After finding and protecting the nest, volunteers return to count the number of eggshells shed by newly hatched turtles. The incubation period is roughly two months, depending on the species. And since nesting began in May, we're seeing those nests producing hatchlings. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment.
Scientists engage in almost constant study of the Sea Turtles that nest in Florida.
But new knowledge of the creatures is hard to come by. In part, because turtles live so long. With new DNA technology, we're finding more and more about what our populations of Sea Turtles are made of. That is, when we look at juvenile turtles we know what nesting beaches they've come from. They're much more difficult to count when they're out in the water.