August 28, 2015
WE CHOOSE TO GO TO THE MOON
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy gave an enthusiastic speech, declaring in one clear and powerful
voice, that we were going to the moon. In one profound statement, President Kennedy took an action
based on a thought that resonates within all of our intellects. Ever since we are first aware of our
surroundings we all begin to gaze upwards and wonder. Do we stare into the heavens with questions of,
“Where did we come from? Why are we here? What is out there?” Or is our regard for the vastness of
space and all that it holds simply based on the grand beauty it sets before us in a theatre like no other?
Whatever one’s reasons for being drawn into the night sky, one magnetic body captivates us like no
other…the celestial figure of the moon.
The Moon has played an integral role, not only in mankind’s lives, but in the natural history, biology, and
ecology of life since its origins. Sea turtles have been around for approximately 65 million to 110 million
years. During this vast time on earth, sea turtles have adapted their behavior to rely heavily on the
moon for guidance when on land, a place where every sea turtle begins its journey. At night, long
before the light bulb was invented and long before humans came to be, the Moon was traveling the
night sky reflecting light down over land and water. As nature would have it, the brightest point in the
coastal environment wasn’t the Moon or the stars themselves, but the light they generated reflecting of
the surface of the ocean. Thus over time, sea turtles adapted and became instinctually driven towards
the brightest point they could pinpoint; that light being the reflected moon light on the surface of the
ocean.
Caught in a moment of silliness, I can easily picture a group of sea turtle hatchlings gathering just below
the surface of the sand on a dark moonlit beach one cool, clear summer night. One of the sea turtles
turns to the others and says,
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other
things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to
organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we
are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and
the others, too.” - President John F. Kennedy
Inspired, the hatchlings break the surface of the sand and with frenzied flippers, they propel themselves
towards the bright reflection of light over the ocean, an instinct calling them home to the mysterious
journey ahead.
Due to the fact that all sea turtles, regardless of age, when on land, are drawn to the brightest point in
their environment, rules and regulations regarding beach lighting during sea turtle nesting season have
been adopted not only in Volusia County but throughout the state of Florida. It is extremely important
to avoid using light on or around the beach during the sea turtle nesting season. Adult females expend
an enormous amount of energy lifting and guiding their heavy bodies, normally supported by water,
over the beach, moving and digging large amounts of sand, and laying on average 80 to 120 eggs (1 or 2
per contraction), and then crawling back to the sea. Not only does it require a lot of energy for the adult
female to move herself, but she is also storing a large amount of her energy in each egg in the form of
yolk. Like hatchlings, adult females are guided back to the ocean by light. Any light source brighter than
the light reflecting off of the ocean will disorient her and cause her to spend even more energy that she
may not have. Like the adult female, sea turtle hatchlings have a limited supply of energy, which is
provided to them by the yolk in their egg. Studies have shown that the amount of stored energy each
hatchling has from their egg yolk is good for three days from the time each one hatches. This means
from the time a sea turtle hatches, it has three days to dig out of the nest, crawl on the beach, fight the
rough surf, tides and currents, and swim roughly 40 miles out to sea. It’s a daunting and perilous
journey for a creature that is smaller than the palm of your hand. Like their mother, each hatchling
“chooses to go to the moon” as it is guided to the brightest point in its environment. Any delay could
result in the hatchling not making it to its destination well off-shore. Any disorientation increases the
chance it will expire due to energy loss, increases its chance for predation, and increases its chance of
getting stuck or injured. We can all help by reducing the bright glow on the beaches by covering
flashlights with red film, turning off porch/deck/balcony lights at home and in hotel/condo rooms,
shielding pool lights and street lights from the beach, etc. For more information regarding sea turtles
and lighting and how you can help, please refer to the following web address:
http://www.volusia.org/services/growth-and-resource-management/environmentalmanagement/natural-resources/sea-turtles/Beachfront-lighting-information.stml.
“O Moon, bright Moon, in all thy glory bound
Thine aspect shall yet soothe the trembling heart
For as thy beauty gleams thus all around
Such sweet serenity thou full impart
For there within the darkness of the night
Upon the starry vault, thy countenance
As like a lantern ever glowing bright
Shall through all time all gentle souls entrance
Then with the wax and waning of thy face
To thus effect the oceans' ebb and flow
The golden sands forever to embrace
Whilst on the steely waters thou dost glow
….. Thou art the ancient keeper of the night
….. Upon the world to set thy shining light”
-Valerie Dohren
2015 SEA TURTLE NESTING UPDATE
As of August 28, we have 662 nests this year! This is the third highest sea turtle nesting effort
total since we’ve been recording it (1988). In fact, the three highest nesting years have been
three of the past four years!!!
To date, the contents of 428 evaluated nests is summarized below.
Live
Hatchlings
Dead
Hatchlings
Pipped
Live
Pipped
Dead
Unhatched
Whole Eggs
Unhatched
Broken Eggs
Hatched Eggs
865
976
28
621
4299
632
39,868
Through August 28, we have evaluated 428 nests. In these 428 nests, there have been a total of 45,448
eggs! Of these 45,448 eggs, 39,868 have hatched for a hatch success rate of 87.72%. Looking at the
number of successfully hatched eggs, 95.38% hatchlings have successfully emerged from their nest on
their own, which means 38,027 sea turtle hatchlings have emerged from their nests. In all, counting
those we have assisted, 38,892 sea turtle hatchlings have successfully made it through the nesting phase
of their life. Remember, only 1 in 1000 hatchlings survive to adulthood. Based on that statistic, this year
our County beaches have produced almost 40 future adult sea turtles!!!