Tuesday, February 04, 2025

Sea Turtle Rehabilitation and Health Veterinary Medicine (Full Day):
The workshop will be a mix of clinically applied topics for vet techs, veterinarians, and support staff such as nutrition and managing starvation/debilitation, pain management, anesthesia, managing traumatic injuries, and innovative wound care, and more to come. The topics to be discussed will be finalized once the speaker list has been finalized but is sure to be very informative. This workshop requires audience participation and attendees will be required prepare information to present in the “What went well and what did not go so well…”  session. Be prepared to submit 1 or 2 slides for a group presentation for this part of the workshop. We want there to be lots of discussion and ideas presented throughout the workshop.

This workshop will not be RACE-accredited.

Presented By: Terry Norton, DVM

 

Expanding Your Network to Achieve Lighting Compliance (Full Day):
Artificial light pollution is a widespread problem that disrupts the life cycles of wildlife. In the sea turtle community, it is well known that full-spectrum, unshielded lights confuse and disorient both nesting females and hatchling sea turtles, resulting in fewer adult emergences and higher hatchling mortality on artificially lit nesting beaches. Conservation organizations in coastal communities along the southeastern United States continue to raise awareness and find new solutions to mitigate the threat of artificial light. However, these groups can sometimes be isolated or unaware of other entities in their community that are working toward the same goal, which can make managing artificial light harder to achieve. This workshop will explore the benefits of building a wider network of support and introduce different groups who all play a role in reducing artificial light and its impacts on sea turtles. The workshop will include presentations from multiple individuals representing three broader groups, including the lighting industry (e.g. distributors, manufacturers, utility companies), coastal property representatives (e.g. realtors, managers, owners), and government agencies (e.g. federal, state, local representatives). Attendees will have numerous opportunities throughout the workshop to ask questions and collaborate with presenters and other participants in guided breakout sessions after hearing from each of these three broader groups. The workshop will provide a platform to foster partnerships and utilize expertise from these multidisciplinary groups to further aid in the management of artificial light on sea turtle nesting beaches. Attendees will leave the workshop with a better understanding of how they can expand their network and inspire more conservation-minded advocates to build wildlife-friendly communities across the coastal southeastern region of the United States.

Presented By: Rachel Tighe, rachel@conserveturtles.org, Sea Turtle Conservancy

 

ESA Section 10 Scientific Research Permitting and Application System (Half-Day; AM):
The NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources, Permits, and Conservation Division will host a half-day workshop to present and discuss updates to ESA Section 10(a)(1)(A) scientific research and enhancement permitting for those working with sea turtles in the marine environment. This workshop will have 2 parts. In the first half, we will provide an overview of improvements to the permitting process, and seek feedback on topics, such as sea turtle permit requirements and researcher qualifications. This also will be an opportunity to discuss any permitting questions or concerns you have. In the second half, we will showcase our new online permit application and reporting platform which is under development and will replace APPS ( https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov). We will give a short presentation of why APPS is changing and how this will affect applicants and permit holders, followed by a live demonstration of the new platform. This workshop will be a great opportunity for individuals to discuss the permitting process and provide feedback to Permits and Conservation Division staff.

Presented by: Amy Hapeman and Erin Markin, Ph.D., NOAA Fisheries

 

Sea Turtle Conservation Outreach and Engagement Techniques (Half-Day; AM):
Join Bald Head Island Conservancy (BHI Conservancy) for an interactive and engaging workshop on sea turtle conservation education and outreach techniques. For over 40 years the BHI Conservancy has led efforts to protect sea turtles and conserve nesting habitat on Bald Head Island. Since its founding in 1983, the BHI Conservancy has coordinated and sponsored the Sea Turtle Protection Program, in cooperation with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Bald Head Island has been designated as an “index beach” by NMFS, making our sea turtle nesting activity and Protection Program nationally recognized. Research in environmental and outdoor education has shown that through hands-on, real-world activities participants can develop critical thinking skills, strengthen their sense of environmental responsibility, and gain a great appreciation for their connectedness to nature. This workshop will encourage participation in hands-on learning activities focused on sea turtle conservation and enhance participants’ knowledge of sea turtles! Participants will be split into groups where they will rotate through different activities and learn how to implement each one into their programs. After the workshop, they will receive an overview of online resources available to them as well as PDF and physical copies of curriculum guides with a suggested materials list. No live animals will be utilized during this workshop.

Presented By: Heather Bariso (Coastal Educator) and Jennifer Wiggen (Senior Educator), Bald Head Island Conservancy Education Team

 

Sand and Nest Temperature Monitoring on Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches: A Discussion to Improve Data Comparison (Half-Day; AM):
The environmental conditions of nesting beaches are critical determinants of sea turtle reproductive success. As our climate continues to change rapidly, altered temperatures and precipitation patterns impact maternal nesting behaviors, hatchling development and success, and sex ratios. Comparing environmental conditions (e.g., temperature and precipitation) across different nesting beaches to evaluate long-term, regional trends is difficult because methods are not standardized across research projects. Differences in methodologies include equipment, temperature precision, placement within or adjacent to nests or directly in the sand along different beach gradients, monitoring duration, and site stratification. Additional factors to consider for inclusion in temperature-based studies include sand color (i.e., Munsell color scale), grain size, rainfall/moisture, location on the beach, and sources of ambient temperature/rainfall monitoring (e.g., nearest weather stations). The goal of this workshop is to standardize monitoring in terms of nest/beach temperature and moisture across the southeastern United States by creating a network of monitoring groups. We aim to address and discuss (1) methodological differences, (2) challenges or limitations, (3) strategies to standardize data collection and analysis, and (4) the potential to create and publish guidelines to allow beach environmental monitoring data to be more comparable. We invite all individuals who are currently monitoring the environmental conditions of their nesting beaches or planning to start a monitoring program to attend our structured group discussion.

Presented By: Loggerhead Marinelife Center (Drs. Justin Perrault and Katie Fowler), US Geological Survey (Dr. Margaret Lamont and Samantha Snow)

 

AZA Sea Turtle SAFE Responsible Fishing Interactions Workshop (Half-Day; PM):
In coastal communities throughout the U.S., recreational fishing interactions (hooking & related entanglements) with sea turtles pose a significant conservation challenge. This workshop will foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among diverse stakeholders including government staff, pier operators, stranding response teams, sea turtle rehabilitation facilities, and conservation groups to enhance responses to incidental capture events, improve outcomes for impacted animals, and discuss potential strategies to mitigate future occurrences.
The workshop will emphasize three key objectives:

1. Enhancing Response Protocols: Effective response to incidental capture events requires clear, coordinated protocols among various stakeholders. Participants will listen to prepared talks and engage in discussions on developing response plans tailored to local conditions and capacities. By incorporating expertise from experienced groups, attendees will be exposed to best practices for safely responding to recreational fishing interactions.
2. Veterinary Care: The focus on veterinary care in this workshop aims to enhance the health and well-being of sea turtles incidentally captured. This will include prepared talks on comprehensive response plans that integrate veterinary care as a key element. By understanding the importance of effective initial assessments, we can ensure coordinated approaches to managing incidentally captured turtles, ultimately improving rehabilitation operations and reducing the amount of time the animals spend in captive care.
3. Outreach, Education, and Mitigation Strategies: Engaging and educating anglers and pier operators is essential for effective response plans and evaluating potential mitigation strategies. Participants will learn about successful collaborations and innovative outreach strategies that promote responsible fishing practices, including promptly reporting sea turtle interactions. The discussion will include potential mitigation strategies and outreach materials emphasizing the role of citizen scientists in conservation efforts.

This workshop represents a critical step towards bringing together the stakeholders working to mitigate the impact of recreational incidental captures on sea turtle populations. By leveraging the collective expertise of the invited speakers and encouraging group discussions with attendees as a functional part of the workshop, the organizers hope to cultivate a proactive approach to conservation, ensuring the long-term sustainability of sea turtle populations and coastal ecosystems.

Presented By: AZA Sea Turtle Safe Committee

 

Virtual Reality for Use in Training Surveyors on Sea Turtle Crawl Identification (Half-Day; PM):
This workshop will demonstrate the use of virtual reality technology to train novice sea turtle surveyors on crawl identification. Wearing a VR headset, the trainee views real-world pictures and video of turtle crawls under the supervision of an instructor viewing the same images cast onto a nearby computer screen or display device. The key benefit is that, unlike passively viewing 2D pictures in a PowerPoint format, the headset transports the user onto the beach where the crawl can be actively viewed from multiple vantage points in its 3D environment. Observing crawls in this manner provides the most realistic training available, short of taking the trainee onto the beach to see actual crawls, which may not be convenient or feasible on beaches with sparse nesting. The trainee begins in a classroom setting by selecting from a preloaded library of crawls within the headset. The headset images are cast to a nearby display and viewed by an instructor, who queries the student on various physical features of the crawl, including species, crawl direction, primary and secondary body pits, nest mound, and probable egg location*. The student then selects another crawl, and the process is repeated. The workshop will describe the required equipment (GoPro camera, Meta headset), and procedure for taking pictures and video in a VR-compatible format, show some examples, and discuss lessons learned from training surveyors on Panama City Beach, Florida. Also, for monitoring programs using drones to record crawls, we will show how to incorporate drone pictures into the headset, providing a 360-degree bird’s eye view of the crawl. Finally, we will discuss potential applications of this approach involving public outreach at educational centers and marine aquaria. Several headsets will be available for use by attendees following the formal presentation.

Presented By: Kennard Watson, pcbturtle@yahoo.com, Panama City Beach Turtle Watch (PCB TW), Angela Barros, angela.pcbtw@gmail.com, PCB TW, Raymond Carthy, ngosi@ufl.edu, USGS-UF

 

Early Career Students’ Workshop (Half-Day; PM):
This workshop will be the first of its kind at SERSTM to directly support students in their professional development. Join us for an afternoon of networking, lessons learned, and meet-and-greets with experts in the field. Additional details to be announced.

Presented By: SERSTN Student Committee