Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol is involved in a DNA study through the The Northern Recovery Unit Loggerhead DNA Project headed by Dr. Brian Shamblin from the University of Georgia. This project is an exciting research effort that has been underway for more than a decade and covers all the turtle nests in North Carolina, South Carolina, and several beaches in northern Florida.
When a turtle egg is found, whether from a relocated nest or when we do an inventory, we take a piece of the shell, put it in a test tube, and send it to this DNA Project. In 2019, 90 nests were found, the most at that time. This is about 24 to 25 years after the SI Turtle Patrol got underway and about the age when the mamas started laying their eggs. It shows how vital the SI Turtle Patrol efforts are.
Dr. Shamblin’s team tests it for DNA and thus we have the following interesting facts. (There are many more than this!)
- Mama #946 likes SBI. She has laid 13 nests since 2015, 9 of them on SBI. The rest were on Folly Beach and Kiawah Island.
- Mama #530 is a regular visitor to SBI. Since 2010, she has laid 30 of her 33 nests on SBI.
- Mama # 364 continues to frequent SBI. Since 2014, she has laid 15 nests of which 14 were in SBI and 1 on Kiawah Island.
In the past, this project has been fully funded by a federal grant; however, this is no longer the case. The project is now dependent on state grants and individual donations to remain in operation.
The Seabrook Island Green Space Conservancy, Kiawah Island Sea Turtle Patrol, the Town of Kiawah Island, and the Kiawah Island Community Association are partnering with an initiative to provide funds for this important research. To learn more about it, click here.
-Submitted by Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol