Sea turtle nesting season in Florida off to early start

NAPLES, Fla. – Sea turtle nesting season started early this year, and some believe the warm Gulf temperatures might be the reason.

Maura Kraus, Collier County’s principal environmental specialist, recorded the first nests beginning April 21. Barefoot Beach, Parkshore and Marco Island had visible nesting sites earlier than last year.

Kraus said there are 46 nests throughout the county, nearly 30 more than were found by this time last year.

“(Warmer water) kind of sparks them to start coming in and nest,” Kraus said.

Kraus also reported 63 false crawls so far this year, whereas 22 were recorded last year at this time. A false crawl is when a pregnant sea turtle comes to shore but doesn’t lay her clutch.

“Think we are going to have a busy summer!” she wrote in a weekly email update.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted record-like heat for Southwest Florida’s spring this year, and temperatures hit the 90s in mid-March.

Charles Gunnels, associate professor of animal behavior at Florida Gulf Coast University, said early nesting because of warming temperatures could be a bit of a double-edged sword.

On one hand, rising air and sea surface temperatures could be an indicator of climate change, but early nesting could indicate that sea turtles are properly responding to the changes.

Gunnels said it’s not yet clear if early nesting is a sign of an extended period.

“What is clear is that these hotter air temperatures increase the temperature of beaches and increased beach temperature affects the offspring as they become female biased,” he said. Warmer temperatures mean more females hatching and fewer males.

Loggerhead turtles in Florida have not shown good responsiveness to warming temperatures, but some northern populations have been able to respond properly, according to a 2012 study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

“We don’t know why,” Gunnels said. “A lot of these studies are very recent and sort of catching up with expectations associated with climate change. Our loggerheads in southern latitudes don’t seem to respond to sea surface temperatures, and if we do see a response, it’s a good sign.”

Meanwhile, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida monitors loggerhead sea turtle nests on Keewaydin Island. Kathy Worley, the Conservancy’s director of environmental science, has recorded eight nests so far on the island.