February 26, 2022
Hi All - we have received all of the DNA results for the 2021 Nesting Season. We had six distinct female sea turtles, 3 of these lady sea turtles are recorded as nesting for the first time this year! Just a quick summary of these lady sea turtles nesting efforts.
Turtle Id - CC0008917 - Nest #1
She laid our first nest on May 6th (earliest nest ever on WI) and it was the first time she visited WI. After nesting on WI, she headed south and laid 2 nests on Myrtle Beach and 2 nests on Garden City. She is recorded nesting in seaturtle.org for the years of 2016, 2019, and 2021.
Turtle Id - CC002725
She laid nests #2, #3, #5, #7, and #8, her last nest of the season was laid on DeBordieu Beach on July 28th. She is recorded in seaturtle.org laying nests in 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, (note two years in a row), 2019, and 2021. She stays pretty local for her nesting efforts. In 2016 she laid a nest on Briarcliff, and three on WI. In 2017 she laid all four nests on WI, and 2019 she laid five nests all on WI.
Turtle Id - CC014207 - New lady recorded in seaturtle.org and nesting on WI, Nest #4
She laid two nests in 2021, her first nest was laid on WI on June 17th, and her second nest (and last nest) was laid on Sunset Beach/Bird Island on July 4th.
Turtle Id - CC014208 - New lady recorded in seaturtle.org and nesting on WI - nests #6, #10, and # 11(wild nest)
She laid five nests in 2021. She laid three nests 6,10, and 11 (wild nest) on WI. Her first nest was laid on Kure Beach, NC on June 15th, and her last was laid on WI on August 7th. She also nested on Sunset Beach/Bird Island. Since the wild nest does not have a nest laid date, it may be the missing nest between July 12th and August 7th as recorded in seaturtle.org.
Turtle Id - CC014369 New lady recorded in seaturtle.org and nesting on WI - nest #9
She laid her first two nests of the season on Ocean Isle, then nest #9 on WI on July 24th. Her last nest was laid on August 6th on Sunset Beach/Bird Island.
Turtle Id - CC001759, Nest #12This lady is a veteran nesting sea turtle. She is recorded in seaturtle.org starting in 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. She laid Nest #12 on July 17th, which was PN#3 (Possible Nest). This was her last recorded nest of the season. She likes to wander, she laid her first nest of the season on June 8th at Cape Lookout, NC and her second nest on Carolina Beach, NC. She has previously laid on WI, at the end of the 2016 nesting season, July 26th.
DNA Samples Assigned: 12 (100.0%)
Unique Females: 6 (analysis incomplete)
Nests: 12
In Situ: 10
Relocated: 2 (16.6%)
Inventoried: 11 (91.6%)
Lost: 1 (8.3%)
False Crawls: 6
Estimated Eggs to Date: 1195
Eggs Lost: 28 (2.3%)
Hatched Eggs: 913
Emerged Hatchlings: 901
Mean Incubation Duration (all): 61.1 days
Mean Clutch Count: 106.5 eggs (Relocated Only)
Mean Hatch Success: 69.3%
Mean Emergence Success: 68.5%
Nest Success: 83.3%
Beach Success: 66.6%
Last Updated: 2021-11-30 16:43:58 (87.1 days ago)
I am working on setting up a meeting with the LOA's for the 2022 Nesting Season. After that meeting, I will be sending out a new Volunteer Application to the current volunteers. We will be working under the same guidelines as the 2021 season. We are continuing to keep the daily teams small.
