Turtle nests hit hard by last year’s storms

| 16/03/2022 | 4 Comments
A volunteer checks on a turtle nest

(CNS): Endangered sea turtles face a number of serious threats to their existence, which now includes climate change. Already at risk from poaching, coastal development and human activity, especially lighting that disorients hatchlings, the turtles must now contend with rising summer temperatures, rising sea levels and increased storm activity, which undermine their nesting season.

The Department of Environment said on social media that last year’s storm activity had a huge impact on turtle nests across the Cayman Islands. In total, 141 nests (26.5% of known nests) were washed over by waves.

The eggs in 88 nests still hatched, 26 had a reduced hatch success and 21 failed to hatch at all. The rest could not be located after Tropical Storm Grace, and so the fate of those hatchlings remains unknown.

Beach erosion from storms also reduces the amount of suitable nesting habitat for sea turtles, forcing them to nest closer to the water’s edge and in the path of storms, as well as putting them in more danger from rising sea levels.

Hotter summers also impact the nest incubation temperatures. This can produce female-only offspring resulting in a skewed sex ratio in the population, which could even lead to eventual extinction. In addition, egg mortality increases with high sand temperatures, the DoE experts said.

During the course of the season the Turtle Team monitored all sea turtle nests closely, evaluating the need to relocate them further from the water.

“Egg relocation is only carried out for nests deemed at serious risk of flooding as relocating eggs usually reduces the hatch success of the nest,” the DoE said in the Facebook post. “For this reason, egg relocation is only carried out by highly trained team members.”

The 2022 nesting season is due to get underway in May, and the public is asked to give turtles space during the mating season both in the water and on the beach, to use turtle-friendly lighting on beachfront property and to keep beach furniture out of the path of the nesting turtles.


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Category: Climate Change, Land Habitat, Science & Nature

Comments (4)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Why is it that the first comment out of the gate is always some snide, snarky know-it-all, who actually knows nothing.

  2. Anonymous says:

    “Beach erosion from storms also reduces the amount of suitable nesting habitat for sea turtles, forcing them to nest closer to the water’s edge and in the path of storms, as well as putting them in more danger from rising sea levels.”

    One of the first things DOE should do, which costs ZERO to do, is get out and walk beaches with nesting sites and force people to clean up the areas in front of tbeir luxury properties and assign workers to do this daily.

    Of course, this makes too much sense, so it wont be considered.

    CNS: Under what law would they force people to move their beach furniture?

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