General Information

capture
Cedar Key (Schmid)
7
Northwest
Levy
29.12 -82.92
Ogren, Larry; Schmid, Jeffrey
Schmid, Jeffrey - Phone Number: (239) 403-4225, Email: jeffs@conservancy.org
National Marine Fisheries Service - Miami, University of Florida
federal agency, university
Inactive
6/1985
1996

Equipment and Methods

set net, strike net

Sampling and Effort

Visual Capture
Sampling regime: annually annually
Measure of effort: cap/area
oyster beds, sand, seagrass
neritic estuarine
1.2
0.46

Captures and Sightings Information

Species No. of
Captures		 No. of
Sightings		 Min Size*
(cm)		 Max Size*
(cm)		 Mean Size*
(cm)		 FP
Observed		 Life Stages** Comments
Green Turtle (Cm) 10 n/a 42.9 70.9 63.5 Yes N, S
Loggerhead (Cc) 20 n/a 50.0 86.4 66.1 No N, S, A
Kemp's Ridley (Lk) 269 n/a 26.8 58.6 44.5 No N, S
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

diet
radio tracking
residency
sonic tracking
stress hormones

Project Summary

Kemp’s ridley and loggerhead turtles were captured during April through November, and green turtles were captured during June to September. The main capture site, Corrigan Reef, is a series of oyster reefs and sand bars on rocky bottom where loggerheads and Kemp’s ridleys were found. Recapture data indicated that this area may have long-term Kemp’s ridley residents. Green turtles (mid- to late-subadults) were found on the seagrass shoals in the eastern portion of Waccassassa Bay. Examination of Kemp’s ridley surfacing behavior revealed that the turtles were submerged longer at night. Home-range sizes were also determined for Kemp’s ridleys: their movements were oriented with the direction of prevailing tide but also showed extended periods of time with no directed movement. This is believed to be stationary maintenance, or rather an optimization of swimming energetics and foraging during these periods. The rate of movement was not correlated with size of the turtle, and reduced nocturnal activity was observed in some turtles. Although Kemp’s ridleys used seagrass beds, they mostly used live bottom on rock outcroppings (nearshore hardbottom communities) and showed fidelity to these sites. The research further suggested that smaller Kemp’s ridley turtles use seagrass and larger ones use hardbottom substrate types. Blood-hormone assays performed over the course of the study showed that capture induces hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal and hyperglycemic stress responses in Kemp’s ridleys.

Documents

File Name Type Description
7_test.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.

Literature/Reports Produced

Schmid, J.R., and L.H. Ogren. 1990. Results of a tagging study at Cedar Key, FL, with comments on Kemp's ridley distribution in the southeastern U.S. In: Richardson, T.H., J.I. Richardson, and M. Donnelly (comps.). Proc. 10th ISTS. NMFS-SEFSC-278, pp. 129

Schmid, J.R., and W.N. Witzell. 1997. Age and growth of wild Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempi): Cumulative results of tagging studies in Florida. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 2(4):532-537.

Schmid, J.R. 1998. Marine turtle populations on the west-central coast of Florida: results of taggin studies at the Cedar Keys, FL, 1986-1995. Fishery Bulletin 96:589-602.

Gregory, L.F., and J.R. Schmid. 1998. Stress, sex, and steroids in Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii). In: Epperly, S.P., and J. Braun (comps.). Proc. 17th ISTS. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-SEFSC-415, pp. 65-66.

Schmid, J.R. 2000. Activity Patternes and Habitat Associations of Kemp's Ridley Turtles, Lepidochelys kempi, in the Coast Waters of the Cedar Keys, Florida. Doctoral dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 184 pp.

Gregory, L.F., and J.R. Schmid. 2001. Stress responses and sex ratio of wild Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempi) in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. General and Comparative Endocrinology 124:66-74.

Schmid, J.R., A.B. Bolten, K.A. Bjorndal, and W.J. Lindberg. 2002. Activity patterns of Kemp's ridley turtles, Lepidochelys kempii, in the coastal waters of the Cedar Keys, Florida. Marine Biology 140:215-228.

Schmid, J.R., A.B. Bolten, K.A. Bjorndal, W.J. Lindberg, H.F. Percival, and P.D. Zwick. 2003. Home range and habitat use by Kemp's ridley turtles in west-central Florida. Journal of Wildlife Management 67:196-206.

Schmid, J.R., and W.N. Witzell. 2006. Seasonal migrations of immature Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii Garman) along the west coast of Florida. Gulf of Mexico Science 24:28-40.