Recently, large collaborations between sea turtle monitoring programs in the West Atlantic have identified regional declines in growth rates for loggerheads, hawksbills, and greens. Data were used from in-water capture-recapture studies. Karen Bjorndal of the University of Florida has taken the helm on three papers that address the trends for each of these species.
Notably, all species exhibited increases in growth rates […]
A new paper out last month presents the possibility that typical sea turtle population assessment methods via foot patrols may be overestimating nesting populations by as much as a factor of 2. You can view it here.
The paper uses satellite tracking of nesting green turtles (Chelonia mydas) at their study site to show that they lay an average of […]
Shortly after 2am on July 24th, the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project in Antigua observed our first hawksbill sea turtle hatchlings of the season! Hawksbills typically lay around 150 eggs that will incubate in their sandy chambers for 50-60 days. After hatching, the turtles will rest for one to two days while […]
This month we are planning to deploy 3 satellite tracking devices onto 3 hawksbill females. These are known as Platform Terminal Transmitters (PTTs). They provide information on the offshore movements of sea turtles that are otherwise near impossible to study. Roughly 10 years ago, the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project(JBHP) deployed 3 PTTs, so it will be interesting to revisit the research in […]
Here is a link to a PDF of a recent revision of Epictia blind snakes. The PDF includes E. columbi, the blind snake found on San Salvador Island and features a photo we took on a trip to San Salvador last year. Thanks to Van Wallach for sharing! For more information about blind snakes, see here.
Reference:
Wallach, V. 2016. […]
The start of July was the one month mark of our hawksbill monitoring season in Antigua. While over 29 years of monitoring (1987-2015) there has been a significant long-term increase in nesting numbers, June 2016 had a puzzlingly low amount of activity relative to previous Junes. We had 15 fewer nests than in June 2015 (24 vs. 39), as well as 8 […]
Corn snakes (Pantherophis guttata) are non-venomous snakes native to the Southeastern United States. A few years ago I documented an introduced population of corn snakes established right outside of Cherokee on Abaco (LINK). There have been a few sightings of corn snakes from that area since. Usually, reports are of dead snakes on the Cherokee road (where everyone goes crabbing). Until […]
Last year I reported on hearing a chorus of narrow-mouthed toads (Gastrophryne carolinensis) here on Abaco (link to original post). However without a specimen I couldn’t confirm its presence here. Almost exactly a year later a high school student, Donte Richard, remembered that post and called my attention to an adult in his backyard.
This new observation is about 850 […]
Finding new species these days is usually the business of researchers who work with small things like insects and crustaceans. However, every once in a while researchers uncover big animals. These rarities have hidden away in thick forests, on the top of remote mountains, or deep in the sea – places far from human eyes. For that reason, it’s remarkable when […]
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