January 21, 2015 - A new University of Central Florida study is sounding the alarm about climate change and its potential impact on more than 30 years of conservation efforts to keep sea turtles around for the next generation. Climate change is causing sea-level rise, and how coastal communities react to that rise could have dire consequences for sea turtles and other wildlife that rely on an unobstructed beach for survival. That's the conclusion of a University of Central Florida study recently published in Chelonian Conservation and Biology.
Llewellyn Ehrhart, a biology professor emeritus at UCF, began studying sea turtles in what later became the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge in southern Brevard County 31 years ago. By documenting the number of turtles laying eggs, the number of eggs that hatch and how many turtles make it to the water, he was able to demonstrate what is documented fact today: The 13-mile stretch of beach in southern Brevard is one of the most important nesting habitats for green and loggerhead turtles in the western hemisphere.
UCF Press Release: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/uocf-cct012115.php
Chelonian Conservation and Biology Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2744/CCB-1100.1
