Sea Turtle Nests Update
By Peggy Sagmiller
For several weeks, there has been a huge crab hole
on Nest #1, but no one ever saw the crab. The hole was
regularly filled in, only to reappear by morning, with
the fill sand piled outside the hole. After 7 p.m. on
Saturday, August 8, two dead green sea turtle hatchlings
were found on top of this nest. One had obvious crab
damage; the other was mostly intact. We excavated Nest
#1 on Wednesday, August 12.
The excavation was performed by Liz Mauser and
Danny Frye. Mindy Furrer inventoried the contents. In
the nest were 41 shells, 54 unhatched eggs, 12 pipped
(partially hatched) dead hatchlings, four dead hatchlings
and one live hatchling. The total clutch size was 109,
with one egg having been removed for DNA analysis.
Everyone enjoyed watching the live hatchling make its
way into the ocean, and many photos were taken. The
emergence success of Nest #1 was 66%. This nest had
been overwashed by high tides for most of July. It was
high and dry when laid, but the protective escarpment
eroded after it was too late to move the nest.
On Friday, August 7, a few loggerhead sea turtle
hatchlings emerged from our suspected nest, #2 1/2.
This nest was the one where no eggs were found, yet
we strongly suspected it was a nest. We decided to wait
until August 12 and excavate this one at the same time
COUPLES' CHOICE
Awards
201S
20 Th^Shorel^ I September 2015
Left photo: Liz Mauser, Danny Frye and Mindy Furrer excavate Nest #1; right, Malcolm Bone, Mindy Furrer and Arlene
Terrell excavate Nest #2 M2—Photos by Suzanne Deneau
as Nest #1, thinking that the wait would give additional hatchlings time to emerge. Not all sea turtle nests
boil when hatching. Sometimes the hatchlings trickle out over several nights. This nest was one of those.
The excavation of Nest #2 1/2 was performed by Malcolm Bone and Mindy Furrer. Arlene Terrell
inventoried the contents. In the nest were 93 shells, 6 unhatched eggs and one pipped dead hatchling.
The total clutch for Nest #2 1/2 was 100. No egg was taken for DNA analysis at discovery, because we
never found any. However, a sample was taken after the inventory was completed. Nest #2 1/2 had an
emergence success of 93%—a great result.
As of mid-August, we are still watching Nests #2 and #3, and we are about to get Nest #4 ready for
sitting. We will continue to keep everyone up to date on the nests in Pine Knoll Shores as they hatch.
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