Mosquito Lagoon (Provancha)

Project Type(s):capture

Site Name:Mosquito Lagoon (Provancha)

Site Reference Number:38

Region(s):Southeast, Northeast

Counties:Brevard, Volusia

Approximate Latitude: 28.76 Approximate Longitude: -80.74

Principal Investigator(s):Provancha, Jane

Point(s) of Contact:Provancha, Jane - Phone Number: (321) 867-2434, Email: jane.a.provancha@nasa.gov

Organizations Involved:Dynamac Corporation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Organization Type(s):consulting firm, federal agency

Project Status: Active

Start Date: 1994

End Date: n/a

General Method(s) Used:set net

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

Bottom Type(s):sand, seagrass

Water Type Zone: neritic Water Type Environment: estuarine

Min. Depth (m): 0 Max. Depth (m): 2

Mean Depth (m): 0.7

Species	No. of Captures	No. of Sightings	Min Size* (cm)	Max Size* (cm)	Mean Size* (cm)	FP Observed	Life Stages**	Comments
Green Turtle (Cm)	207	n/a	31.5	83.4	49.5	No	n/r
Loggerhead (Cc)	32	n/a	51.2	97.3	78.6	No	n/r
Kemp's Ridley (Lk)	1	n/a	0.0	0.0	41.6	No	n/r
Hawksbill (Ei)	0	n/a	0.0	0.0	0.0	n/a	n/a
Leatherback (Dc)	0	n/a	0.0	0.0	0.0	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.

residency

sonic tracking

Mosquito Lagoon continues to provide important developmental habitat for juvenile green and loggerhead turtles. The conditions of the seagrass beds and the water quality are relatively good and are notably protected by the surrounding federal lands. Current threats to turtles in this body of water are related to boating pressure that has increased with the recent surge in local commercial and recreational fishing (trout and redfish). This could result in turtle harassment, boat strikes, and grassbed scarring, among other effects. This project uses the same study location as Ehrhart used previously, allowing it’s data to be compared to his historical data. Green turtles now represent more than 90% of the captures, which differs greatly from the species composition observed by Ehrhart in the 1970s, when 80% of the netting captures were loggerheads. Provancha et al. have quantified very low numbers of Limulus polyphemus (horseshoe crabs) in the tangle nets as compared to observations from two decades ago, when very large numbers of Limulus were incidentally captured in the nets. This finding is of interest because Limulus is known to be a common food item for loggerheads. Recapture rates are relatively low at 10%. The CPUEs are also low in Mosquito Lagoon when compared to other study locations in Florida (overall mean of 0.52 turtles per net kilometer). Winter cold fronts may significantly influence the numbers of turtles in Mosquito Lagoon, but only one moderate cold-stunning event has occurred here since 1989. Some site fidelity has been demonstrated, based on recaptures and acoustic tracking within Mosquito Lagoon. Researchers have also observed connectivity to other sites within the Indian River Lagoon, whereby animals from the other sites are occasionally found in Mosquito Lagoon and vice versa. FP is externally present in many green turtles, with an average rate of encounter of 50%. No signs of FP have been observed in loggerheads. Four green turtles showed some level of tumor reduction upon recapture, one of which exhibited total regression. Data collected include passive acoustic tracking of 15 turtles (three from rehabilitation facilities) to yield more detail on travel and use patterns within Mosquito Lagoon and in the northern Indian River Lagoon. Other data include sex ratios and genetic composition.

No documents uploaded.

Provancha, J. 1997-1999. Annual Reports: Sea Turtle Netting in Mosquito Lagoon: Reference Florida Permit # 114, NMFS Permit # 942.

Provancha, J. 1996a-d. Annual Reports for Sea Turtle Netting in Mosquito Lagoon: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, 1996. NMFS Permit # 942, FL Permit # 114.

Provancha, J., R. Lowers, D. Scheidt, M. Mota, and M. Corsello. 1998. Relative Abundance And Distribution Of Marine Turtles Inhabiting Mosquito Lagoon, Florida, USA. p78-79. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-415

Provancha, J. 2000-2004. Annual Reports: Sea Turtle Netting in Mosquito Lagoon: Reference Florida Permit # 114, NMFS Permit # 1214.

Provancha, J.A., M.J. Mota, K.G. Holloway-Adkins, E.A. Reyier, R.H. Lowers, D. M. Scheidt. 2005. Mosquito Lagoon Sea Turtle Cold Stun Event of January 2003, Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge/Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Florida Scientist, 68 (2): 114-121.

Provancha,J. A., R. Lowers, M. Mota, K. Holloway-Adkins, E. Reyier, and D. Scheidt. 2006. Trials and Tribulations of Tracking Sea Turtles in Mosquito Lagoon-Trends in Abundance and Results From the Passive Acoustic Monitoring Network. 26 ISTS abstracts

Provancha, J. 2005- 2009. Annual Reports: Sea Turtle Netting in Mosquito Lagoon: Reference Florida Permit # 114, NMFS Permit # 1450.