Karen Sullam '06 presented a poster at the 26th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation in Crete, Greece from April 3-8. Sullam's project, presented with co-author Melissa Hedges from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, was titled "Nesting Trends and Spacial Patterns of Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) on Bald Head Island, North Carolina."
Sullam's poster was the culmination of an independent study project she pursued during the semester with Professor of Biology David Gapp in which she analyzed the location of Loggerhead sea turtles nests and its effect on hatchling success. The nesting data was collected over 25 years and spatial pattern data was collected since 1998 using a global positioning system at Bald Head Island, where Sullam pursued research as an intern during the summer of 2004. "This is the initial analysis using the GPS data, which no one has done from Bald Head Island. It's the first step in seeing what we can do from the data," said Sullam.
The results of this analysis showed that hatching success was extremely variable as a result of flooding events from storms and possibly beach renourishment projects. Certain trends were evident including shorter incubation times and lower hatching success on the Southward facing beach as opposed to the Eastern facing beach.
"The shorter incubation time could be a result of more exposure to the sun and also because in the renourished sections (which are only on the south beach), the sand is slightly darker and could affect the sand temperature," said Sullam. The results also showed definite patterns in nest location from year to year which is most likely due to erosion of the beaches.
Sullam will continue working with turtles after May graduation from Hamilton monitoring sea turtles in St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, this summer and fall with the National Park Service.
-- by Laura Trubiano '07
