Saturday, October 24, 2009

Loggerhead sea turtle nest excavation



Above you see the working of a loggerhead sea turtle excavation.
We record data for USFWS as follows.
In the case of B-4, here are the results;

Escaped from nest-118
Alive in nest and released-4
hatched but dead in nest-1
HATCHED EGGS-123
Dead pipped eggs-0
Live pipped eggs released later-0
Infertile no obvious embryo-5
Dead embryos-0
Depredated-0
TOTAL UNHATCHED-5
TOTAL EGGS-128
SURVIVAL %- 123/128

FANTASTIC results for a nest that was moved to a higher elevation and then compromised by new construction engineered by a local of Pass Cristian who possibly did not understand sand compared to a clay building base. The construction crew was made to "pile drive" 70 some pilings into the sand which for nearly 2 weeks caused tremendous shaking, noise and vibrations to a nest just yards away. (In Gulf Shores we water "jet" our pilings in, quickly and with less disruption.)Fortunately the sub-contractor Rodney made the decision once the nest was shown to him, to halt proceedings for 2 days at their financial loss. Good people are often found where you least expect it, and the outcome was terrific! Thanks everyone involved!

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