REPTILES
A Light Bulb Moment – Successful Solutions to Impacts of Artificial Coastal Lighting on Sea Turtles by Matthew Godfrey, Sea Turtle Biologist and Sarah Finn Coastal Herpetologist
S ea turtles crawl onto sandy beaches as nesting females or as hatchlings that emerge from nests. When adult or hatchling sea turtles are on the beach at night, they rely on visual cues to find their way back to the ocean. They move toward the brightest area of the horizon, which on undeveloped beaches is almost always over the ocean because the darker silhouette of dunes and vegetation on the landward side of the beach contrasts with the lighter horizon over the water. The light hori- zon is caused by the reflection of stars or light-colored wave crests. Beaches with human development can interrupt this natural process of sea turtles finding their way to the ocean. The illuminated artificial lights of homes and other development that are visible from the beach cause hatchling turtles to become misoriented. Artificial lights are often associated with parking lots, walkways, decks, and even indoor spaces of ocean-facing homes when window curtains are not drawn. Volunteers and cooperators with the NC Sea Turtle Project work to identify sources of nighttime lighting visible from the beach, with the goal of reducing the impact of these lights through shielding, redirecting, or replacing problem lights with bulbs that emit wave- lengths that are less likely to attract sea turtles. At Jen- nette’s Pier in Nags Head, biologists with NCWRC and staff at the NC Aquariums identified lighting on the pier as a source of nighttime light that could affect sea turtles. Following extensive planning and research, Aquarium staff retrofitted the pier’s outdoor lighting array to prevent nearly all visible light from being attractive to sea turtles on the beach in the Nags Head area. The project was so successful that other piers in North Carolina have expressed interest in working with the NC Aquariums staff to undertake similar retrofitting efforts to minimize impacts to sea turtles on NC beaches.
NCWRC
NCWRC
Top: Bright lights with shorter wavelengths visible from Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head in 2022. Bottom: Warmer lights with longer wavelengths visible from Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head in 2024.
30 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
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