by Eva de Lourdes Edwards, Ph.D.
Director of the Student Support Services Program
Consultation and photographs provided by Scott A. Eckert, Ph.D.
Director of Science, Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST)
Marine Laboratory of Duke University
She is considered one of the oldest and largest reptiles in existence. She is, in fact, the
oldest living species in the turtle family. Her ancestors survived
ice ages, pre-historic large predators, and the evolutionary
features of more modern turtles. Her unique ancient physical design
warrants a scientific taxonomy all to herself, Dermochelys coriacea.
And she is endangered.
Unlike other turtles, the leatherback sea turtle has a soft shell,
enabling her to dive deeper than hard shell counterparts. The
leatherback has been observed at a depth of 1,272 m. (4,000
ft) by U.S. researchers monitoring the diving of leatherbacks
off the coast of St. Croix. Their life expectancy is believed
to range between 40 and 100 years.
Most research studies have been conducted on females because
whereas females nest in beaches throughout the world at or
near the same area where they were hatched, males remain in
the water during nesting periods. On average, each female nests
every two to three years in the same area, revisiting a beach
in that nesting season an average of five to seven times, or
as many as 12 times. While males will travel from their northern
foraging grounds with the females to mate, they only remain
for the early part of the nesting season and then return north.
Carlos Carrión-Colón, guide and instructor of the Leatherback Turtle
Project of Culebra, an 11km (7 mile) by 5 km (3.5 mile) island, 27 km (17 miles)
east of Puerto Rico and 19 km (12 miles) west of St. Thomas, estimates that each
female lays 80 to 100 eggs during each nesting. “These include some 15
to 30 eggs without yolks, laid towards the end of the process, which provide
protection to the fertile ones, and assist in controlling temperature and the
flow of air in the nest.”
Developing Student Research
Nineteen students participating in the Student Support Services Program
of the College of General Studies at the University of Puerto
Rico, Río Piedras Campus, assisted Carrión-Colón
in spotting, identifying, measuring, describing, and monitoring
the nesting process of a leatherback turtle. The U.S. Department
of Education program provides funding and services for qualified
university students, including academic and cultural activities
that promote and complement classroom lectures.
Two professors of biological sciences in the College of General
Studies, Ángel Olivares, Ph.D., and Nilsa Ramos, M.S., work with the students in class, facilitating
the background knowledge needed to assist in leatherback sea turtle research
in Culebra. The leatherback provides “an example to study the relationship
of living organisms and the environment. Our goal is to prepare educated citizens
with enough scientific literacy and skills to solve many of their everyday
problems and at the same time help them feel that they are an essential part
of nature,” says Olivares.
“The primary goal of this
trip is to connect students with nature, offering a real picture
of how biological processes happen. The secondary goal is to give
them a hands-on experience to encourage their interest in scientific research,” says
Olivares.
carrion2carlos@yahoo.com
seckert@widecast.org |
