The Negative Effects of Beach Renourishment on Sea Turtle Nesting

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The Negative Effects of Beach Renourishment on
Sea Turtle Nesting
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What is a Sea Turtle?
Sea turtle A large air breathing reptile that
spends most of its life in the water. It comes
on land only if it is a nesting female, or if it
is dead or dying.
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Mating/Nesting

• What factors affect mating/nesting?
• Time of year that mating occurs- late spring to
  late summer
• Frequency of mating- most turtles mate every two
  to three years
• Habitat that females choose to nest in

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The Mating Process...

• Male and female turtle meet offshore to mate
• Female then returns to the same beach that she
  was born to lay her clutch (eggs)

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Nesting contd...

• Upon reaching the beach, the female drags her
  heavy body on shore
• She crawls to a point above the high water mark
  where she will then dig a body pit

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Nesting contd...

• Once body pit is dug female lays a clutch of
  about 100 eggs
• Female then covers the eggs and leaves them to
  incubate and hatch, never to return to the site

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So What is the Problem?
Beach Renourishment
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Renourishment

• Beach renourishment is a solution to dealing
  with the rapid erosion of beaches
• Sediment from an alternative source is brought
  in and placed on the existing shoreline to make
  it larger
• Renourishment is mostly done for economic
  reasons, such as attracting tourists to the
  beaches
• In Miami Beach renourishment increased beach
  attendance from 8 million in 1978 to 21 million
  in 1983

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Problems with Renourishment

• If renourishment is done at the wrong time of
  the year (nesting season) it can cover nests
• Equipment can compact the sand or make trenches
  that the turtles cannot breach to get high enough
  above the water line
• Steep berms often form preventing females from
  nesting or causing them to nest below the high
  water mark

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Problems with Renourishment

• Replaced sand is often harder (more resistant
  to shear) than the natural sand and it is
  usually not the same material
• Harder sand often results in a nest of
  inappropriate size or depth
• More compact sand or sand of a different size
  can also results in insufficient gas exchange,
  change in nest temperature (important for
  determining turtles sex), and nest moisture

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• Regulate when renourishment is done
• Require nest surveys, nest marking, and nest
  relocation
• Modify methods to reduce compaction
• Renourish with sediment of similar grain size
  and composition

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Dealing with Renourishment- Nationally

• Because so little is known about sea turtles
  and their nesting behaviors it is important to
  protect them
• Federal Endangered Species Act
  
• Section 7 Actions are not likely to
  jeopardize the continued existence of any
  endangered or threatened species or result in the
  destruction or adverse modification of the
  critical habit
• Section 9 prohibits the sale, import, export,
  or transport of any endangered species and most
  threatened species, and makes it unlawful to
  take them

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Dealing with Renourishment- Locally

• Most states have their own laws and agencies
  dealing with protecting sea turtles
• Ex. Florida- FESA and Marine Turtle
  Protection Act

• Beach and coastal acts
• Often require permits to be obtained for
  renourishment which allows authorities to
  regulate when it is done

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References cited
www.law.fsu.edu/journals/landuse/Vol132/Butl.htm w
ww.cccturtle.org/behav.htm www.brookdale.cc.nj.us/
staff/sandyhook/dgrant/field/dollars.htm www.turtl
es.org Steinitz et al. 1998. Beach
Renourishment and Loggerhead Turtle Reproduction
A Seven Year Study at Jupiter Island, Florida.
Journal of Coastal Research, 143, 1000-1013 The
Effect of Beach Nourishment with Aragonite Versus
Silicate Sand on Beach Temperature and Loggerhead
Sea Turtle nesting Success. Journal of Coastal
Research. 133, 904-915