What are those orange things doing on the beach?

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Well, they certainly do look weird - I can't really blame you for asking.
Believe it or not, they are actually being used for our terrapin research! This past summer I lined two historic nesting beaches in Barnegat with these orange construction barriers (a very kind donation from Yodock Inc.), as a form of modeled bulkheading. This is what bulkheading normally looks like in Barnegat Bay:
It's used to prevent properties' (such as this nice home on Long Beach Island) foundations from eroding away.
So, as a turtle, if this suddenly showed up on your nesting beach, what would you do?
That is my research question! And, it is a very important question to ask considering the incredibly high rate of human development occurring in Barnegat. I'm interested in seeing how much these bulkheads will displace nesting terrapins, and what behaviors they exhibit in relation to them.
Before putting the barriers in place this past summer, I wasn't sure if turtles would simply walk around the 'bulkheading' or drop their eggs in the water and run! In fact, I found that the terrapins exhibited a very high level of fidelity to the bulkheaded nesting beaches - simply walking around the barriers instead of switching sites.
Some turtles walked almost SIX TIMES further on land to nest on the bulkheaded beach. This could be a problem for these females in the long run b/c that means they are on beaches for longer periods of time, increasing their predation risk and energy allocation!
While they spend more time on land, females are spending an equal amount of time in the water "checking out" the beach before emerging to nest regardless of the barriers. This is interesting because I expected the turtles to spend more time looking at those big orange things before risking exposure to nest, wouldn't you?
How do I know where the turtles are on land and in the water?
Great question! This turtle shows off the telemetry equipment I use to track nesting turtles. The orange transmitter on the top of her shell sends transmissions through the air when she's on land, and the white transmitter on the back of her shell sends signals through the water. Then, I know not only if the turtle is on the beach nesting or outside the beach checking things out, but also exactly where she is on land or in the water.

I plan to replicate my 2010 experiment this coming summer, so if you are interested sign up for a Earthwatch team and come try your hand at turtle nesting surveys yourself! In the mean time, I'll keep you posted...

Abby's visual ecology research

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Hello terrapin enthusiasts!

Wow, so much has happened this year, I don't even know where to start!

First of all, the Drexel terrapin crew went to Chauvin, LA in November to present our research findings at the diamondback terrapin working group symposium on the ecology, status, and conservation of the diamondback terrapin. We learned a great deal about other kinds of studies being conducted on the terrapin; most of all though, we learned how much we still don't know about the terrapin, and more research is necessary to gain a greater understanding.

Over the Summer of 2010 I collected over 500 reflectance spectra from more than 60 individual terrapins. From these data I have been able to compare coloration within and among individuals, as well as model the visual system of the terrapin. From these analyses and from previous research on turtle vision, I speculate that terrapins have tetrachormatic vision (UV, blue, green, red), and communicate across all color channels, especially in the UV. Intra- and inter-specific signaling in the UV has been documented in flower-pollinator relationships as well as a signal communicating fitness to potential mates (e.g. birds, jumping spiders, ocellated lizards).


In addition to the vision modeling, I have processed most of my blood and tissue samples. I hope to finish these up and send them out for genotyping so I can correlate possible differences in reproductive success with differences in phenotype (coloration). If UV patterning or coloration is a signal of fitness in the terrapin, then I may find that terrapins with a brighter UV signal may have higher reproductive success.

On top of all this, last March I completed my written candidacy exam, and on April 12 completed my oral exam to become a PhD candidate! Now that I am a candidate, the work has really started!

This Summer I hope to gather more reflectance spectra data, blood samples and hatchling tissue samples for genotyping, as well as design a system for measuring in situ underwater irradiance. But the only way this can be done is if you sign up to become an Earthwatch volunteer! Not only will you help me collect data to elucidate the visual ecology of the terrapin, you will get to join one of the research staff everyday to collect, track, and release terrapins. Some weeks we collect almost 100 terrapins! That's a lot of processing...so come sign up and help us out!

Ouch! Even more terp injuries ...

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Over the past five summers (2006 to 2010), we've captured over 2,000 terrapins in the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. Of those turtles, 17.4% have scars or open wounds from past or present injuries. Many of these injuries were caused by predators or by anthropogenic sources such as automobiles or boat propellers. I've always been interested in boat injuries considering that most of my research is based on the effects of recreational boat sounds on terrapin behavior. Of the injured terrapins we've captured in Forsythe, 18.9% of those injuries were attributed to boat propellers. It's pretty easy to tell if an injury was caused by boat strike because there is a slash mark in the terrapin's shell from the propeller. Typically, these injuries cause major damage in both the carapace (top shell) and plastron (bottom shell).

I apologize for the graphic photos, but this is yet another example of why the terrapins in Barnegat Bay need your help. Sign up for an expedition to help save the terps this summer!

Horseshoe Crab Poaching

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Although most of our research is focused on diamondback terrapins, we try to never lose sight of the fact that by helping the terrapins hopefully we are also conserving the other organisms in the bay. Horseshoe crabs just so happen to be one of my favorite creatures in Barnegat Bay (other than terrapins, of course!). We commonly catch horseshoe crabs in our fyke nets when we're trapping terrapins. We've also found horseshoe crab hatchlings on Conklin Beach which is one of our terrapin nesting sites. These crabs are commonly referred to as living fossils because they have changed very little in the past 250 million years. Horseshoe crab populations are dwindling due to the high numbers of crabs that are harvested for bait and fertilization. Luckily, in 2008, the state of New Jersey banned the harvest of horseshoe crabs. Unfortunately, some people still try to harvest horseshoe crabs even though there are regulations forbidding this practice. Three individuals were just caught in Ocean City, NJ on Monday poaching horseshoe crabs. Thank goodness someone called the police!

The 2011 Barnegat Bay Nesting Season

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On May 31, there were multiple reports of terrapins nesting at Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. Four marked adult female terrapins were captured on North Sedge Island and three of them dug nests. At Long Beach Island, two female terrapins nested. At LBI, we were not able to identify the nesting. The first days of June, we had ten female terrapins captured and six identified nests. On June 4, Nicole M. moved a nest from Cedar Bonnet Island to the LBIF hatchery and marked a female at LBIF! This week, June 5, Jane and Marc volunteered much time at Barnegat Light. They found a nest with a clutch size of 20 eggs!
At Sedge on June 10, it was the annual "terrapin arribada" with 23 females coming ashore. Five nests were moved and 17 females came up after 12 noon! It was a busy day. The previous night, it seems that the mink returned to the Island and destroyed all reference nests outside of the hatchery. Five known nests were predated. After Jules used her night vision camera, it was determined that a raccoon has inhabited the Island and is wreaking havoc on terrapin nests, and other wildlife on the Sedge. We will be humanely trapping the raccoon the week of June 20.
There has been no success trappin the raccoon this part week; however, nesting picked up on Sedge with 12 terrapins making landfall on June 23 and June 24. There are a total of 33 nests on the Island this year so far. On June 25, we had two terrapin nests on Sedge Island with 20 eggs each! This is new record. Terrapin AHPW produced 20 eggs on June 24. Terrapin AJKQW produced 20 eggs on June 25!
On July 3, the nesting season is coming to a close but we will still see some terrapins coming up from time to time for the next two weeks. Thanks to our fantasic volunteers.

On July 8, AHPW came back to dig her third nest of the season. She deposited 16 eggs! Way to go AHPW - one of originally marked terrapins from 2002! Next up will be our hatchling recovery program! On July 21, we assessed an early nest that has eggs that are incubating well. Our first nest produced emerged hatchlings at Sedge on August 10, 2011 with nests 1 and 2 producing hatchlings on consecutive days. We had two more nests with full incubation and emergence at Sedge. On August 20, nests 12 and 23 produced a total of 29 hatchlings out of a 29 eggs. On August 24, we completed a hatchery assessment with all nests in the 10's and 20's. Overall, we recovered over 70 hatchlings. Sadly, on August 31, we assessed the hatchery on N. Sedge Island and Hurricane Irene claimed the remaining nests. Washover from the storm knocked over the protection cages. It seems that some of the hatchlings were able to emerge; however, it seems that some predators were able to access the hatchery when the water was high (i.e., mink).

Monmouth Museum Opening Reception

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JOIN US! Opening Reception Friday November 4, 2011 at 6 pm  

 This alumni exhibition will feature the new work of many of our former artists from the New Jersey Emerging Artists Series. New Jersey Artists Emerged will offer an inside glimpse into their evolution as artists since their first New Jersey solo exhibition at the Monmouth Museum. This exhibition includes works by the following artists:Linda Lee Nicholas, Sangita Phadke, Amy Puccio, Gustav Rosenlof, Lauren Rosenthal  
Shin-Young An, Pat Brentano, Rick Buttari, Philip Carroll, Gary Dates, Kathy Forer, Jill Baker Gower, Seth Ruggles Hiler, Paul Lenz, Darren McManus, John Monahan,
Megan Ruisch, Marie Sturken, Anique Taylor and Yvonne Yaar.

Artist's Panel Discussion
November 30, 2011The artists will discuss their new work, offer insights to artists entering the exhibition arena, and share their personal stories with the audience.Monmouth Museum765 Newman Springs Road  Lincroft, NJ 07738

(732) 747-2266

Family and Children Beach Portrait Photographer Long Beach Island and all the Beaches at the New Jersey Shore (Beach Portrait Photography NJ)

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I am very excited to already be booking appointments at the beaches of the Jersey Shore from Long Beach Island (LBI) to Monmouth Beach and all the way down to Wildwood, NJ. I have a few appointments at the beach in March hopefully this mild weather continues! Although I photograph most of my families on Long Beach Island, LBI I do go to all of the beaches up and down the coastline. I am really looking forward to the warmer months when I can get my bare feet in the sand and photograph fantastic families from all over the world. It always amazes me how people come from all over the globe to the New Jersey beaches! So many of us take our beaches for granted and never get there as much as we would like. I hope to get to the beach with my family a lot more this year then years past. To find out more about my family and children beach portrait photography please contact me at (800) 757-3491 or email me at rob@rwilsonphotography.com.

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Family beach portrait photographer Long Beach Island, LBI Sea Girt, Bay Head, Lavallette, Harvey Cedars, Loveladies, Surf City, Ship Bottom, Beach Haven, Barnaget Light, North Beach, Wildwood.