Cape Island Turtle Project

Cape Island is the northern most barrier island in the refuge
and is situated between the Santee Delta and Bulls Bay along the north central South Carolina coast. The island, accessible by boat
from McClellanville, S.C., is 9km long; it was divided into two sections
when Hurricane Bertha skirted the coast in 1996.

Cape Island is home to the largest nesting population of turtles within the northern subpopulation of the southeastern Loggerhead sea turtle. The northern subpopulation, or nesting aggregation, consists of those Loggerheads which nest from North Carolina to around Cape Canaveral, Florida. These turtles are isolated from all other nesting turtles in the southeast based on genetic studies involving mitochondrial DNA. With an average of 1000 nests per year, Cape Island is the most significant Loggerhead nesting beach north of Cape Canaveral.

The Nest Recovery Project

Loggerhead sea turtle nest monitoring and management activities began in 1980.
Presently, management activities each nesting season include:

• constructing predator proof hatcheries
• locating nests and false crawls
• transplanting nests into hatcheries
• caging nests
• recording daily minimum and maximum terperatures and daily rainfall
• inventory of nests
• participation in the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network

Although nesting on Cape Island begins in early May, the work on the project begins earlier in the year. Refuge staff put together hatcheries for the relocation of certain nests which are in danger of erosion and/or washover, and build cages for in situ nests (those which are left in place). As assessment of shoreline erosion is a necessity in an effort to estimate hatchery placement. An evaluation of the predator population is also important since predators may have a substantial impact on freshly laid nests as well as emerging hatchlings.

Once nesting begins, the crew (usually a team of five) goes into a rigorous schedule of nest and false crawl location, nest relocation, caging, and monitoring. This demanding work program endures long hot days in the Carolina sun, afternoon thunderstorms, biting flies, mosquitos, and an occasional encounter with a black widow spider. The crew at Cape will monitor nesting and evaluate characteristics of nests all summer long. This includes bi-monthly surveys of in situ nests, paying close attention to flooding, erosion and washover, disturbance of any kind, and hatching productivity.

Early research on Loggerhead sea turtles began on Cape Island in the late 1930's by Junior Refuge Manager William Baldwin. Baldwin, along with Wildlife Technician John M. Lofton, conducted surveys of the nesting loggerheads at what was then known as the Cape Romain Migratory Bird Refuge. Their research included data on loggerheads such as biology, migration, and status of the population. The information contained in their manuscript, dated 1940, was some of the first ever data published concerning sea turtles. The document is still regarded as very valuable information.