http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog Leatherback sea turtle research at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316#comments Mon, 10 Jun 2013 03:35:13 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2316 Ok... Not really. Wishful thinking. But we did locate the star that she's named after using Google Sky Map. We're on our third night of tracking Spica down the coastline. We've done this many times over the years and it can be quite a fun process. We use a combination of technologies to follow her as she makes her way back to nest. Normally leatherbacks nest every 9-11 days but throughout our history with Spica we have seen her take a bit longer than that. This is night 13. Spica has a Gps tag that sends us her location every hour or two. Once we reach the time that a turtle should be nesting (night 9 or 10 or whenever she nears the beach), we go to the area of her most recent location. From there, we use vhf transmissions to pinpoint her exact location. Our vhf receiver and antenna pick up the transmissions from her vhf tag and we're able to use the strength to determine her direction relative to us. Right now we are stationed near the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge and Spica is just about a mile from where we are making her way south. Our tracked leatherbacks always make their way south along the coastline for a few days while seeking a nesting site. One question we'd like to answer is what cues they are using to find "their" beach. Or what cues them to stop at their given nesting location? We have seen similarities in behavior between several of the turtles we've tracked, particularly around the inlets. We are sill waiting to see if Spica nests tonight outside of her normal Juno Beach range or pushes it one more night and nests on Juno tomorrow. It's unlikely she will make it that far south tonight. It typically takes 12-24 hours to get from one inlet to the next. We have followed Spica through the Ft. Pierce and St. Lucie inlets. She just has the Jupiter inlet left. Until then, we're on the lookout! ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2316 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:26:41 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2306 Spica's travels over the last 9 days.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2308" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 1st transmitter in 2011.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2307" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Spica with her 2nd transmitter in 2011.[/caption]]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2306 1 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303#comments Sun, 02 Jun 2013 11:30:06 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2303 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2303 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 11:34:34 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2301 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2301 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298#comments Fri, 24 May 2013 10:57:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2298 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2298 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 09:12:55 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2296 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2296 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288#comments Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:48 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2288 http://vimeo.com/65993582 On our 9.5 mile survey area, we now have 55 leatherback nests and 327 loggerhead nests. By comparison, last year we had 140 leatherback nests and 532 loggerhead nests by this date. We've had one leatherback per night for the last three nights. Tonight we saw Veruca for the third time this year. Last night we found one of our new girls from ten days ago, and the night before that we found a new turtle that Kristin named Nala. ]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2288 3 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 04:31:23 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2284 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2284 2 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281#comments Sun, 05 May 2013 11:30:07 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2281 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2281 0 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2268 http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2268#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 11:58:09 +0000 KellyM @ FloridaLeatherbacks http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?p=2268 Nerita in 2005[/caption] All marine turtle footage taken in Florida was obtained with the approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to this or other turtles. [caption id="attachment_2274" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Patty's wounds from last night. The slash marks are not as visible but are located where her shoulder meets her carapace.[/caption] All marine turtle footage taken in Florida was obtained with the approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) under conditions not harmful to this or other turtles.]]> http://floridaleatherbacks.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=2268 0