Results 2015 Sea Turtle Nesting Season

Briarcliffe Beach

Nests: 9

  In Situ: 5

  Relocated: 4 

  Inventoried: 9 

False Crawls: 6

Estimated Eggs to Date: 1122
  Eggs Lost: 11 

  Hatched Eggs: 976

  Emerged Hatchlings: 964

  Mean Incubation Duration (all): 53.1 days

  Mean Clutch Count: 125 eggs

Mean Hatch Success: 87.2%

Mean Emergence Success: 86.1%

Nest Success: 100%

DNA Results:

Mother #1.....3 nests, all on the Briarcliffe Beach.  Data shows the last time she nested was in 2010, 2 nests again on Briarcliffe.   5 year Nester

Mother #2.....Mother started out on the northern end of Myrtle Beach with one nest, then moved to Biarcliffe with 4 nests.  In 2012 she laid 4 nests, all on Briarcliffe.  3 year Nester

Mother #3.....Mother laid one nest on Briarcliffe and then went south to Cape Romain where she laid two more nests.  First year data was recorded for this mother.

Mother #4.....A traveler, she started out with 2 nests in the Litchfields, came to Briarcliffe for one nest and then ended up at Huntington Beach State Park, 4 nests total for the season.   A two year nester, she laid 5 nests in 2011, 4 south of Myrtle Beach and the last on North Myrtle Beach.  In 2013, 3 nests were recorded for this mother, all in the Litchfields.

North Myrtle Beach

Nests: 8

Nest relocated from MB:  1

  In Situ: 2

  Relocated: 7

  Inventoried: 9

False Crawls: 7

Estimated Eggs to Date: 1119

  Eggs Lost: 12

  Hatched Eggs: 966

  Emerged Hatchlings: 963

  Mean Incubation Duration (all): 53 days

  Mean Clutch Count:   127

Mean Hatch Success: 88.9%

Mean Emergence Success: 87.8%

Nest Success: 100%

DNA Results:

Mother #1....Three nests, starting with one very large nest of 176 eggs on NMB, she then laid two more nests, both on Sunset Beach in NC.  A 2 year nester, in 2011 she laid 2 nests, one on SUnset Beach, one on Ocean Isle Beach, in 2013 She laid 4 nests, 3 on Sunset Beach, one on Ocean Isle Beach.

Mother #2.....4 nests, all in Cherry Grove.   A two year nester, in 2011 she started out in Debidue with one nest, than went to MB State Park for one nest and ended up on NMB, 3 nests Total.  In 2013 she laid 3 nests, all on NMB.

Mother #3....4 nests, a real traveler, this mother started in Garden City, went to Masonboro Island, just south of Wilmington, NC, came back south to NMB for one nest and then ended on Pawleys. A two year nester, this turtle nested in 
2012 starting on Bald Head Island, NC and ending on Pawleys.  

Mother #4 and #5....To Date no data on these mothers.