Every time there is an excavation going down, I am signed up to go. Why? I want to see the results of all our hard work. I know that not all nests are going to make it, that’s just part of life. It is just nice to see that some nests really make it. I mean we did not literally see the hatchlings make it to the sea but I like to think that at least 75% that made it out of the nest made it home.
Anyway, that is what I got to do this week. We went to excavate the same nest we went to last week that had the live hatchlings in it, which we covered back up again. When we came back this time, we were hoping to find lots of empty shells. It is a good sign to see 50% or more of the shell still in the nest because that means that the hatchling most likely got out and that it was not predated. Helen, our turtle coordinator, started digging. She slowly reached the egg chamber and started pulling out the remnants. I was sitting on the side moving the different eggs/shells into piles so they would be easier to count. Thankfully, there were way more egg shells then eggs. Once Helen had fully emptied it out, she started to break open the eggs that did not make it. We do this to fully assess the health of the nest. Some hatchlings just stop developing at different stages and do not make it. Predation by microorganisms, insects, and crabs are also reasons for not emerging from the shell. Microorganisms get in the shell and feed on the hatchling, they have a certain stench and color so it isn’t too hard to tell which eggs were attacked. Insects are usually still feasting on the egg, and it’s evident when a crab has been in there because most of the body is gone. Other eggs just did not contain an embryo so they looked like cooked eggs.
Chelonia mydas, Green Sea Turtle
Total egg shells- 99. Total predated/no embryo eggs- 30ish. The clutches contain 130 eggs on average for Greens, so the nest did amazingly well. I was so happy to have been able to see that the hatchlings are making it all the way to the end.
Anyway, that is what I got to do this week. We went to excavate the same nest we went to last week that had the live hatchlings in it, which we covered back up again. When we came back this time, we were hoping to find lots of empty shells. It is a good sign to see 50% or more of the shell still in the nest because that means that the hatchling most likely got out and that it was not predated. Helen, our turtle coordinator, started digging. She slowly reached the egg chamber and started pulling out the remnants. I was sitting on the side moving the different eggs/shells into piles so they would be easier to count. Thankfully, there were way more egg shells then eggs. Once Helen had fully emptied it out, she started to break open the eggs that did not make it. We do this to fully assess the health of the nest. Some hatchlings just stop developing at different stages and do not make it. Predation by microorganisms, insects, and crabs are also reasons for not emerging from the shell. Microorganisms get in the shell and feed on the hatchling, they have a certain stench and color so it isn’t too hard to tell which eggs were attacked. Insects are usually still feasting on the egg, and it’s evident when a crab has been in there because most of the body is gone. Other eggs just did not contain an embryo so they looked like cooked eggs.
Chelonia mydas, Green Sea Turtle
Total egg shells- 99. Total predated/no embryo eggs- 30ish. The clutches contain 130 eggs on average for Greens, so the nest did amazingly well. I was so happy to have been able to see that the hatchlings are making it all the way to the end.