The world according to me....

The International Sea Turtle Symposium continues in Costa Rica. Here is a photo of Michael Coyne's talk about all the amazing tools available on seaturtle.org for people doing satellite tracking of marine turtles. I think he really wowed the audience. At the end, he thanked everyone who donated to the seaturtle.org server fund-drive last year: all of the new tools and enhancements would not have been possible without the help of everyone.

Then there was the banquet..... more on that later.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So many presentations and posters, so little time. As usual, the days during the symposium are packed with oral presenations that are engaging, exciting, and informative. And so are the posters. But how to get it all in? There has to be some picking and choosing. So far, I seem to have done well as most of the presentations I have seen have been good or even great. The photo is of Catherine McClellan from Duke University who presented some of her data this morning. The audience was quite struck by her findings: that some loggerhead juvenile turtles leave inshore North Carolina waters and swim far out into the ocean for months at a time!

Stay tuned for more details about other exciting presentations.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 02:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's the second day of the symposium. Lots of presentations, posters, and discussions. My favourite part of the symposium always has been the chance to chat with other folks and have a good laugh. Here is Phillipe Rivalan, Kartik Shanker and Michael Coyne during the Cocktail Party last night. I was more relaxed last night, after having given a talk earlier in the afternoon (during which a certain sea turtle anatomist slept soundly in the front row!!). Now I just have to get my poster up tomorrow and also make sure I talk to everyone I wanted to talk to....

more soon.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Less than 12 hours to go before I leave home for my trip to Costa Rica, for the 24th Annual Sea Turtle Symposium. I am looking forward to all the different presentations (oral and poster) made by people from around the world. I am co-author on a few presentations, including a powerpoint presentation scheduled for 16:45 on Monday. The slide above gives an indication of the content, but for the full story, either you will have to come see the presentation or wait until the proceedings of this sea turtle symposium are available.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 06:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The annual Sea Turtle Symposium will officially begin on 22 February in Costa Rica. Despite the best of intentions, many of us are scrambling to finish our posters and polish our powerpoint presentations in the week just prior to the symposium. Last year I remember that I was still trying to get things ready up until I had to leave on a mad 3 hour drive to RDU airport on the way to Malaysia. This year, things are less stressful in anticipation of the symposium. Of course, it helps to have colleagues around who can give critical comments and provide suggestions, not to mention solve all computer/printer problems (thanks Wendy). Good luck to everyone in getting their presentations ready, and see you in San Jose in less than a week. Bon voyage.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have heard my peers sometimes refer to green turtles as "pinheads." Something about that just struck me the wrong way, and I didn't figure it out until I looked at this photo of a green turtle from French Guiana. Sure, she doesn't have the concrete-block sized noggin that loggerheads have, but she is no Zippy the Pinhead! In fact, the shape and size of her head is rather pleasing. Now, if you want to talk about the uncouth behavior of leatherbacks, that is another story...

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I stumbled across this....

when I should have been doing something more productive. But for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what is going on. So, anyone care to add a caption to this photo found here?
click here
Just add your idea to the comments section.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 05:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In January 2004, at the FWS National Conference and Training Center in West Virginia, the state and federal coordinators of the sea turtle stranding and salvage network (STSSN) met to discuss issues and plan for the future. Various themes were raised, including monitoring disease in sea turtles, collecting samples for DNA and ageing studies, standardizing injury categories for live stranded turtles, etc. Over the course of three days, we also managed to share stories, swap advice, and laugh at some of our funnier experiences involving volunteer networks. Although more serious topics were often discussed, one of the more common conversations revolved around where we should meet in the future. For me, there is no discussion: next time we should meet in the US Virgin Islands.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 06:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many sea turtle projects rely heavily on volunteers to get the work done. The North Carolina Sea Turtle Project is no different. There are over 500 participants who contribute their time to monitoring nests and responding to strandings. Most of these participants are volunteers. I am always amazed at how willing and dedicated these people are. This is particularly true when it comes to our requests to collect samples from dead turtles. Yet, so many people have come forward and offered to retrieve flippers, eyeballs and other parts from sometimes rotting carcasses. The good will and enthusiasm of our sea turtle volunteers was evident at a recent training workshop we held in Corolla, North Carolina. More than a dozen people braved the cool breezy garage of the local fire station to learn how to remove the humerus bone and also to classify sex of a dead turtle that they might find on the beach in their area. As you can see, they were ready with gloves on, to get into the action. Their enthusiasm is inspiring, and reminds me how lucky I am to have a job that I really enjoy.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 07:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Leatherbacks usually migrate through nearshore waters of North Carolina in the spring and also occasionally nest in North Carolina during summer months. That’s why, on a cold day in January, it was so unexpected: a sick leatherback was found near the Bodie Island side of Oregon Inlet. Floating listlessly in the surf, the turtle was pulled onto the beach by a park ranger who waded into the cold and rough water. Park rangers and volunteers remained with the leatherback while biologists and wildlife veterinarians were mobilized and rushed to reach the turtle. The poor condition of the turtle rapidly deteriorated in the short time after she was found. Consultations with wildlife veterinarians, biologists and the US Fish and Wildlife Service ensued and a decision was made to euthanize the animal. Although it was a sad end for the leatherback, it also presented an opportunity for various samples to be collected for at least seven different researchers, in addition to the blood and tissue collected for chemical and histopathological analyses. It was amazing to see up close a large male leatherback (the only one I had seen previously was mating with a female in water about 30m off the nesting beach). Nevertheless, I prefer to see large healthy females laying eggs on a nesting beach.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 04:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)