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Costa Rican Sea Turtles
The leatherback sea turtle population in the Pacific, once the species' stronghold, has decreased by over 90% since 1980. Help scientists investigate this decline and find ways to save this and other sea turtle species.
Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Province is home to four of the seven species of sea turtles currently existing. Las Baulas National Marine Park and Playa Cabuyal are critical nesting grounds for endangered leatherback, green, and olive ridley sea turtles. The waters along North Pacific Guanacaste Province are critical foraging habitats for the juveniles of these species, along with the critically endangered hawksbill turtle. Together, this makes Guanacaste important for the multiple life stages of these turtles and especially important for their survival.
In the beginning, on the sandy shorelines, the mama turtles haul themselves out of the ocean, dig holes with their rear flippers, and lay clutches of soft-shelled eggs. After a few months, fragile hatchlings will emerge and make their way to the ocean.
The world is a dangerous place for these tiny turtles and their parents. They’re threatened by climate change, boat traffic, fishing gear, coastal development, nest predation, and humans hunting them for their meat and eggs. To truly understand why these ancient species have declined so rapidly and what we can do to stop this decline, researchers need to know everything about them: their behavior, physiology, genetics, population biology, and migration patterns. Subsequently, it is essential to determine whether the current conservation and management efforts are working and how climate change impacts these populations.
To build this knowledge base, you’ll walk the beach at night when turtles are active, getting up close to these massive animals to identify individuals and take measurements that help determine how they have changed since they were last seen. In addition, you may help collect skin samples for genetic analysis or attach transmitters that will track their local and long-distance movements. You’ll also help relocate eggs to a hatchery from nests in dangerous spots, like where waves might wash them away. The researchers on this expedition have studied sea turtles for over three decades, and you'll help them expand the longest-running database on Pacific marine turtles. This work is critical: with sea turtle populations declining at an alarming rate, each turtle is precious.
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A Typical Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrival and orientation at Goldring-Gund Marine Biology Field Station (Playa Grande, Las Baulas National Marine Park)
- Days 2–4: Surveying the beach at Playa Grande, monitoring nesting turtles, relocating nests, & releasing hatchlings (team-dependent)
- Days 5–7: Transfer to the rustic Los Horizontes Station at Playa Cabuyal. Surveying the beach at Playa Cabuyal, monitoring nesting turtles, relocating nests, and using camera traps to assess biodiversity in the nearby mangrove estuary (team-dependent)
- Day 8: Day trip to conduct boat-based research on marine turtles at Bahía Matapalito, Santa Rosa National Park. Return to Goldring-Gund Marine Biology Field Station for concluding activities.
- Day 9: Departure
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HOW YOU WILL HELP
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OBSERVE AND MONITOR NESTING SEA TURTLES
Those working on the beach at night will visit each nesting female turtle to take measurements, count eggs, and record any unusual markings or injuries. In other words, you’ll get as close as a person can to these majestic animals.
RELOCATE SEA TURTLE NESTS (NOV.–MID-JAN.), RELEASE HATCHLINGS IN OCEAN (MID-DEC.–FEB.)
Early in the breeding season, you'll check for nests in danger of getting washed away, then relocate the eggs in those nests to a hatchery where they can incubate safely. From mid-December to February, when the hatchlings emerge from the eggs in the hatchery, teams will take the tiny turtles to the beach and release them into the wild.
SURVEY THE BEACH
During the day, teams will count sea turtle nests on the beach, take nest temperatures, and look for signs of erosion that could threaten nests.
Teams will also take a day trip to Bahía Matapalito to assist with boat-based surveys. Participants will help local researchers monitor juvenile and adult green, olive ridley, and hawksbill turtles. You’ll assist with weighing, measuring, and tagging turtles as a part of this work.
Field conditions and research needs can lead to changes in the itinerary and activities. We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.
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FEEDBACK & QUESTIONS
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