Sea turtles will soon return to northeast Florida for the start of nesting season in April but some beaches will see fewer turtles because of light pollution.
Jacksonville University grad student Hayden Garza is studying how horizontal artificial light affects sea turtle nesting at night.
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Garza measured light on or before a full and new moon at heavily developed JAX Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach with moderate development and with low artificial lighting in the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM).
While results are preliminary, it is apparent the toll bright lights likely have on reducing and repelling nesting female turtles.
The 10 nests counted on Jax Beach’s were the fewest during all three years of the study. Turtle nests were over ten times higher along darker stretches of St. Johns county.
A total of 118 turtle nests were reported in Ponte Vedra Beach and 180 nests farther south at the GTM.
Bright light can be a repellent for female nesting turtles. Upward directed lights can get scattered in what’s called skyglow which enhances the changes in nesting behavior.
Duval’s higher false crawl rate indicates that more turtles turn away from Jax Beach than choose to lay eggs on the shore.
Beaches with low development may help increase nesting density.
Beyond artificial lightning, sea turtles are facing many challenges caused by humans due to coastal development including seawalls and beach nourishment. These changes over time may make nesting beaches unsuitable.
This type of research to understand light impacts on seas turtles can aid conservation efforts for the struggling sea turtle population.