Sea turtle demographyproject period: 02 23 2024 - 02 22 2027PROJECT abstract summary RWO 126SIX of the seven sea turtle species are considered imperiled and five of those species inhabit U.S. Waters…

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has awarded a $320,000 Cooperative Agreement to Colorado State University under the CFDA Program 15.812 - Cooperative Research Units. The project, titled "Sea Turtle Demography," will run from February 23, 2024 to February 22, 2027.

The key objectives of this project are to: (1) evaluate the effectiveness of various monitoring methods and survey designs for assessing sea turtle nest abundance, (2) refine demographic estimates for loggerhead sea turtles nesting in the southeastern United States, with a focus on populations that express low site fidelity, and (3) assess the impacts of management actions such as nest relocation on hatchling production and examine how variations in hatchling numbers affect sea turtle populations. The project deliverables include progress reports in Years 1 and 2, and a final report. The intended beneficiaries are the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Region 4 and Endangered Species Program, and the State of Louisiana.

Sea turtle demographyproject period: 02 23 2024 - 02 22 2027PROJECT abstract summary RWO 126SIX of the seven sea turtle species are considered imperiled and five of those species inhabit U.S. Waters and nest on sandy beaches throughout the southeastern U.S. Recovery of these threatened and endangered species requires an understanding of their population status and trends to inform management decisions, and estimating these statuses and trends requires information on vital rates such as growth, emigration and immigration, survival and reproductive output. However, gathering such data for elusive, rare, or widely distributed species or life history stages is difficult. This is particularly true for sea turtle populations because their complex life histories makes parameterization of population models a challenge. In some cases, IT is practical to monitor nesting females through intensive capture and tagging programs on one or more nesting beaches, either by physical capture and application of PIT tags, or by sampling the genetic material from deposited eggs to determine maternal identity. In addition, in some cases, IT is practical to capture and mark individuals of various life stages in coastal water bodies and track their survival and abundance over time. Finally, counts of nests or crawl patterns to monitor trends in nesting numbers is common, and in some cases, aerial surveys can be used to identify other nesting beaches. Activities to be performed - (1)evaluate the effectiveness of various monitoring methods and survey designs for assessing sea turtle nest abundance(2)refine demographic estimates for loggerhead sea turtles nesting in the southeastern united states, with a focus on populations that express low site fidelity.(3)assess impacts of management actions such as nest relocation on hatchling production and examine how variations in hatchling numbers affect sea turtle populations. Deliverables and expected outcomes -progress report year 1PROGRESS report year 2FINAL report intended beneficiary(IES) -USGS wetland and aquatic research centeru. S. Fish and wildlife service, region 4 and endangered species programstate of louisiana subrecipient activities, if known or specified at the time of award