Tybee Island Sea Turtle Project

Winter is coming and where have all the loggerhead sea turtles gone? Being reptiles and cold blooded, they must head to warmer climates for the duration of the winter months. Loggerheads, as well as other sea turtle species, are solitary animals and can migrate for hundreds of miles. Most of the loggerheads that visitedGeorgiawaters during the nesting season will migrate south towardsFloridaandCaribbeanwaters. The Atlantic loggerhead population may spend the winter in the Atlantic, Pacific orIndianOceans. Leatherbacks, the largest sea turtle, can regulate their own body temperature which allows them to remain active in colder waters.

After a long season of courting, mating and nesting female sea turtles need to replenish themselves. Male loggerheads have been on the move since mid spring when mating was complete. Hibernation is not uncommon in the Atlantic loggerhead population. To hibernate, a sea turtle will bury itself in the silt, sand or mud at the bottom of the sea. Cooler water temperatures will affect the metabolism rate of the loggerhead. By reducing their metabolism, sea turtles can stay submerged for forty minutes up to five hours if they are not active.* During the colder months loggerheads will continue to forge on their favorite foods, crabs, horseshoe crabs and jellyfish.

A danger that all sea turtles face in the winter months is cold stunning. This occurs when the water temperature drops quickly to 50 degrees Fahrenheit or below, sea turtles that are still in the area will most likely become cold stunned making them lethargic and floaters. Being unable to dive can put the turtle at risk for catching pneumonia. Many loggerheads and green sea turtles were “cold stunned” in 2009, whenFloridahad record low temperatures during January. More than 5,000 sea turtles were affected by this event. Many were able to be rescued, rehabilitated and released back into the oceans, although further south to warmer waters. Cold stunned turtles are treated by warming up the body temperature and then placing the turtle in to a warm salt bath. Each turtle was   examined and treated for injuries and illness before being released back into the wild.

You can follow the migratory patterns, of several Georgiasea turtles, this winter at www.seaturtle.org. For more information on ourGeorgia turtles please visit theTybeeIslandMarineScienceCenter.

* O’Keele, Timothy M., Sea Turtles the Watcher’s Guide, Lakeland, FL, Larsen’s Outdoor Publishing, 1995.