Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Wyneken, Jeanette

Abstract

It has been recognized that mortality is high for juvenile stages of long-lived vertebrates such as sea turtles, however few studies have quantified mortality rates. The objective of this study was to assess the relative risk that hatchlings face in their first few minutes in the water, at the commencement of their offshore migration from a natural high-density nesting beach (Juno/Jupiter, FL). I followed 217 hatchlings at night by kayak, as they left the beach and documented the proportion surviving the initial 15 minutes in the water. Of these, 206 survived for an empirical survival rate of 95%. Tarpon were the most common predator observed. This survival rate is much higher than that previously observed at a hatchery (72%); this may be due to temporal and spatial variation in nest location at the natural beach. Juno and Jupiter beaches are therefore highly productive sea turtle rookeries.

Extent

50 p.

Comments

FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2001.|Charles E. Schmidt College of Science|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Identifier

FADT12822

Format

pdf

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