Marina Observation of Sea Turtles: Establishing a Database of Intracoastal Waterway Green Sea Turtles in Northeast Florida

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Green sea turtles are currently listed as an endangered species. Therefore, any information on unstudied populations could provide valuable insight into the status of the species. Within the intracoastal waterway in northern Florida, juvenile green sea turtles are consistently seen eating the large leafy algae growing on the local marinas. The goal of this project was to use photographic records of each green sea turtle to determine whether individuals could be identified at two of these local marinas. Unique individuals were successfully identified, which allowed us to keep records of how often and where we saw certain turtles. To date, we have identified 195 turtles over an 18-month study period. The largest numbers were documented in warmer summer months, and the numbers decreased in colder winter months. Individual turtles were seen anywhere from once to 26 different encounters, with the longest duration between the first and last sighting of 569 days. This information can help bolster support for enacting local regulations to help conserve juvenile green sea turtles. ABSTRACT: As conservation efforts regarding green sea turtles, Chelonia mydas, continue, it is imperative to document behaviors and foraging habits/habitats of understudied populations. We have conducted an 18-month study dedicated to photographing the local population feeding alongside floating docks within the Guana Tolomato Matanzas estuary to determine the capability of matching head scale patterns efficiently through a pattern matching program: HotSpotter. To date, 195 unique sea turtles have been identified between two different marinas located in St. Augustine, FL. Of these, 98 were spotted more than once, with 39 of them being “tracked” for longer than a year. Temperature trends were also monitored in conjunction, showing that more individuals appeared during the warmer months of the year. The evidence, overall, indicates that these locations host a resident population of green sea turtles, leading to the need for a discussion on potential threats originating from the usage of these marinas by humans.