead turtles to learn whether they are “residents” or “transients” just passing through. Results of acoustic tracking and recapture data indicated juvenile green turtles use the nearshore and artificial reef habitat anywhere from 30 days to a year or more. In contrast, most of the subadult loggerhead turtles tracked appeared to be transient, making brief stops at the artificial reef as they continued their migration with one turtle (Jade) swimming as far south as the Florida Keys.
Tracking turtles to see where they go is exciting, but so is finding out what's on their menu! ECB conducted a dietary study on juvenile green sea turtles to analyze their favorite foods. Data showed juvenile green turtles prefer to forage on red algae followed by green then brown algae. The nutritional values analyzed from algae species in this study aid sea turtle rehabilitation facilities in diet plans for recovering juvenile green turtles.