Apalachee Bay (Campbell et al.)

General Information

Project Type(s):capture

Site Name:Apalachee Bay (Campbell et al.)

Site Reference Number:4

Region(s):Northwest, Northeast

Counties:Wakulla, Brevard

Approximate Latitude: 30.04 Approximate Longitude: -84.29

View ArcGIS map of study area

Principal Investigator(s):Barichivich, William; Campbell, Cathi; Sulak, Kenneth

Point(s) of Contact:Campbell, Cathi - Phone Number: (352) 376-6394, Email: ccampbell@wcs.org

Organizations Involved:National Marine Fisheries Service - Panama City, University of Florida, United States Geological Survey - Gainesville

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

Project Status: Inactive

Start Date: 8/1995

End Date: 7/1997

Equipment and Methods

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

Sampling and Effort

	Visual	Capture
Sampling regime:	n/a	annually
Measure of effort:	none	cap/area

Bottom Type(s):mud, oyster beds, sand, seagrass

Water Type Zone: neritic Water Type Environment: estuarine

Min. Depth (m): 0 Max. Depth (m): 6

Mean Depth (m): 0.86

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)	11	n/a	30.1	70.7	44.9	No	N
Loggerhead (Cc)	4	n/a	70.8	99.3	88.6	No	N, S, A
Kemp's Ridley (Lk)	23	n/a	23.4	64.2	40.8	No	N
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.

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

Project Summary

Researchers deployed set nets across narrow channels or over shallow seagrass beds. Four of the Kemp’s ridleys captured were headstarted turtles, and capture data indicate that this area functions as important development habitat for juvenile Kemp’s ridleys. Strike-netting proved to be the most effective method for capturing Kemp’s ridleys.

Documents

No documents uploaded.

Literature/Reports Produced

Campbell, C.L. and K.J. Sulak. 1997. Characterization of Kemp's ridley sea turtles in the Florida Big Bend area during 1995 & 1996. Final report submitted to NOAA NMFS SEFSC, Panama City, FL.

Geis, A. J. Barichivich, T. Wibbels. 2002. Use of a testosterone RIA to estimate the sex ratio of juvenile Kemp's ridleys at Cedar Key. American Zoologist 41:1451.

Barichivich, W. J. 2006. Characterization of a marine turtle aggregation in the Big Bend of Florida. M. S. Thesis. University of Florida, Gainesville. p.46.