The Breakers

General Information

Project Type(s):capture

Site Name:The Breakers

Site Reference Number:21

Region(s):Southeast

Counties:Palm Beach

Approximate Latitude: 26.8 Approximate Longitude: -80.02

View ArcGIS map of study area

Principal Investigator(s):Wood, Lawrence

Point(s) of Contact:Wood, Lawrence - Phone Number: (561) 309-8603, Email: larry@floridahawksbills.com

Organizations Involved:Zoological Society of the Palm Beaches

Organization Type(s):non-profit

Project Status: Active

Start Date: 4/2003

End Date: n/a

Equipment and Methods

General Method(s) Used:dive

Sampling and Effort

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

Bottom Type(s):coral, hardbottom, sand

Water Type Zone: neritic Water Type Environment: marine

Min. Depth (m): 1.5 Max. Depth (m): 24.4

Mean Depth (m): 18.8

Captures and Sightings Information

Species	No. of Captures	No. of Sightings	Min Size* (cm)	Max Size* (cm)	Mean Size* (cm)	FP Observed	Life Stages**
Green Turtle (Cm)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Loggerhead (Cc)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Kemp's Ridley (Lk)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Hawksbill (Ei)	138	n/a	35.7	83.9	56.6	No	n/r
Leatherback (Dc)	n/a	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.

This report adheres to the following size ranges for life stage classification for these species:

	Green turtle	Loggerhead	Kemp's ridley	Hawksbill
Oceanic-stage juvenile	< 25 cm SCL	< 30 cm SCL	< 25 cm SCL	< 25 cm SCL
Neritic-stage juvenile	25-69 cm SCL	30-69 cm SCL	25-39 cm SCL	25-64 cm SCL
Subadult	70-84 cm SCL	70-79 cm SCL	40-59 cm SCL	65-74 cm SCL
Adult	≥ 85 cm SCL	≥ 80 cm SCL	≥ 60 cm SCL	≥ 75 cm SCL

	Leatherback
Immature	< 135 cm OCL
Adult	≥ 135 cm OCL

Other Information Collected

growth rates

photo ID

residency

satellite tracking

Project Summary

Although capture dates above are current through 2006, the findings detailed here are based only on results through October 2005. Fifty-four hawksbills had been caught during a total of 55.7 hours of diving. Resightings had been confirmed for 13 tagged turtles, with a maximum of five sightings of one individual. The maximum time at large for any resighted turtle had been documented at 250 days within close proximity to capture location, suggesting site fidelity. The capture method has proven successful, with only two turtles escaping. Photo ID has been used, relying on barnacle patterns and morphological anomalies. Genetic samples have been collected for all animals.

Documents

No documents uploaded.

Literature/Reports Produced

Wood, L.D. 2004. A preliminary assessment of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Palm Beach County waters. Annual report submitted to FWC, FWC permit #077, 2 pp.

Wood, L.D. 2005. A preliminary assessment of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Palm Beach County waters. Annual report submitted to FWC, FWC permit #077, 4 pp.

Wood, L.D. 2006. A preliminary assessment of hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) in Palm Beach County waters. In: Frick, M., A. Panagopoulou, A. Rees, and K. Williams (comps.). Book of abstracts. 26th ISTS. Athens, Greece, pp. 336.

Wood, L. D., R. Hardy, P. A. Meylan, and A. B. Meylan. 2013. Characterization of a hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) foraging aggregation in a high-latitude reef community in southeastern Florida, USA. Herp. Cons. and Biol. 8:258–275.