St. Joseph Bay

Project Type(s):capture

Site Name:St. Joseph Bay

Site Reference Number:1

Region(s):

Counties:Gulf

Approximate Latitude: 29.76 Approximate Longitude: -85.35

Principal Investigator(s):Carthy, Raymond; McMichael, Erin; Scarpino, Russel

Point(s) of Contact:Scarpino, Russel - Phone Number: Not Provided, Email: Not Provided; Carthy, Raymond - Phone Number: (352) 846-0545, Email: ngosi@ufl.edu

Organizations Involved:Florida Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, University of Florida, United States Geological Survey - Gainesville

Organization Type(s):university, university, federal agency

Project Status: Active

Start Date: 5/2001

End Date: n/a

General Method(s) Used:set net, strike net

	Visual	Capture
Sampling regime:	unknown	opportunistically
Measure of effort:	none	cap/effort

Bottom Type(s):sand, seagrass

Water Type Zone: neritic Water Type Environment: estuarine

Min. Depth (m): 0 Max. Depth (m): 11.1

Mean Depth (m): 5

Species	No. of Captures	No. of Sightings	Min Size* (cm)	Max Size* (cm)	Mean Size* (cm)	FP Observed	Life Stages**	Comments
Green Turtle (Cm)	220	n/a	26.2	67.4	40.2	No	N
Loggerhead (Cc)	11	n/a	31.7	96.7	57.0	No	N, S, A
Kemp's Ridley (Lk)	44	n/a	29.5	49.5	37.1	No	N, S
Hawksbill (Ei)	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Leatherback (Dc)	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

*All size measurements are SSCL unless otherwise indicated
** For Cm, Cc, Lk, & Ei: O - Oceanic-stage juvenile; N - Neritic-stage juvenile; S - Subadult; A - Adult. For Dc: I - Immature; A - Adult. n/a = not applicable; n/r = not reported.

growth rates

radio tracking

satellite tracking

sonic tracking

Recapture data suggest that the juvenile green turtle population in St. Joseph Bay is composed, at least in part, of resident turtles. It appears that turtles enter St. Joseph Bay at just under 30 cm SCL, and the majority of turtles remain in this habitat until they reach just over 60 cm SCL. The estimated mean time of residency within St. Joseph Bay is 7 years (± 1.5 years). Carr suggested that juvenile turtles undergo developmental migration, or ontogenic shifts in habitat preference. As juveniles get larger, they move to different habitats and use resources present within these areas. These life-stage-based changes in resource needs and use may very well be affecting the size classes of juvenile green turtles found in St. Joseph Bay. Although no turtles were net-captured at water temperatures below 20º C, repeated cold-stunning events have resulted in mass strandings of juvenile green turtles in this area. It is likely that these turtles did not partake in seasonal movements over the winter but instead remained in the area. Comparison of body condition indices of stunned and unstunned turtles indicates that cold-stunned turtles had significantly poorer body condition (less mass per cm of SCL). Turtles may be foraging less in the winter, conserving energy, and perhaps surviving using the fat stores they have accumulated during the warmer foraging months. There was a noticeable, yet not statistically significant, negative correlation between growth rate and the number of cold-stunning episodes a turtle experienced. Several turtles from St. Joseph Bay were found to return to specific sites following displacement, suggesting site fidelity.

File Name	Type	Description
1_20161104_test.txt
1_AlicTest.txt
1_Peter_Rubec_ELB_Questions.docx
1_test.txt

* This document is available from FWC by request. Email SeaTurtleData@MyFWC.com if you would like a copy. Please include both the project name and file name in your email.
** This document has been provided to FWC but is unavailable for download. Please contact the project PI if you would like a copy.

McMichael, E., R.R. Carthy, and J.A. Seminoff. 2003 Evidence of homing behavior and site fidelity in juvenile green sea turtles of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. In: Seminoff, J.A. (comp.). Proc. 22nd ISTS. NOAA Tech. Memo NMFS-SEFSC-503, pp. 223-224.

McMichael, E., J.A. Seminoff, and R.R. Carthy. 2004. Displacement and subsequent homing of juvenile green turtles to highly productive foraging grounds. Poster at 24th ISTS, San Jose, Costa Rica:22-28 February, 2004.

Scarpino, R., E. McMichael, D.A. Bagley, R.R. Carthy, and J.A. Seminoff. 2004. Initial satellite tracking data of cold-stunned juvenile green sea turtle following displacement in the Gulf of Mexico. Poster at 24th ISTS, San Jose, Costa Rica:22-28 Feb 2004

McMichael, E., R.R. Carthy, and J.A. Seminoff. 2006. Ecology of juvenile sea turtles in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. In: Pilcher, N.J. (comp.). Proc. 23rd ISTS. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-536, pp. 20-21.

McMichael, E. A. Turner, R.R. Carthy, and T.M. Summers. 2006 Summary of 2002 cold stun turtles in St. Joseph Bay, Florida. In: Pilcher, N.J. (comp.). Proc. 23rd ISTS. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-536, pp. 184-186.