"A Beachcomber's Guide to Turtle Tracks" is a dvd produced by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, to train volunteers who participate in the agency’s nesting surveys for marine turtles. These volunteers (>3,000 in 2010) contribute data to FWC’s Statewide Nesting Beach Survey and Index Nesting Beach Survey. In 2010, surveys were carried out on 203 beaches that extended 1314 km. The video shows nesting behavior of loggerheads, green turtles and leatherbacks and relates that behavior to the evidence left in the sand-the tracks and nest. Volunteers learn how to identify which species of sea turtle made the track, and to determine whether a turtle nested or not. All participants are permitted by the agency to conduct activities related to sea turtles in Florida. For more information, see http://myfwc.com/research/wildlife/sea-turtles/nesting/sea-turtle-monitoring/

Continue reading "A Beachcomber's Guide to Turtle Tracks" »

Posted by Michael Coyne at 01:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Once a stranded turtle has been reported, the data recorded and the samples collected, what happens to the carcass?

Continue reading "Where do the stranded turtles go?" »

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 03:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sea turtle work takes me all over the world and my iPhone has been a great travel tool. Not only does it let me stay in touch with my family and keep up with e-mail, but I have also used it to look up and book hotels in Australia, France and Spain; navigate roadways around the world; listen to my favorite music and podcasts in Mayumba National Park (Gabon); send images of a charging elephant; take video of hatchlings scrambling down the beach on Lady Elliot Island (Australia) and monkeys stealing food in French Guiana; live stream a presentation by J Nichols; and much, much more.

However, a bit of planning is required when traveling internationally with an iPhone or it could end up costing you a lot of money. I thought I would share some of the tips and tricks I have picked up over the years.

First, add the AT&T MyWireless app to your iphone if you haven't already. That will help you manage your phone's features.

I always have AT&T World Connect and Expanded International Roaming turned on. AT&T World Connect is $3.99 per month and provides reduced rates on international calls from the US. You can also turn it off and on as needed. Expanded International Roaming is free and lets you make and receive calls while traveling in supported countries. You may need to call AT&T support to enable international calling if you haven't done so already.

When I am traveling I add...

AT&T World Traveler - $5.99/mo and gives you slightly reduced per minute rates when using your phone to make calls while traveling internationally. Check AT&T's website to see if your destination is covered. For example, in India normal international rates are $2.49/min, and $2.29/min with the World Traveller plan. So it would take about 30 minutes of phone calls to pay for this feature.

Data Global Add-On - This provides access to data while you are traveling outside the US. There are a number of plans ranging from $24.99 per month (20 MB) to $199.99 per month (200 MB). Check AT&T's website to see if your destination is covered. When I went to Australia I added the 100 MB plan and used almost all of it over a 2 week period, browsing the internet, checking e-mail and using Google Maps to navigate. I will use the 100 MB plan when I go to India this week. The nice thing about having the AT&T app on your phone is that you can upgrade plans if you start to run out.

The key to both of these features is to turn them off when you get home so you don't get charged for extra months. AT&T suggests that you wait until all of the international charges show up on your account before turning features off or you might be charged higher rates. What I do is turn the services on the day before I leave and then turn them off 30 days later right before the next month starts.

Finally, don't forget to put your phone in airplane mode or turn off international data roaming (in Settings) when you are not actively using the phone so that your phone and apps will not secretly consume your data plan. Airplane mode will block prevent the phone from using data and making or receiving calls. Turning off international roaming will turn off data usage, but allow you to make and receive phone calls.

Also check out the iPhone Travel Tips on AT&T's website.

Continue reading "Turtle travel with an iPhone" »

Posted by Michael Coyne at 03:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is an important announcement sent by Marydele Donnelly of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation. The Marine Turtle Conservation Act has supported more than 100 sea turtle projects around the world, including the Marine Turtle Newsletter and SEATURTLE.ORG.

Due to a series of delays this year, citizen lobbying for U.S. appropriations in support of the Marine Turtle Conservation Act (MTCA) and other Multinational Species Conservation Funds (MSCF) for some of the world’s most charismatic species has only just begun. The deadline for Congressional signatures on a letter to Interior Appropriations in support of MSCF programs is Wednesday, March 17^th.

Around the world, these programs make a huge difference to conserve marine turtles, rhinos, tigers, great apes, African and Asian elephants and neo-tropical migratory birds.

Please consider sending an electronic letter or making a call to your Congressional Representative asking that he/she support appropriations for these small but critically important funds by signing a letter to Interior Appropriations. More information, and the opportunity to send a letter, are provided on CCC’s website. The office of your Representative can be reached through the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121.

The MTCA was passed in 2004. Since 2005, it has provided 113 grants totaling $ 3.733 million to marine turtle conservation programs outside theUnited States and leveraged an additional $5.946 million in matching or in-kind funds. As many of you in our community live in the Southeast, we are asking for your help in encouraging your congressional Representatives to sign a letter to Interior Appropriations by the March 17^th deadline.

As constituents and interested citizens, your calls make a huge difference. Remember, in addition to everything else the MTCA supports, it also provides critical funding for the International Sea Turtle Symposium. This year Members of Congress signing the letter to Interior Appropriations will be requesting $2.5 million for the MTCA.

Continue reading "2010 Funding for Marine Turtle Conservation Act" »

Posted by Michael Coyne at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Rush Limbaugh Seriously Considering Founding Turtle Preservation Society

(Disclaimer: these quotes may be slightly out of context, a practice Limbaugh approves of but rarely warns listeners of when practiced on his show)

Radio star Rush Limbaugh is worried about sea turtles and is doing something about it. He and his neighbors in Florida know that just one light can kill thousands of sea turtles. "Giant sea turtles lumber out of the ocean, they trundle up to the beach, they dig the nest, they lay the eggs, and they trundle back to the ocean", says Limbaugh. "And then some weeks later the hatchlings hatch and they burrow up out of the sand and they are supposed to go to the ocean." But, says Limbaugh, "lights on the beach distract the hatchlings and cause them not to go to the ocean but inland. So, those of us who live on the beach have to turn the lights off."

Continue reading "Sign Lights Out for Rush Limbaugh Sea Turtle Pledge" »

Posted by Michael Coyne at 08:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)