Florida Bay

Project Type(s):capture, sighting

Site Name:Florida Bay

Site Reference Number:16

Region(s):Southeast

Counties:Monroe

Approximate Latitude: 24.96 Approximate Longitude: -80.86

Principal Investigator(s):Foley, Allen; Schroeder, Barbara; Witherington, Blair E

Point(s) of Contact:Foley, Allen - Phone Number: (904) 573-3930, Email: Allen.Foley@MyFWC.com; Schroeder, Barbara - Phone Number: (301) 713-2322, Email: barbara.schroeder@noaa.gov

Organizations Involved:Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission - Fish & Wildlife Research Institute, National Marine Fisheries Service

Organization Type(s):state agency, federal agency

Project Status: Active

Start Date: 1990

End Date: n/a

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

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

Bottom Type(s):hardbottom, sand, seagrass

Water Type Zone: neritic Water Type Environment: marine

Min. Depth (m): 0 Max. Depth (m): 4

Mean Depth (m): 1

Species	No. of Captures	No. of Sightings	Min Size* (cm)	Max Size* (cm)	Mean Size* (cm)	FP Observed	Life Stages**	Comments
Green Turtle (Cm)	73	n/a	25.5	66.1	45.8	Yes	N
Loggerhead (Cc)	902	n/a	33.0	98.7	77.7	Yes	N, S, A
Kemp's Ridley (Lk)	23	n/a	28.9	64.5	50.7	No	N, S, A
Hawksbill (Ei)	3	n/a	38.2	58.1	49.8	No	N
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.

blood chemistry

FP progression

growth rates

radio tracking

residency

satellite tracking

sonic tracking

Central and western Florida Bay (primary sampling sites) provide important habitats for immature and adult loggerheads, immature green turtles, and immature (and possibly adult) Kemp’s ridleys. Loggerheads and green turtles are the most abundant; Kemp’s ridleys are reliably captured in certain areas; immature hawksbills are rarely encountered within the study area. Adult loggerheads of both sexes are found year-round. Multiple recaptures of immature and adult loggerheads over periods of up to ten years indicate some strong site-fidelity within Florida Bay. FP is externally present in green turtles at relatively high rates and is commonly observed in loggerheads, though at a much lower rate. The external expression of the disease is generally less severe in loggerheads. This project produces data on residency, growth, migrations, reproductive status, blood chemistry, sex ratios, genetic composition, tag retention, FP occurrence, and FP progression/regression.

No documents uploaded.

Schroeder, B.A., and A.M. Foley. 1995. Population studies of marine turtle in Florida Bay. In: Richardson, J.I., and T.H. Richardson (comps.). Proc. 12th ISTS. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-361, pp. 117.

Schroeder, B.A., A.M. Foley, B.E. Witherington, and A.E. Mosier. 1998. Ecology of marine turtles in Florida Bay: population structure, distribution, and occurrence of fibropapilloma. In: Epperly & Braun. Proc. 17th ISTS. NMFS-SEFSC-415, pp. 281-283.

Foley, A.M. 2006. Reporductive movements and behavior of male and female loggerheads from a southeast U.S. foraging ground. Final report submitted to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, 21 pp.

Foley, A.M. 2006. Long-term study of sea turtles in Florida Bay. Final report submitted to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, 15 pp.