. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Rare Leatherbacks Hatch After much anticipation, a nest of rare leatherback sea turtles hatched in late August on Bogue Banks. The nest was one of two leatherback nests laid in North Carolina this summer. Overwash prevented eggs in the second nest in Pine Knoll Shores from hatching. Judy Wilgus, volunteer with the Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Protection Program, was walking the beach on an early August morning when she saw the first leatherback hatchlings emerging from the nest. Sea turtles normally emerge at n
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. Rare Leatherbacks Hatch After much anticipation, a nest of rare leatherback sea turtles hatched in late August on Bogue Banks. The nest was one of two leatherback nests laid in North Carolina this summer. Overwash prevented eggs in the second nest in Pine Knoll Shores from hatching. Judy Wilgus, volunteer with the Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Protection Program, was walking the beach on an early August morning when she saw the first leatherback hatchlings emerging from the nest. Sea turtles normally emerge at night, when the sand is cooler, but these turtles waited until just after sun- rise. With the sun in the east, some turtles headed away from the water rather than toward it. Volunteers dug shallow trenches from the nest to the water to help guide the turtles in the nght direction. Volunteers also shaded the trench with beach umbrellas to keep the hatchlings cool. In all, 36 hatchlings were recorded from the 97 eggs. Leatherbacks are the world's largest sea turtle, and the hatchlings were noticeably different than loggerhead hatchlings commonly seen in North Carolina. Pam Minnick, coordinator of the Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Protection Program, estimates that the body of a leatherback hatchling is about a quarter-inch longer and wider than a loggerhead. And its flippers are about 50 percent longer. — ABOVE: Leatherback turtle hatchling head toward the sea. COASTAL TIDINGS Fisheries Fellow Studies Red Drum Sur jmmer M. Burdick has come onboard as the 2005-2006 Marine Fisheries Fellow for North Carolina Sea Grant and the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). As the new fellow, Burdick will assist DMF in the red drum tagging and monitoring program. Red drum is the state's designated saltwater fish. Results and recommendations from this research will help DMF better understand the movements, survival and abundance of adult red. Summer Burdick drum in North Carolina, and to as
Size: 1492px × 1674px
Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionunclibra, booksubjectoceanography
