It could also unfortunately mean there may
be more of a decline in the population. Threats caused by humans are
driving marine turtles to extinction: fisheries bycatch, climate change or ingestion
and entanglement due to plastic debris in the ocean are some of the many
hazards that this species are facing. To a leatherback, a floating plastic bag
looks just like a jellyfish which is its main source of food. Therefore we have done
several beach clean ups at the refuge with our volunteers. Beach clean ups
are a simple way for people to get involved with conservation on their own
beaches because taking responsibility for trash, even if it's not your own, makes
a difference. Clearing debris also makes way for the hatchlings to reach the
ocean quickly. In addition, we have removed fish hooks from the mouths of
several olive ridley turtles during night patrols as well.
We have only 5 nests left in the hatchery,
4 leatherbacks and 1 black nest. We are still inputting data to determine
hatchling success but several of our nests especially blacks have done well,
with hatchlings numbering in the 60's. Hatchlings are emerging every few days,
we measure and weigh a sample of turtles from each nest and at night we release
them; this is a very special and fun moment especially with volunteers and
tourists. After a couple of days that the nest have hatched we do the exhumation
to see how has the hatching success been.
The February arribada of olive ridley sea
turtles occurred at the beginning of this week and with it lots of people arrived
to the beach interested in viewing the turtles. To be able to see both
turtle nesting and hatchling releases in one visit makes a very
educational and special experience for people and hopefully interests them in
their conservation. Sea turtles are especially sensitive to bright white lights
so whenever visiting a nesting turtle beach always remember to use a red light
and no flash photography!
The arribada has been a memorable time for
us as well. Not only is it just an amazing sight to see, we have gained lots of
experience tagging and collecting data on turtles since our leatherback project
found very few turtles this season.
Ostional is truly a beautiful place. We
have been able to explore the area on horseback in the rainforest plus hike
with our volunteers through the nearby mangroves to learn about its ecology.
We
are going to miss our starry nights looking for tracks in the sand! We are off
to study more about biology and conservation and hope to continue working in
the field and maybe even return to Ostional someday!
Pura
Vida!
Christina,
Sarah, Callie
