- Explore Research -
The Research Department at Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) annually monitors a 9.5 mile stretch of beach from March-October. Their survey area runs from from the northern Palm Beach County line south to John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. This stretch of beach is the Western Hemisphere’s most densely nested beach for the loggerhead sea turtle and is a regionally important area for the leatherback and the green turtle.
LMC’s Research Department has an extensive dataset dating back to 1979, consisting of standardized nesting data. The program officially began when LMC founder Eleanor Fletcher received her permit from the state of Florida in the early 1970s. This dataset is invaluable to scientists and local, national, and international coastal managers, as it can be used to form the basis for conservation decisions to promote the recovery of sea turtle populations.
Information collected includes:
- Nest and false crawl (i.e., when a turtle comes onto land and returns to the ocean without laying eggs) counts
- GPS locations of all crawls
- Nest inventory data/reproductive success
- Sand and nest temperature data
- Mapping of escarpments, high water line and vegetation line
- Sand compaction data
- Shorebird surveys
Cutting-Edge Research Projects
In recent years, LMC's Research Laboratory has formed numerous partnerships with individuals and agencies to conduct cutting-edge research on these endangered animals. Our current research projects include:
- Metabolomic/health analysis of nesting leatherbacks (collaboration with North Carolina State University and the University of Florida)
- Heavy metal analysis of blood and salt gland secretions of nesting leatherbacks (collaboration with Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute-Florida Atlantic University and Michigan State University)
- Impacts of endocrine-disrupting chemical plasticizers on leatherback and loggerhead sea turtle health and reproductive success (collaboration with Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute-Florida Atlantic University, University of Florida, University of Georgia, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, and Inwater Research Group)
- Examining heavy metal contamination and its impacts on leatherback chromosomal abnormalities (collaboration with University of Louisville's Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic Toxicology)
- Examining gobal leatherback sea turtle nest temperatures (collaboration with Université Paris-Sud)
- Characterization of anthropogenic and natural injuries on nesting leatherback turtles (collaboration with with Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute-Florida Atlantic University)
- Determining the best predictors of body condition in nesting leatherback turtles (collaboration with Upwell)
- Interpreting the pre-nesting foraging ecology of Florida’s nesting leatherbacks using multi-tissue stable isotope analysis (collaboration with Florida Atlantic University)
- Analysis of microplastics in leatherback sea turtle nests (collaboration with Turtle Island Restoration Network)"
Sea Turtle Species Profiles
LMC research data manager, Sarah Hirsch presented a leatherback research poster at the 34th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, hosted by the International Sea Turtle Society (ISTS). The poster shows that LMC’s 9.5 miles of survey beach is one of only a handful of leatherback sea turtle nesting “Hot Spots” on our planet. Leatherbacks like our local beaches!
Sea Turtle and Coastal Eco-System Research at LMC
Knowledgeable, credible, passionate, and collaborative, LMC is fortunate to have some of the most well respected doctors, biologists and volunteers in the world.
Guided by a multi-faceted research committee we are clever, passionate, and committed to turning our research data into actionable insights.
Our goal is simple, we want to better understand the sea turtle and the coastal ecosystems they call home. From our research data, we hope to increase our understanding of how to best improve the health of our planet and strength of our beaches.
| Loggerhead Marinelife Center Research Team | |
| Name | Title |
| Charles Manire, D.V.M. Justin Perrault, Ph.D. |
Director of Research & Rehabilitation Director of Research |
| Jen Reilly Sarah Hirsch |
Research Operations Manager Senior Manager of Research and Data |
| Seasonal Research Team eight (8) Technicians | |
| Loggerhead Marinelife Center Research and Rehabilitation Committee | |
| Name | Title |
| Jodie Gless | Biologist at Florida Power & Light Company, and Chair, LMC Research and Rehabilitation Committee |
| Dr. Kim Koger | Surgeon, and Past Chair, LMC Research and Rehabilitation Committee |
| Karen Marcus | Consultant |
| Dr. Brian Paegel | Assistant Professor , Department of Chemistry, Scripps Florida Campus |
| Dr. Michael Salmon | Professor at Florida Atlantic University |
| Dr. Jeanette Wyneken | Professor at Florida Atlantic University |
| Jack E. Lighton | LMC President & CEO |
Leatherback Sea Turtle Facts
LMC is one of the top visited cultural attractions in Palm Beach County. In 2015 LMC welcomed over 300,000 visitors to our beach-side campuses.
Education was core to our founder’s vision and remains central to LMC’s mission today. In 2015 more than 45,000 registered students were enrolled in our educational programs.
Because of the loving support of our community, our board of directors, our donors and our passionate volunteers, LMC is able to operate as a free cultural facility. We don’t charge admission and we are very proud to continue the work Mrs. Fletcher began for us more than 30 years ago.
On average it takes 65 days for the hatchlings to emerge and make their way to the ocean.
Typically leatherback females will produce about 74 eggs per nest.
About 46% of leatherback eggs on our beaches will produce hatchlings (baby sea turtles!)
The Leatherback sea turtle is the largest sea turtle living in our oceans, unfortunately this sea turtle is one of the most threatened.
Leatherback sea turtles eat their body weight every day in jellyfish and given leatherbacks can weigh-in at 2,000 lbs, leatherback sea turtles are one of natures best solutions to lowering the numbers of jelly fish in our waters and on our beaches.
Leatherback sea turtles are very unique in that they are a soft-shelled sea turtle covered with a soft ‘leathery’ skin. This amazing soft shelled sea turtle is designed to dive to extreme ocean depths and because of its soft shell the leatherback’s body can can compress and withstand the extreme pressures of the deep; a fascinating creature indeed!
Loggerhead Marinelife Center of Juno Beach has been conducting one of the longest running sea turtle monitoring programs in the state of Florida. Our founder Eleanor Fletcher began her survey of our local beaches over thirty years ago. In its more formal state, our sea turtle nesting survey was started in 1989 and now includes survey zones along Jupiter Island, Jupiter, and Juno beaches in Palm Beach County, FL. Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas) and leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) turtles are the primary species documented nesting along these beaches.