REPTILES
REPTILES Response to Sea Turtle Cold-stun Events Along the North Carolina Coast in Winter 2024 by Dr. Matthew Godfrey, Sea Turtle Biologist and Sarah Finn, Coastal Wildlife Diversity Biologist S ea turtles are ectothermic and sus-
the coastal region. Participants included: National Park Service at Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, US Coast Guard at Hatteras Island and Fort Macon, NOAA-NMFS (Beaufort), NC Aquariums (Roanoke Island, Pine Knoll Shores, Fort Fisher), Fort Macon State Park, NC Division of Marine Fisheries, NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine, Duke University Marine Lab, University of North Caro- lina Institute of Marine Sciences
(Morehead City), University of North Carolina Center for Marine Science (Wilmington), Network for Endan- gered Sea Turtles (N.E.S.T.), Emerald Isle Sea Turtle Project, Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, and dozens of private citizens who responded when they directly encountered cold-stunned sea turtles. NCWRC biologists coordinate all activities involved in response, reha- bilitation, and release of these sea tur- tles, and maintain the sea turtle stranding and salvage database.
ceptible to becoming cold-stunned when they encounter cooler water temperatures along the North Caro- lina coast in winter months. There were several hundred cold-stunned sea turtles found along the coast between November 2023 and March 2024 by the North Carolina Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network. The variety of cooperators and volunteers who participated in the cold stun response this winter demonstrates how extensive the network is across
NC Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network cooperators from the NC Aquar- iums and NOAA-NMFS Beaufort respond to a cold-stunned juvenile green turtle on Shackleford Banks in Carteret County, NC in February 2024.
23 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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