Charlotte Harbor

Project Type(s):sighting, capture

Site Name:Charlotte Harbor

Site Reference Number:12

Region(s):Southwest, Southwest

Counties:Charlotte, Lee

Approximate Latitude: 26.7 Approximate Longitude: -82.14

Principal Investigator(s):Foote, Jerris; Meylan, Anne; Schmid, Jeffrey; Tucker, Anton

Point(s) of Contact:Tucker, Anton - Phone Number: (941) 388-4441, Email: tucker@mote.org; Schmid, Jeffrey - Phone Number: (239) 403-4225, Email: jeffs@conservancy.org

Organizations Involved:Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program, Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Mote Marine Laboratory

Organization Type(s):federal agency, non-profit, federal agency, non-profit

Project Status: Active

Start Date: 3/2003

End Date: n/a

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

	Visual	Capture
Sampling regime:	annually	annually
Measure of effort:	unknown	cap/area

Bottom Type(s):livebottom, sand, seagrass

Water Type Zone: neritic Water Type Environment: estuarine

Min. Depth (m): 0 Max. Depth (m): 16.1

Mean Depth (m): 1.9

Species	No. of Captures	No. of Sightings	Min Size* (cm)	Max Size* (cm)	Mean Size* (cm)	FP Observed	Life Stages**	Comments
Green Turtle (Cm)	1	8	56.6	n/r	56.6	No	N
Loggerhead (Cc)	1	27	82.5	n/r	82.5	No	A
Kemp's Ridley (Lk)	7	33	28.5	41.6	37.7	No	N, S
Hawksbill (Ei)	0	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Leatherback (Dc)	0	0	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.

mercury

vitamin D

In-water netting and visual surveys began in 2003 to evaluate species composition, developmental migrations, habitat use, and feeding ecology. Loggerheads are typically found near tidal passes, ridleys congregate close to creek or bay mouths, and green turtles are often observed in seagrass pastures in 6-8 feet of water. Annual CPUE rates for visual transect sightings range from 0.011-0.021 turtles/hour. Sighting densities dropped during the winter months. Another goal of this project is to evaluate posthurricane effects on turtle foraging ecology in Charlotte Harbor. A Kemp’s ridley was observed eating horseshoe crabs near the mouth of the Peace River in September 2003. Surveys conducted after Hurricane Charley in 2004 reported hypoxic conditions and a massive horseshoe crab die-off in that same area. Disturbances to seagrass beds and changes in crustacean populations after hurricanes are also being evaluated as having possible effects on sea turtle foraging ecology.

File Name	Type	Description
12_20161104_test.txt
12_20161104_test2.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.