511' COPY AVAIINABLIE - ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 401 095 SE 056 978

AUTHOR Bland, Samuel S.

TITLE Sea Turtle Trek, Hammocks Beach State Park: AnEnvironmental Education Learning Experience Designedfor Grades 6-8.

INSTITUTION North Carolina State Dept. of Environment, Health,and Natural Resources, Raleigh.

PUB DATE Mar 95

NOTE 124p.; Supercedes ED 376 044. Funding for thepublication was provided by the North CarolinaWildlife Resources Commission, Non-Game andEndangered Species Program.

AVAILABLE FROM North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation, P.O.Box 27687, Raleigh, NC 27611-7687.

PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For

Teacher) (052)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC05 Plus Postage.

DESCRIPTORS Ecology; Endangered Species; Environmental Education;Habitats; Intermediate Grades; Junior High Schools;Middle Schools; *Natural Resources; *Parks; ScienceActivities; *Wildlife

IDENTIFIERS Aquatic Life; *North Carolina State Parks System;Resource Management; *Sea Turtles

ABSTRACTThis activity guide, developed to provide hands-on

environmental education activities geared to Hammocks Beach StatePark in North Carolina, is targeted for grades 6, 7, and 8 and meets

the curriculum objectives of the standaz course 44: .Ludy

by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Three types

of activities are included: pre-visit, on-site, and post-visit.

On-site activities are conducted at the park, while pre- andpost-visit activities are designed for the classroom. Major conceptsinclude the following: sea turtle life history, resource management,taxonomy, anatomy, dichotomous key, adaptations, natural history,

habitat, life cycle, natural and human threats, predator/preyrelationships, endangered wildlife, human impact on wildlife,migration, and international resource management. An introduction toreptiles, a vocabulary list, scheduling worksheet, parentalpermission form, and North Carolina Parks and Recreation programevaluation are included. Appendices contain a sea turtle fact sheet,

a Loggerhead sea turtle fact sheet, and sea turtle conservation

information. (JRH)

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TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONkw,CENTER (ERIC)

This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organization

*gonating it.O Minor changes have been made to improve

reproduction duality.

Points of view or opinions stated in this docu-ment do not necessarily represent officialOERI position or policy

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"Christopher Columbus sailed pasta group of three islands in 1503and called them Las Tortugas

because of the prevalenceofgreen turtles, which he called

the most valuable reptile in the world."

Jack RudloeTime of the Turtle

Funding for this publication was generously provided by

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission'sNon-game and Endangered Species program and

C P8tL

ii5

James B. Hunt, Jr.

This Environmental Education Learning Experiencewas developed by

Samuel S. BlandPark Superintendent

Hammocks Beach State Park

N.C. Division of Parks and RecreationDepartment of Environment, Health and Natural Resources

ArAE) 1-11N11=1

Governor SecretaryJonathan B. Howes

Other Contributors ...

Park volunteers;

Erik Nygard, Former East District Interpretationand Education Specialist;

Christy Mittelstadt and Yvonne DuJat, SeasonalPark Staff;

The N.C. Department of Public Instruction;

The N.C. Department of Environment, Healthand Natural Resources;

and the many individuals and agencies who assistedin the review of this publication.

500 copies of this public documentwere printed at a cost of

$3,050 or $6.10 per copy

® Printed on recycled paper.3-95

iv 7

' 1 1a

1. IntroductionIntroduction to the North Carolina State Parks System 1.1

Introduction to Hammocks Beach State Park 1.2

Introduction to the Activity Packet for Hammocks Beach State Park 1.4

Introduction to Reptiles 1.5

2. Activity Summary 2.1

Correlation Chart 2.2

3. Pre-Visit Activities*1 A Sea Turtle Tale 3.1

#2 Turtle Key 3.2

#3 Reptile Relative 3.3

4. On-Site Activities#1 Lost Habitat 4.1

#2 Talking Turtle 4.2#3 Crawl for Life 4.3

5. Post-Visit Activities#1 Sea Turtle Trek 5.1

#2 Turtle Tag 5.2

#3 Nest Management 5.3

6. Vocabulary 6.1

7. References 7.1

8. AppendicesAppendix 1 -. Sea Turtle Fact Sheet 8.1

Appendix 2 Loggerhead Sea Turtle Fact Sheet 8.2

Appendix 3 - Sea Turtle Conservation 8.3

9. Forms 9.1

10. Notes 10.1

Introduction to the North Carolina State Parks System

Preservingand protecting

North Carolina's naturalresources is actually a rela-tively new idea. The seeds ofthe conservation movementwere planted early in the 20thcentury when citizens werealerted to the devastation ofMount Mitchell. Loggingwas destroying a well -knownlandmark - the highest peakeast of the Mississippi. Asthe magnificent forests ofthis mile-high peak fell tothe lumbermen's axe, alarmedcitizens began to voicetheir objections. Gover-nor Locke Craig joinedthem in their efforts tosave Mount Mitchell.Together they convincedthe legislature to pass a billestablishing Mount Mitchellas the first state park of NorthCarolina. That was in 1915.

The North Carolina StateParks System has now beenestablished for more than threequarters of a century. Whatstarted out as one small plot ofpublic land has grown into 59properties across the state, in-cluding parks, recreation areas,trails, rivers, lakes and natural

areas. This vast network ofland boasts some of the mostbeautiful scenery in the worldand offers endless recreationopportunities. But our stateparks system offers much morethan scenery and recreation.Our lands and waters containunique and valuable archaeo-logical, geological and biologi-cal resources that are importantparts of our natural heritage.

9Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 1.

As one of North Carolina'sprincipal conservation agen-cies, the Division of Parks andRecreation is responsible forthe more than 125,000 acresthat make up our state parkssystem. The Division man-ages these resources for thesafe enjoyment of the publicand protects and preservesthem as a part of the heritagewe will pass on to generationsto come.

An important componentof our stewardship of theselands is education. Throughour interpretation and environ-mental education services,the Division of Parks andRecreation strives to offerenlightening programs whichlead to an understanding andappreciation of our naturalresources: The goal of ourenvironmental educationprogram is to generate anawareness in all individualswhich cultivates responsiblestewardship of the earth.

For more information contact:

N.C. Division of Parksand RecreationP.O. Box 27687

Raleigh, NC 27611-7687919/ 7334181

April 1994

Hammocks Beach StatePark is located on Bear

Island, an 892 acre barrierisland, with 33 acres on themainland. The island is threeand one-half miles long andless than a mile wide, borderedby the Atlantic Ocean to thesouth and by salt marshes,estuarine creeks and theIntracoastal Waterway to thenorth. Bogue Inlet lies at-thenortheast end of the island,while Bear Inlet lies to thesouthwest.

Bear Island may be reachedby park ferry, Memorial Daythrough Labor Day; however,private boats can access theisland throughout the year.The park office and ferry dockare located on the mainland inSwansboro, off of NC High-way 24. The 2.5 mile ferryride takes about 25 minutes.From the island ferry dock,a half-mile walk crosses the

island to the beach. Naturalhistory exhibits are availableon the island to enhance envi-ronmental education programs.

On the island, shrub thicketsand maritime forests create awilderness environment, yetin places it's easy to imagineyou're in a desert, with largeexpanses of sand. Sea waterhas not washed over the islandin recent years, thus largedunes and ridges dominate thelandscape. Migrating sand,carried by the wind, often bur-ies portions of the maritimeforek

Program Options:The variety of coastal envi-

ronments found at HammocksBeach State Park providean unequalled classroom forteaching the processes ofcoastal ecology, geology, estu-aries, wetlands and culturalhistory: Bear Island is an im-portant nesting site for threat-

ened loggerhead sea turtles.Programs on these and othertopics are available by request.

Scheduling a Trip:To make a reservation, call

the park office and complete acopy of the scheduling work-sheet in the activity packet. onpage 9.1. Provide this infor-mation to the park at least onemonth in advance of your ar-rival. Hammocks Beach StatePark will make every effort toaccommodate persons withdisabilities.

NOTE: Bear Island maybe reached by the park ferry.School groups can scheduleprograms on the island fromApril 15 through October 15.A small fee is charged for theferry.

In the summer and on hotdays, the sun and sand can bevery hot. Please wear shoes,hats and sunscreen. Water isavailable at the bathhouse.

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 1.210

April 1994

Before the Trip:1. Visit the park without theparticipants prior to the sched-uled group trip. This will giveyou a chance to become-famil-iar with facilities and parkstaff, and provide you theopportunity to identify poten-tial problems.

2. Discuss behavior expecta-tions with adult leaders andparticipants when planning thetrip. Discuss the park ruleslisted. Emphasize safety.

3. Inform the group aboutticks, poison ivy, chiggers andbiting flies. Discuss the needto use insect repellent.

4. Inform your group of theneed to dress appropriately-forthe season. Walking shoes aresuggested for all seasons. Theweather can be very hot andhumid from late spring throughearly fall. Sunscreen and hatsare advised.

5. Have everyone wear a nametag. For safety, please color-code them (for groups) andestablish a buddy system.

6. Group leaders are respon-sible for obtaining a consentform from each participcintincluding a listing of anyhealth considerations andmedical.needs. These formsare available in the activitypacket on page 9.2.

7. If your group plans tocollect any plants, animals orminerals within the park, aResearch Activity Permit isrequired. Contact the park toobtain a permit application.

Hammocks Beach State Park. NC

8. If you will be late or need tocancel your trip, please hotifythe park as far ahead as pos-sible.

9. Remember to allow for thetime it takes to ride the ferry,walk to the beach, and return,when scheduling a trip.

While at the Park:Please obey the followingrules:

1. To help you get the mostout of the experience and in-crease the chance of observingwildlife, be as quiet as possiblewhile in the park.

2. During the ferry ride, every-,one should remain seated.

3. On hikes, walk behind theleader at all times. Stay on thetrails. Running is not permit-ted.

4. All plants and animalswithin the park are protected.Breaking plants and harminganimals are prohibited in allstate parks. This allows futurevisitors the same opportunityto enjoy our natural resources.

5. Picnic in designated picnicareas only. Help keep the parkclean and natural; do not litter.

6. Swim only in the designatedarea when lifeguards are onduty. The ocean is a danger-ous body of water, with haz-ardous drop -offs and currents.Please advise your group onspecific safety precautions.

7. In case of accident or emer-gency, contact park staff im-mediately.

Following the Trip:1. Complete the post-visitactivity in the EnvironmentalEducation Learning Experi-ence packet.

2. Build upon the fieldexperience and encourageparticipants to seek answersto questions and problemsencountered at the park.

3. Relate the experience toclassroom activities andcurriculum through reports,projects, demonstrations,displays and presentations.

4. Give tests or evaluations,if appropriate, to determineif students have gained thedesired information from theexperience.

5. File a written evaluation ofthe experience with the park.Evaluation forms are availablein the activity packet on page9.3. We appreciate your com-ments.

Park Information:Hammocks Beach State Park1572 Hammocks Beach RoadSwansboro, NC 28584Tel: (910) 326-4881Fax: (910) 326-2060

Office Hours:Monday Friday

8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.

WeekendsMay-Sep 8:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.Oct-Apr 8:00 a.m. 9:00 a.m.

5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m.

Hours of Operation:Jun-Aug 8:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m.Sep-May 8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m.

April 1994

Introduction to the Activity Packet forHammocks Beach State Park

FT he Environmental Educa-tion Learning Experience,

Sea Turtle Trek, was developedto provide environmentaleducation through a series ofhands-on activities geared toHammocks Beach State Park.This educator's activity packet,designed to be implementedin the sixth to eighth grades,meets curriculum objectivesof the standard course ofstudy established by the NorthCarolina Department of PublicInstruction. However, theseactivities may be adapted toother grades as well. Thepacket includes three typesof activities:

1) pre-visit activity2) on-site activity3) post-visit activity

The on-site activity will beconducted at the park, whilepre-visit and post-visit activi-ties are designed for the class-room. These activities may beperformed independently or ina series to build upon students'newly gained knowledge andexperiences.

The Environmental Educa-tion Learning Experience,Sea Turtle Trek, will exposestudents to the followingmajor concepts:

Animal adaptationSea turtle life cycleEndangered speciesNatural and humanthreats to speciesResource management

12

Hammocks Beach State Park. NC 1.4

The first occurrence of avocabulary word used in theseactivities is indicated in boldtype. Definitions are listed inthe back of the activity packet.A list of the reference materi-als used in developing theactivities follows the vocabu-lary list.

This document was de-signed to be reproduced, inpart or entirety, for use inNorth Carolina classrooms. Ifyou wish to photocopy oradapt it for other uses, pleasecredit the N.C. Division ofParks and Recreation.

Special ConsiderationsOn-site activities may require

hiking which" could expose theparticipants to hot, humid condi-tions and full sunlight. Partici-pants should be protected fromexposure to sunlight by wearinghats and sunscreen. They arereminded to drink plenty offluids.

Accessibility to some ofthese areas may be difficult forpersons with special needs.

All field trips to Bear Islandwill require a ferry ride andnominal fee.

April 1994

Introduction to Reptiles

Reptiles are categorizedas vertebrates, animals withbackbones. They have evolvedfrom amphibians and have thefollowing characteristics: theability to breathe air; little orno control of their body tem-perature (ecotherms); scalesor scutes which.protect theanimals' skin; and the abilityto lay eggs (oviparous) on landor, in afew caseS, give livebirths (viviparous). Reptilesgenerally continue to growthroughout their entire lives,never reaching a maximumlimit in size.

The class Reptilia, to whichall reptiles belong, includesturtles;'lizards, sliake&andalligators: Individual "groups"of reptiles-have evolved forover 250 million years. Eachhas adapted to a specific habi7tat. Reptiles. were the firstvertebrates Wescape, forlliemost, part;,dpiiendency on''Cvater. Sea,,turtles have reversedthe evolutionary move fromsea to land, returning to a

dependency on marine envi-ronments; only the femalesrevisit the land, and that is tolay their eggs, then return tothe sea once more. (Amphib-ians, often mistaken for rep-tiles, differ most obviouslyfrom reptiles,in'.that they.arerestricted to the confine of a

-moist environment at sometime in their life cycles,) Atone time, reptiles were"able tooccupy not only land and wa-ter, but also the.air. DinOsaursare cifterLconsidered havebeen members of the classReptilia. Today.

,Ahem are approximately 5000species of rePtlles.

TheSeinembeis of theanimal kingdOin'are a poorlyunderstood group of. creatures.HerOtologists; scientiStS whostudy;, reptiles, are:tijriiig tochange this...

Reptiles occupy habitatsthat are highly vulnerable todestruction from human inter-

vention. Most reptiles arefound in warmer regions-ortemperate climates of theworld, due to 'their. inability tocontrol their body temperature.Tberefore;temperatUre the

in theifdiStribu-lion. .Often; reptiles are dor-mant in cold conditions.

prdaiOry carnivores. Yet

As a group, reptiles havea diverse,dict. Nearly all are

e:

some: are omnivorous, eatingbOth atiiiiiali,..ar4Plants orherbiVorimis,,strictly vegetar-ian.

hi this environmental edu-cationlearning experience,you will stU6 kinit a specificgroup of rePti144§ea turtles.Hammocks Beach State Parkprovides a suitable habitatfor these reptiles to completean important part of their lifecycles. As you study moreabout sea turtles, refer back tothis information to help youunderstand more about theseunique creatures.

Crocodycia

crocodiles & alligators

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 1.

Scuamata

scaled reptiles,lizards & snakes

Rhynochocephalializard-like tuatara, only one

species, found in New Zealand

April 1994-

A

The following outline provides a brief summary of each activity, the major concepts intro-duced and the objectives met by completion of the activity.

I. Pre -Visit Activities#1 A Sea Turtle Tale (page 3.1.1)

Students will read a story about one person's encounter with loggerhead sea turtles. They willcomplete a word search and fill in a worksheet to reinforce vocabulary words.

Major Concepts:Sea turtle life historyResource management

Learning Skills:Reading for key wordsAcquiring information

Objectives:Name the most common sea turtle that nests on North Carolina's beaches.Explain two aspects of the park's resource management program.Learn 10 new vocabulary words by recalling them from a story.Describe the life cycle of a loggerhead sea turtle.

#2 Turtle Key (page 12.1)Students will use a dichotomous key to identify the five species of sea turtles normally found

off the North Carolina coast.

Major Concepts:TaxonomySea turtle external anatomyDichotomous key

Learning Skills:Observing, classifying and communicatingReading informational materials (scientific keys)

Objectives:Give an operational definition of taxonomy.List the names of three different types of scutes that are usedOn a diagram of sea turtle external anatomy, identify thecorrect location of plastron, carapace, inframarginalscutes, lateral scutes and prefrontal scutes.Use a dichotomous key to correctly identifypictures of five sea turtle species.

to classify sea turtle species.

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 2.1.1 1 4 March 1995

#3 Reptile Relative (page 3.3.1)Students will participate in a cooperative learning activity designed to illustrate the similarities

and differences between the loggerhead sea turtle and the box turtle.

Major Concepts:AdaptationsAnatomyNatural history

Learning Skills:Classifying, communicating, inferringParticipating effectively in groupsOrganizing information

Objectives:List five adaptations that allow the loggerhead sea turtle to survive in the marineenvironment.List five adaptations that allow the eastern box turtle to survive in aterrestrial environment.Identify similarities and differences between the loggerhead sea turtle and the easternbox turtle.Give at least two reasons why the sea turtle is endangered and the box turtle is not.

II. On-Site Activities#1 Lost Habitat (page 4.1.1)

Students will work in teams to evaluate potential nesting sites for sea turtles on Bear Island.They will also complete a worksheet evaluating potential threats to sea turtle survival.

Major Concepts:HabitatResource management

Learning Skills:Classifying, inferring, predicting, communicatingEvaluating ideas, planning and decision-making

Objectives:Describe six threats to loggerhead sea turtles.Describe two resource management efforts used by park personnel to protect loggerheadsea turtle nesting habitat.Explain how Hammocks Beach State Park is a sea turtle sanctuary.

15

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 2.1.2 March 1995

#2 Talking Hurtle (page 4.2.1)Students will view a slide program at the park and participate in a quiz game

"Turtles in Jeopardy."

Major Concepts:Loggerhead sea turtle life cycleAdaptationsNatural and human threatsResource management

Learning Skills:CommunicatingListening for details and acquiring information

Objectives:Describe the nesting process of the loggerhead sea turtle.List five adaptations that help loggerheads to survive in marine environments.List five natural threats to loggerhead survival.List five human threats to loggerhead survival.Describe resource management efforts used to protect sea turtles.

#3 Crawl For Life (page 4.3.1)Students will play a predator/prey game on the beach to simulate what can happen to hatchling

sea turtles as they crawl to the ocean. They will discuss reasons why sea turtles are endangeredand what can be done to protect them.

Major Concepts:AdaptationsPredator/prey relationshipsEndangered wildlifeHuman impact on wildlife

Learning Skills:Communicating, inferring, predicting, interpreting dataGraphing, using probabilitiesResponding creatively to personal experiences

Objectives:List three natural predators of loggerhead sea turtles.Describe the nesting cycle of loggerhead sea turtles.Explainthe low survival rate of hatchlings and how seaturtles compensate for young lost to predators.Describe how humans impact sea turtle reproduction.

16


III. Post-Visit Activities#1 Sea Turtle Trek (page 5.1.1)

Students will play a board game that emphasizes the life cycle of sea turtles and the threats to

their survival.

Major Concepts:Life cycleNatural threats to sea turtle survivalHuman threats to sea turtle survival

Learning Skills:CommunicatingInterpreting information

Objectives:Describe the life cycle of the loggerhead sea turtle.Explain the low rate of hatchling survival.List three natural threats and three human-created threats to sea turtle survival.

#2 Turtle Tag (page 5.2.1)Students will track a tagged loggerhead sea turtle as it moves from North Carolina to the

Caribbean. They will mark recorded sightings on a map and calculate approximate distancesbetween sightings.

Major Concepts:Endangered speciesMigrationLatitude and longitudeInternational resource management

Learning Skills:Observing, measuring, communicatingMap reading, using information for decision-makingApplying and expanding informationComputing, using spatial models

Objectives:Know the names and locations of two countries in the Western Hemisphere and two

major cities within these countries.List two methods used to tag turtles.Demonstrate the ability to correctly identify specificlatitudes and longitudes on a map.Demonstrate the ability to calculate distancesusing a map scale.

17

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 2.1.4

turtle ID tag

March 1995

#3 Nest Management (page5.3.1) .

Students will analyze data from the Hammocks Beach 1992 sea turtle nesting season. Theywill calculate averages and percentages to experience how data is compiled for a resource manage-ment project.

Major Concepts:Resource managementEndangered species

Learning Skills:Interpreting data, inferring, predicting, communicatingAveraging, graphing, using statisticsAnalyzing and applying information

Objectives:Calculate correctly the incubation period and hatching success for individual turtle nests.Calculate averages for turtle nests on Bear Island in 1992, such as average hatchingsuccess, average number of eggs laid, average number of egg's-hatched, and averageincubation period.List at least three factors affecting hatching success such as weather, time of year,location of nest, and predators.Using turtle nesting data, recommend management strategies for nesting beaches alongthe North Carolina coast.


18March 1995

Correlation Chart

Note to classroom teachers: The following Correlation Chart shows how eachactivity in this Environmental Education Learning Experience (EELE) correlates with theNorth Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) objectives in science, mathematics,social studies and English language arts. The activities are listed in the order in which theyappear in this EELE. The recommended grade levels are listed along the side of the:chart.Notice that only the objective numbers are listed. Use your DPI Teacher Handbook foreach subject area to get a complete description of the objectives in that subject area.

Pre-Visit Activity #1: A Sea Turtle Tale, p. 3.1.1

Grade Science

5 1.1, 4.4, .5.3

1.1; 4.2, 6.2, 6.3

1.1, 4.2, 6.8

1.1, 4:2; 6.6

English Lang. Arts Soc. Studies Mathematics

2.1

2.1

Pre-Visit Activity #2: Turtle Key, p. 3.2.1

Grade Science English Lang. Arts Soc. Studies Mathematics

5 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.10, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, ,

4.1, 4.3, 6.1 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

6 2.1;'22,, 2.4, 2.10, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3;

4.1, 4.3, 6.1 2.1, 2.2, 2.3'

7 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.10, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3,4.1, 4.3 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

2.1,_2.2; 2.4, 2.10, 1.1, 1.2,1 .3,4.1, 4.3, 6.7 2.1, 2.2, 2.3

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

March 1995

CorrelationPre-Visit

ChartActivity #3: Reptile Relative, p. 3.3.1


5 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 5.3 2.2,2.3, 4.3. .

6 -2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 5.1,- 2.2, 2.3; 4.3,

6.1, 63 . -.. ., ...- -, .

7 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 5.1, 2.2, 2.3, 4.3

6.8

8 2.2, 2.4, 2.6, 5 , 22, 2.3, 4. ..

66,67

On-Site Activity #1: Lost Habitat, p. 4.1.1


5

6 -

7

8,.

2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.6,

2.7, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3,

5.3, 5.4

.2.1,2.2,2.4,2.6,.. 4

2.7;4.1,-4.2, 4.3,

5.1, 52,..5.3, 6.34

2.1, 2.2, 2.4,2.6,

2.7,4.1, 4.2, 4.3,

5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.8

. 2.1, 2.2;2.4, 26,

. . 2 7, . 4 A ; 4.2, 4.3,

3.1, 3.2,

;'3.1,3.2,

,

3.1, 3.2,

, -'3:1, 3.2,.- -

3.3

3.3

3.3

3.3

'"

'...-

,

2.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3,

Skill Goals I, II & lit

.

.

- - -,-4-, --.., --

1.3, 22,11.241

--'1Skill Goals I, 111, Ill

BEST COPY AVAILABLE.

20

Hammocks. Beach State Park, NC 2.2.2 March 1995

CorrelationOn-Site

ChartActivity #2: Talking Turtle, p. 4.2.1


5 1.1, 1.2, 2.4, 4.1, 2.14.2, 5.3, 5.4 _

.... , ..

. 6 1.1,12,2A, 4.1 ",4.2, 5.1; 5.2, 62,6.3 ,

7 1.1, 1.2, 2.4, 4.1, 2.14.2, 5.1, 5.2, 6.8

-.14?:----:-".c.

1.1,1.2,2A, 4.1, -- - 2:1: ..

4.2, 5.1, 5.2,-6.6,. .

67

On-Site Activity. #3: Crawl For Life, p. 4.3.1


5 1.5, 2.3, 2.4, 2.6, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 5-.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 6.62.7, 2.9, 2.11, Skill Goals III & IV

,

2.14, 4.1, 4.2,4.3, 5.3, 5.4

7. ..----- .... .---------- - -

1.5; 2.3; 2:4, 2. , 41,2.7;a9;2.11, .

.2.14, 4:1; 42;..4.3, 5:1;,6:3 ,

, ... -

7 1.5, 2.3, 2.4, 2.6, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 6.1, 6.4, 6.82.7, 2.9, 2.11,2.14, 4.1, 4.2, ,_._ .

4.3, 5.1, 6.8

8 '1:5; 2.3, 214, 26, , J1:3` 2 2, .

2.7, 2.9, 2.11, - r Skill Goals III & IV,

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE


Correlation Chart#1:Post-Visit Activity Sea Turtle Trek, p. 5.1.1


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22

2.2.4 March 1995

Correlation ChartPost-Visit Activity #3: Nest Management, p. 5.3.1


5 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 2.3, 2.2, 2.3 5.1, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6,

2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9, 5.7, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4,

4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 6.6, 7.3, 7.13

5.3, 5.4

6 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 2.3, 2.2, 2.3 5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 6.1,

2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9, 6.2, 6.4, 6.5, 7.1,

4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 7.2 V t7.8'.7.10

5.2, 6.2,.6.3

7 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 2.3, 2.2, 2.3 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.6,

2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 2.9, 6.1, 6.4, 7.1, 7.2,

4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5

5.2, 6.8

8 1.1, 1.2,1'.5; 2.3, 22, . 5.1, 5.2, 5:4, 5:5,.

2A, 2.6, a7, 2.9,, 6.1, 6.2,.,6.3, 6.4,

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52, 6.6

23


Pre-Visit Activity #1 A Sea Turtle Tale

Curriculum Objectives:Grade 6

Communications Skills:reading, vocabulary andviewing comprehension,study skills using environ-mental sourcesScience: ecology, howscience helps usSocial Studies: gather, orga-nize and analyze information

Grade 7Communications Skills:reading, vdcabulary andviewing comprehension,study skills using environ-mental -sourcesScience: characteristics ofanimals, organization andvariety of living things,interaction of people and theenvironment, earth scienceSocial Studies: gather,organize and analyze infor-mation, know the importanceof natural resources

Grade 8Communications Skills:reading, vocabulary andviewing comprehension,study skills using environ-mental sourcesScience: adaptations, ecology

Location: Classroom

Group Size: 30 or less

Estimated Time: 30 minutes

Appropriate Season: Any

Materials:Provided by educatorPer student: "Sea Turtle-Jargon"

worksheet, "Turtle Encounter"story


Major Concepts:Sea turtle life historyResource management

Objectives:Name the most commonsea turtle that nests onNorth Carolina's beaches.Explain two aspects of thepark's resource manage-ment program.Learn 10 new vocabularywords by recalling themfrom a story.Describe the life cycle of aloggerhead sea turtle.

Educator's Information:

Tn this activity, the loggerhead1.sea turtle's natural historywill be used to introducestu-dents to new terminology andbasic vocabulary words whichwill be used throughout thisEnvironmental EducationLearning Experience. Forloggerhead sea turtle informa-tion, see Appendix 2.

Instructions:1. Photocopy the Turtle En7counter! story and Sea TurtleJargon worksheet, one copyper student.

2. Hand out the story and havethe students read it.

3. Hand out the worksheet andhave the students complete it.

4. Review the worksheet withthe students to reinforce thenew vocabulary.

r43. .1 April 1994

Turtle Encounter

A slight breeze is blowingfrom the south, causing the seaoats to rustle in the dunes. Theblack sky seems to emphasizethe brilliance of the manystars visible to the naked eye;among them, the constellationHercules can be seen high inthe summer sky to the east.But you're not here to look atstars. You scan the surf, resist-ing the hypnotic effects of theconstant motion and gentlepounding of the surf whichcould put anyone to sleep. It's10:15 p.m. As if trying to help.keep you awake, a mosquitooccasionally lights on your ear,distracting your focus fromthe waves.

Suddenly, you think you seea dark object down the beachseveral hundred yards. Bythe red beam of the ranger'sspecial flashlight you see it'sa loggerhead sea turtle, me-thodically crawling out of thesurf. This is what you werehoping for. It's a female seaturtle returning to the beach tonest above the high tideline. All sleepiness

forgotteh, you quietly watchas the turtle makes its wayonto the beach. It is importantnot to use white lights and toremain still, as any noise andmovement may frighten herback into the water. You knowthis because the park rangerwith you gave a program onloggerhead sea turtles prior tobringing your group out to thebeach.

The large, reddish-brownloggerhead turtle, you recallfrom the program, weighsbetween 200 and 350 pounds.Its name comes from its largehead, which always extendsout from its. shell. The shell,or carapace, measures aboutthree feet in length. In com-parison, a huge leatherbacksea turtle can weigh about1300 pounds and measure sixfeet in length.


25

The park ranger showedyou many pictures of logger-head turtles as part of theresource management activi-ties at the park. Every turtlethat nests at the park is photo-graphed and marked with atag. Records of tagged turtlesare kept, to monitor them fromyear to year. The ranger alsoexplained that the park is asanctuary for the loggerheadsea turtle and other animalsand plants, making it a safe,protected place to nest andlive.

You know from the ranger'stalk that the loggerhead hasa range which is worldwidewithin temperate and sub-tropical waters. Nesting oc-curs from May to Septemberin the northern hemisphere. InNorth America, most nests arefound in Florida. The majornesting sites in North Carolinaare found_on barrier islands,such2S Bear Island, bufferingthe coast.

The tracks, or crawl, madeby a nesting loggerhead seaturtle can be distinguished bythe pattern of alternate flippermarks found from the Surf tothe dune line and back.

You sit and watch in quietamazement as she uses her rearflippers to dig a pear shapedcavity in which she lays hereggs. The ranger said she willprobably lay a clutch of about120 ping-pong ball shapedeggs, and that if conditions areright, you might see' tears run

April 1994

down the turtles cheeks,washing sand from her eyes.She's not sad; these tears helpremove excess salt from herbody.

You remember that theranger said, the eggs will in-cubate for a period of approxi-mately 60 days in the nest.Unfortunately, many badthings may happen to the nest.A summer storm could washover it or raccoons might findthe nest and eat the eggs.

The hatchlings, each twoinches long, will emerge fromthe nest all at once to reducethe number of deaths frompredators, such as ghostcrabs. They will know thedirection of the ocean becauseit's the brightest place visiblefrom the starlight reflectingoff the water, and they willinstinctively move towardthe area with the most light.Many turtles don't make it tothe ocean as they are attractedto bright light from recent


development on or near ourbeaches.

Not many of the hatchlingswill make it through the firstyear, as several will be eatenby gulls and fish. Some maybe caught in fishing nets ortangled in trash. It's estimatedthat 11.000 sea turtles drowneach year in shrimp nets alongthe Atlantic and Gulf coasts.To save turtles from drowning,shrimp trawlers must use aturtle excluder device (TED)

to reduce the number of deaths.This device permits the seaturtles to escape the netsthrough a trap door. All thesethreats have caused the reptileto become a threatened spe-cies.

Although you're not awareof time passing, the whole pro-cess takes about one-and-a-halfhours. Before returning to thesea, she uses her flippers topush sand into the nest to fillthe hole and disguise its loca-tion. After covering her nest,the turtle slowly lumbers downto the surf, covered with sandfrom her nest building activi-ties. As she lumbers away, theranger reminds you that shemay return again to lay severalmore nests this summer.

It's 11:45 p.m. You havejust experienced one of nature'swonders. Once more, all youhear the gentle roll of the surf.The wind.slowly dies down. Amosquito buzzes your ear, andreminds you it's time for youto return to your own home.

3.1.3 April 1994

Sea Turtle Jargon

Instructions:List below all the words shown in bold in the story. Find each of the words in the word searchpuzzle. Words may appear diagonally, horizontally and vertically. Fill in the sentences on thefollowing page with the appropriate words.

G E T C A R A P A C

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Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 3.1.4 27

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April 1994

1. The most common species of sea turtlefound in waters off North Carolina is the

. Its name comes fromthis species' large head. Another sea turtleoccasionally seen in this area is the

2. In North America, sea turtles nest on a sandy. Nesting activity is easily recog-

nized by the in the sand. Humandisturbances such as beach front development,excessive off-road vehicle use, artificial light-ing and seawalls can lead to a drastic reductionin nesting sea turtles.

3. Loggerhead sea turtles lay ping-pong ballsized

4. The , or mass of eggs, laid bya female loggerhead sea turtle averages 120 inNorth Carolina.

5. are one of the primaryof young sea turtles as they leave

the nest and scramble towards the ocean.

6. Due to the many predators on both landand sea, very few survive tobecome adult sea turtles. Some scientistsestimate as few as 1 in 10,000 make it to adult-hood.

7. Sea turtles are a type of

8. Loggerhead sea turtles have awhich is worldwide in the andsubtropical waters.

9. Female turtles may severaltimes during one summer but may wait twoor three years before nesting again.

10. Female loggerheads dig a nest in the sandby using their rear to scoop outa pear shaped hole averaging 12 18 inchesdeep. They deposit their eggs and then coverthe nest with sand before returning to theocean.

11. The is a section of netting or acage-like device placed inside a shrimp trawlthat causes large objects, such as sea turtles orjellyfish, to be forced up through a trap doorand out of the shrimp net. Scientists believethat if these were used throughout the south-eastern U.S. shrimp fishery, a major cause ofdeath of adult sea turtles would be eliminated.(It is estimated that up to 11,000 sea turtlesdrown each year in shrimp nets along theAtlantic and Gulf Coasts.)

12. The loggerhead shell, oris reddish brown in color and can be approxi-mately 38 inches in length.

13. Park rangers, scientists and other research-ers use to learnmore about the sea turtles and protect their.habitat. They believe the more we know aboutthis species the more likely weare to be able to protect and save it.

14. Hammocks Beach is awhere sea turtles are protected from huntingand molestation.

Hammocks Beach State Park. NC 3.1.52 8 April 1994

(SANCTUARY)

ARAPACE)

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Sea Turtle Jargon Answer Sheet

Instructions:List below all the words shown in bold in the story. Find each of the words in the word searchpuzzle. Words may'appear diagonally, horizontally and vertically. Fill in the sentences with theappropriate words.

BeachCarapaceClutchEggsFlippers

Ghost Crabs

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HatchlingsLeatherbackLoggerheadNest

PredatorsRange

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3.1.6

Q

April 1994

1. The most common species of sea turtlefound in waters off North Carolina is the log-gerhead. Its name comes from this species'large head. Another sea turtle occasionallyseen in this area is the leatherback.

2. In North America. sea turtles nest on a sandybeach. Nesting activity is easily recognizedby the crawl in the sand. Human disturbancessuch as beach front development, excessiveoff-road vehicle use, artificial lighting, andseawalls can lead to a drastic reduction in nest-ing sea turtles.

3. Loggerhead sea turtles lay ping-pong ballsized eggs.

4. The clutch, or mass of eggs, laid by a femaleloggerhead sea turtle averages 120 in NorthCarolina.

5. Ghost crabs are one of the primary predatorsof young sea turtles as they leave the nest andscramble towards the ocean.

6. Due to the many predators on both land andsea, very few hatchlings survive to becomeadult sea turtles. Some scientists estimate asfew as 1 in 10,000 make it to adulthood.

7. Sea turtles are a type of reptile.

8. Loggerhead sea turtles have a raw-re which isworldwide in the temperate and subtropicalwaters.

9. Female turtles may nest several times duringone summer but may wait two or three yearsbefore nesting again.


10. Female loggerheads dig a nest in the sandby using their rear flippers to scoop out a pearshaped hole averaging 12 - 18 inches deep.They deposit their eggs and then cover thenest with sand before returning to the ocean.

11. The TED is a section of netting or a cage-like device placed inside a shrimp trawl thatcauses large objects. such as sea turtles orjellyfish, to be forced up through a trap doorand out of the shrimp net. Scientists believethat if these were used throughout the south-eastern U.S. shrimp fishery, a major cause ofdeath of adult sea turtles would be eliminated.(It is estimated that up to 11,000 sea turtlesdrown each year in shrimp nets along theAtlantic and Gulf Coasts.)

12. The Loggerhead shell or carapace is red-dish brown in color and can be approximately38 inches in length.

13. Park rangers, scientists and other research-ers use resource management to learn moreabout the sea turtles and protect their habitat.They believe the more we know about thisthreatened species the more likely we are to beable to protect and save it.

14. Hammocks Beach is a sanctuary, wheresea turtles are protected from hunting andmolestation.

3.1.7 30 April 1994

Pre Visit Activity #2 Turtle Key

Major Concepts:TaxonomySea turtle anatomyDichotomous key

Learning Skills:Observing, classifying andcommunicatingReading informationalmaterial (scientific keys)

Subject Areas:ScienceEnglish Language ArtsSee Activity Summary for aCorrelation with DPI objec-tives in these subject areas.

Location: Classroom

Group Size: 30

Estimated Time:30 to 45 minutes


Materials:Provided by educator:

For every two students, makeone copy of Student's Infor-mation, Turtle Key, Sea TurtlePicture Cards, Sea TurtleIdentification and Sea TurtleCharacteristics.

Give an operational defini-tion of taxonomy.List the names of three dif-ferent types of scutes thatare used to classify seaturtle species.On a diagram of sea turtleexternal anatomy, identifythe correct location of plas-tron, carapace, inframarginalscutes, lateral scutes, andprefrontal scutes.Use a dichotomous key tocorrectly identify picturesof five sea turtle species.

Educator's Information:This activity introducesstudents to taxonomy,

anatomy, and the use of asimple dichotomous key.Familiarize yourself with theStudent's Information, espe-cially the vocabulary wordsdescribing the sea turtle'sanatomy. Practice using theTurtle Key with each SeaTurtle Picture Card so thatyou can anticipate areas wherestudents may have difficulty.

e ,Ar

. N.- ,


March 1995

Instructions:1. Divide the students intoteams of two for this activity.Ask them to read the Student'sInformation and study the ac-companying diagram of seaturtle external anatomy. Theyshould also preview the TurtleKey by skimming for new vo-cabulary words. The teachershould use the sea turtle dia-gram on the Sea Turtle Identi-cafication sheet to give a step-by-step demonstration of howto read the Turtle Key. (Thisdiagram depicts a loggerheadsea turtle.)


2. Give each team the SeaTurtle Picture Cards and askthem to cut the cards on thedotted lines. They will worktogether to identify the seaturtle species shown on eachcard. Students should writethe name of the sea turtle onthe front of each card. On theback of each card, they shouldwrite their choices at each levelof the key.

3. As the teams complete theiridentification work, give themthe Sea Turtle Characteristicssheet. They should use thissheet and the Turtle Key todecide if they have correctlyidentified their turtle cards.The teacher should review thecorrect answers and discussthe use of the key. Was the keyeasy to use? What caused thegreatest difficulty in using thekey?

4. Students could be dividedinto five groups to give a sum-mary of the external anatomyof each of the five sea turtlespecies found along the NorthCarolina coast. (The teachercould combine two or three

teams into a larger group forthese presentations.) Eachgroup should describe to theclass what makes their turtlespecies unique. If their turtlewere crawling on the beach,what characteristics wouldthey observe in order to iden-tify it quickly and correctly?If desired, the students couldresearch the adaptations oftheir turtle species and explainto the class how these adapta-tions have helped their turtlesurvive.

Extensions:1. Research the internalanatomy of the sea turtle andcompare/contrast with theinternal anatomy of humans.Does the sea turtle have bodysystems and tissues similar toa human? Draw a diagram ormake a chart noting the simi-larities and differences.

2. Research the geographicalranges of the five sea turtlespecies. Mark their rangesand/or nesting areas on a mapof North and Central America.(A hurricane tracking mapcould be used).

3.2.232

March 1995

ITaxonomy is the branch of

biology that deals with classi-fication of organisms into es-tablished categories. The wordtaxonomy comes from theGreek words meaning arrange-ment and law. By followingcertain rules of taxonomy, bi-ologists have arranged knownorganisms into related groups.The biologists carefully ob-serve an organism's anatomy,genetics, ecology, and distribu-tion before placing it into aspecific category or group.

All organisms are first di-vided into large groups knownas kingdoms. There are fivewidely-recognized kingdoms:Monera, Protista, Fungi,Plantae, and Animalia. Eachkingdom is then split intosmaller and smaller groupings,with species (or subspecies)being the smallest groupingof all.

Keys:A key is an essential tool

in the science of taxonomy.Biologists, students and othersuse keys to help them identifyunknown organisms. A keyis an ordered list of character-istics that describe organisms.Keys often specialize in aparticular type of organismsuch as flowering plants,freshwaterfish, or seaturtles.Keys usu-ally containpictures anddrawings, as well as writtendescriptions, to guide thereader to the correct name forthe unknown organism.

Dichotomous Keys:Most keys are dichoto-

mous,- meaning dividing orbranching into two parts. Ateach level of a dichotomouskey, the reader must choosefrom two descriptions. Thereader carefully observes theunknown organism and thenchooses the description in thekey that best matches the or-ganism. One choice leads toanother until finally the readerreaches the name of the organ-ism.


hawksbill

3.2.3 33

How the Turtle Key Works:Before using the Turtle Key,

you must be familiar with theterms that describe sea turtleanatomy. The following illus-tration shows and defines thekey characteristics you mustknow in order to identify seaturtles. When you understandthe words plastron, carapaceand scute, you are ready tobegin reading at the top of theTurtle Key. Study one of theSea Turtle Cards that yourteacher has given you. Readthe two statements labelled "1"at the top of the key. If yourturtle picture matches 1A, youcan write Leatherback on thecard. If your turtle picturematches 1B, you go to "2" orthe second level of the key.You will then read 2A and 2Band decide which descriptionbest fits your picture. Yourchoice at level 2 will send youto either level 3 or level 4.Keep reading the key until youarrive at the name of a turtle.As you work your way throughthe key, you may want to takenotes by listing your choices ateach level on the back of theturtle card. This will help youlater if you need to find prob-lem areas in the key that mayhave led you to the incorrectname for your turtle.

March 1995

Sea TurtleIdentification

Scute(an enlarged scale covering

the bony portion of the shell)

Prefrontal scutes(scutes located

between the eyes,shaded area)

Dorsal(referring to the entire

upperside of an animal)

4,11464114

Lateral scutes(scutes located on eachside of the vertebralscutes on the carapace)

Vertebral scutes(located on the carapace

in the center betweenthe lateral scutes)

14Carapace(top or dorsal part of shell,

shaded area)

Inframarginal scutes(located between the marginal

scutes of the carapace andthe plastron. They connect

the plastron to the carapace)

Marginal scutes(outermost scutes, they enclosethe lateral and vertebral scutes)

v.

Ventral(referring to the entire

underside of an animal)

Plastron(underside or ventral part of shell, shaded area)

Hammocks Beach State Park. NC 3.2.4 34 March 1995

Turtle Key

You can use this key to identify the five Sea Turtle Picture Cards.You can also use this key to identify dead turtles you find at the beach.Remember not to disturb a nesting turtle! Dead turtles should bereported to a park official, wildlife officer or police officer.

1A. Carapace with seven vertical lines, or longitudinal ridges;no scutes on shell Leatherback

1B. Carapace without vertical lines, or longitudinal ridges;scutes present on shell Go to 2

2A. Four lateral scutes Go to 3

2B. Five lateral scutes Go to 4

3A. One pair of prefrontal scutes Green

3B. Two pairs of prefrontal scutes Hawksbill

4A. Three inframarginal scutes; carapace reddishbrown Loggerhead

4B. Four inframarginal scutes; carapace greenish

gray Kemp's Ridley


Sea Turtle Picture Cards

L

head, magnified

dorsal

L



dorsal ventral

Hammocks Beach State Park. NC 3.2.7 37

head, magnified

March 1995


dorsal ventral

38


After you have identified the sea turtles, write their names in the blanks.

Species A

small adults weigh 80-280 lbs.two pair prefrontal scutes between the eyesvertebral scutes usually overlap, except in very young and very oldfour lateral scutestwo claws on front flipperhabitat tropical seas, rare in North Carolina

Species B

carapace with seven longitudinal ridgesno scutes on head or shellcarapace black; leathery skin covering carapacelargest reptile in the world-weighs as much as 1,400 lbsfeeds mainly on jellyfish including Portuguese man-o-warhabitat tropical but wandering as far north as Nova Scotia, Canada

Species C

more than one pair of prefrontal scutes between the eyesreddish brown carapacethree inframarginal scutesfive lateral scutesvery large headhabitat tropical to subtropical, nest from North Carolina south

Species D

one pair of prefrontal scutesone claw on each front flipperlarge-may weigh up to 650 lbs or morefour lateral scutesonly sea turtle with tooth like projections on edge of lower jawhabitat tropical seas worldwide, nest rarely from Florida to North Carolina

Species E

carapace grayish, as wide as it is longfive of more lateral scutesfout inframarginal scutes that have small pores at their basemore than one pair of prefrontal scutessmallest of the sea turtles, up to 110 lbsbreeds in large groups during the daytime

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 3.2.9 3. March 1995

After you have identified the sea turtles, write their names in the blanks.

Species A Hawksbill sea turtle

small adults weigh 80-280 lbs.two pair prefrontal scutes between the eyesvertebral scutes usually overlap, except in very young and very oldfour lateral scutestwo claws on front flipperhabitat tropical seas, rare in North Carolina

Species B Leatherback sea turtle

carapace with seven longitudinal ridgesno scutes on head or shellcarapace black; leathery skin covering carapacelargest reptile in the world weighs as much as 1,400 lbsfeeds mainly on jellyfish including Portuguese man-o-warhabitat tropical but wandering as far north as Nova Scotia, Canada

Species C Loggerhead sea turtle

more than one pair of prefrontal scutes between the eyesreddish brown carapacethree inframarginal scutesfive lateral scutesvery large headhabitat tropical to subtropical, nest from North Carolina south

Species D Green sea turtle

one pair of prefrontal scutesone claw on each front flipperlarge-may weigh up to 650 lbs or morefour lateral scutesonly sea turtle with tooth like projections on edge of lower jawhabitat tropical seas worldwide, nest rarely from Florida to North Carolina

Species E Kemp's Ridley sea turtle

carapace grayish, as wide as it is longfive or more lateral scutesfour inframarginal scutes that have small pores at their basemore than one pair of prefrontal scutessmallest of the sea turtles, up to 110 lbsbreeds in large groups during the daytime


March 1995

Pre Visit Activity #3 Reptile Relatives

Major Concepts:AdaptationsAnatomyNatural history

Learning Skills:Classifying, communicating,inferringParticipating effectively ingroupsOrganizing information

Subject Areas:ScienceEnglish Language ArtsSee the Activity Summaryfor a Correlation with theDPI objectives in thesesubject areas.

Location: Classroom orschoolyard

Group Size: Maximum of 30students

Time: 45 - 60 minutes

Materials:Provided by the educator:

For the class: one set of 30Turtle Adaptation CardsOptional - poster paper andmarkers

Objectives:List five adaptations thatallow the loggerhead seaturtle to survive in themarine environment.List five adaptations thatallow the eastern box turtleto survive in a terrestrialenvironment.Identify similarities anddifferences between theloggerhead sea turtle andeastern box turtle.Give at least two reasonswhy the sea turtle is endan-gered and the box turtle isnot.


Tn this activity, the studentsI will become familiar withthe adaptations, anatomy andnatural history of a sea turtleand a terrestrial turtle. Eachstudent will receive a cardwith a written description ofan adaptation of the loggerhead

sea turtle or the box turtle.The students will read theirinformation cards to one an-other and sort themselves intotwo groups. They will workwith their group to give a briefnatural history of their turtle tothe class. Then they will assistthe teacher in filling out a chartcomparing the two turtles. Theteacher should be familiar withthe information on sea turtlesin Appendix l in addition tothe information presented onthe adaptation cards in thisactivity. Posters or picturesfrom a book that illustrate thetwo species would be veryhelpful teaching tools.

Azit--:--:..-____ ra-r-Irainglredi __...-qii.:...-,--,,--eEas..,.......-t,--7-9,-t---=-1----7-41-z-4.% __.v>0t---=----.<' -----",ft---1 ----.Ts.---\-c-\1----, .,............z...... --....0.-_,-,A,

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eastern box turtle

3.3.1 41 March 1995

Instructions:1. Copy the Turtle AdaptationCards and cut them along thedotted lines to make 30 cards.Shuffle the cards and then giveeach student one card. Tell thestudents that they each,have adescription of a turtle adap-tation on their:64d. The adap-tation helps theturtletO sur-vive in its habitat. They are tofind, and stand next to, otherstudents whose cards are de - --

scribing adaptations of thesame turtle. They can not showtheir cards to anyone,,.6utrniisttread the information to anotherstudent when requested;'-',Givethe students a tirrieliMit,,suchas three minutes, toyerformthis task. Tell the students thatthere will be twogroups, repre-senting two types: Of turtles.Let them make inferencesabout their turtle'§ ident4,from the facig=bn the cards

2. After you calLtime, askthe"

students*Work:togetheta grouplOfdeyelop asscla.§§76;,sentation on their tittle. Theywilidravkheir animal On the:

board (or on a piece of posterpaper) using the clues given onthe cards. They should alsophysically group themselvesinto paragraphs or themes byplacing students with relatedadaptation cards side-by-side.In this WIWtheir oral presen-tation will be easy to under-stand; rather than just a jumbleof facts. Remind them thatotilOhe student holdingthe

read ortell about the,:informationonthat card. Thiswill ensure thateveryOne par-ticipates in'thepresentatiOrt.-Again, seta time limit of 15-20--sniinutes to prepare for theirpresentations: The:presenta-

Aion&cartakeirariOni forms...skit,Jecture, song, pbem, rap,etc.

3 :"The students will -work with.their.group to present the atations anAnerar history of

.,,ithe turtle theiriroup repre-sents. When each group has

*shed, let the students knowthat,the cards .were:.supPosed tofepreinta loggerheadseai,turtle:or atiasterrybOx


42

4. To summarize the differ-ences between the loggerheadand the box turtle, make alarge chart on the blackboardor overhead projector. Dividethe chart vertically into twosections: box turtle and logger-head-Along the left margin,

list topics such as habitat, size,colors, feet, shape of shell,predators, food, water, bodytemperature, and reproduction.Using the information on theircards, the students should as-sist the teacher in completingthe chart. How are the twoturtlessitnilar.?,,How are theydifferent? WhicIils_an endan-gered or threatened species andwhy? (The teacher may want

rtto xerox copies of Appendix 1so that students can read more

-about the reasons for sea turtle,decline.)

Students should make infer-ences based on facts concern.ng'w h y the sea turtle is endan-gered and the box turtle is not.

-What role do humans play inthe endangered status of seaturtles?

March 1995

Turtle Adaptation Cards Loggerhead

L

L

As an adult my average weightis around 350 pounds and I amusually over 3 feet long. Mylarge size deters most predatorsand helps retain my body heat.

The top part of my shell, orcarapace, is somewhat flattenedor streamlined to help me swimeasily with less resistance.Scutes (large scales) cover myshell. The rear edge of my shellis particularly thick, which mayoffer some protection fromsharks because I am not a veryfast swimmer.

Four flippers help me movethrough the water and help mecrawl on land. I use my longfront flippers to propel myself,and my short rear ones to steerand change directions. I alsouse my rear ones for digging.


T

I am cold blooded or ectothermic,which means I have no controlover my body temperature. Inother words I depend on outsidesources of heat to maintain my bodytemperature. This is one reasonthat I am normally only found intemperate and subtropical (warm)waters.

Even though I spend most of mylife in the water I do not have gills.I have lungs. I can hold my breathfor several hours. During longperiods underwater, my metabolicrate slows and my heart beat dropsto as low as one beat every nineminutes.

As an adult, I have two clawsor nails on each of my flippers.Males of my species have longertails than females. Otherwise welook about the same.

3.3.3 4a

IMarch 1995


L

r

L

As adults we spend our entirelives in the water except in thesummer months when females ofour species crawl onto the beachto lay eggs. Males of my speciesnever come out of the waterunless they are trying to escapea predator.

T

In North Carolina, the femalesnest from late May to August. Wenest at night, when it's cooler andsafer. A clutch of eggs averages120. We can lay up to nine clutchesa season but three is the average.

As an adult I am omnivorous,which means I eat both plantsand animals. My diet includesmollusks, crabs, jellyfish, andseaweed.


Females lay soft, leathery, eggsthat look like ping-pong balls.The leather shell prevents break-age and allows oxygen into andout of the egg. This is importantfor our babies because, when wefinish laying the eggs, we burythem with sand!

I am a survivor! As a hatchling,I escaped from ghost crabs,raccoons, dogs, seagulls andpeople. So far I have managed toavoid sharks, large fish, fishingnets, boats, pollution and manyother perils. It is estimatedthat only one out of 10,000 ofmy kind survives to adulthood!

My common name comes fromthe fact that I have a very largehead, up to 10 inches wide. Mylarge head, combined with strongpowerful jaws, helps me to crushhard-shelled animals to get to thesoft body parts that are so tasty!

3.3.44-4

March 1995


I do not have any teeth. Instead, Ihave a sharp-edged jaw with abeak at the tip. This allows me tocrush shelled animals and pickout the meat with my beak.

I get all my water through thefoods I eat and the salt water Iswallow. I have special glandsthat remove and store excess salt.I periodically excrete excess saltfrom these glands through tearducts. When I do this, it lookslike I am crying!


After the nesting season, Iusually migrate south to avoidcold weather. I may go to theBahamas or the Caribbean tospend the winter. I usuallyreturn to the same area in NorthCarolina each year to mateor nest.

45March 1995

Turtle Adaptation Cards Box Turtle

L

As an adult I am 4 to 6.5 inchesin length. My small size andcamouflage make it hard forpredators to detect me.

The top part of my shell, orcarapace, is dome-shaped.The bottom part of my shell,or plastron, has a hinge. Thisallows me to draw my head andfeet inside my shell when I amthreatened by a predator.

Being terrestrial, I move bywalking on four clawed feet.

I am not normally found in deepwater; however, when it's hot Imay seek out shallow water ormud holes to cool off.


T

_L

I am cold-blooded or ectothermic,which means I have no controlover my body temperature. Inother words I depend on outsidesources of heat to maintain mybody temperature. This is onereason that I am not usually foundabove 4,000 feet in elevation inNorth Carolina.

Scutes (large scales) cover myshell and are brown, yellow andorange in color. My color patternshelp me blend in with the fallenleaves of the forest floor.

Being camouflaged is importantfor me because I do not movevery fast.

I spend my entire life in afive to ten acre home range.I usually live 60 years or longer.Sometimes members of myspecies live as long as 138 years!

3.3.6

46

1

March 1995


L

L

Females of my species dig a nestin the forest soil and lay a clutchof three to eight soft, leatheryeggs. Up to three clutches maybe laid in a season, from themonths of May through July.

Males of my species have hindclaws that are shorter, stockierand more curved than the females'claws. Males also have longerthicker tails and a shallow depres-sion on their plastron. Malesusually, have red eyes, whilefemales' eyes are brown.

A wildflower called mayappledepends on me to disperse theseeds from the lemon-colored fruitthat hangs down at just the rightheight for me to reach up and eat.


T

1

J_

A long time ago, Native Ameri-cans killed my species for foodand used our shells for rattles.They even buried us with theirdead. Creepy! Few people killus today, thank goodness!

I am omnivorous, which meansI eat both plants and animals.My diet includes snails, slugs,beetles, worms, spiders, berries,fruit, fungi and even poisonousmushrooms that would kill mostanimals but not me!

Most animals must seek shelteror maintain a burrow, nest, orother form of shelter. Not me,I carry mine on my back! Thisis one reason I am able to stay onthe move. I do not have to worryabout shelter, just food.

3.3.7 4 r7 March 1995


I do not have teeth. Instead, Ihave a sharp-edged jaw that istipped with a beak. This allowsme to feed on a wide variety ofplants and animals that live inthe forest.

I- +

Young of my species are aboutthe size of a quarter and arevulnerable to predators, such assnakes and raccoons, until theirshells fully develop at four

years of age.

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

When cold weather sets in, Ibury myself about two feetunder loose soil and leaves tohibernate. This eliminates theneed for me to travel longdistances in search of warmth.

48


On-Site Activity #1 . Lost Habitat


Communication Skills: lis-tening, reading, vocabularyand viewing comprehension,writing, speaking techniquesGuidance: competency andskill for interacting withothers, variety and complex-ity of occupationsScience: ecology, howscience helps usSocial Science: gather, orga-nize and analyze information,draw conclusions

Grade 7Communication Skills: lis-tening, reading, vocabularyand viewing comprehension,speaking techniquesGuidance: being responsiblein a group, develop an aware-ness of alternative points ofviewScience: characteristics ofanimals, interaction of peopleand the environment, earthscienceSocial Science: gather, orga-nize and analyze information,draw conclusions, knowthe importance of naturalresources

Grade 8Communication Skills: lis-tening, reading, vocabularyand viewing comprehension,speaking techniquesScience: science and its rela-

. tionship to human endeavors,adaptation, ecologySocial Science: gather, orga-nize and analyze information,draw conclusions

Location: Open beach

Group Size:Class size, divided into groupsof four students



Appropriate Season:April 15 October 15(Island trips)

Materials:Provided by park: Wire used to

protect nest site, red flashlightProvided by educator: "Logger-

head Sea Turtle Fact Sheet"Appendix 2, worksheet andclipboards (one per student orgroup)

Provided by student: pencil

Major Concepts:HabitatResource management

Objectives:Describe six threats tologgerhead sea turtles.Describe two resourcemanagement efforts bypark personnel to protectloggerhead sea turtlenesting habitat.Explain how HammocksBeach State Park is asea turtle sanctuary.

49

4.1.1


This activity is designed tointroduce the students to

the sea turtle's nesting habitat.To prepare for this, please readthe Sea Turtle and LoggerheadSea Turtle fact sheets in theAppendices.

Through a visit to Ham-mocks Beach State Park, thestudents will learn about themany hazards sea turtles faceand how loss of habitat con-tributes to sea turtles becomingthreatened and endangeredspecies.

April 1994

Student's Information

Sea turtle survival isdirectly affected byhuman activity andhas been since theearliest coastal occu-

pation by humans. CoastalNative Americans, as wellas early European sailors, har-vested sea turtles and theireggs for food. The Spanish atone time looked forward tothe "arribada." This wasthe mass arrival of Kemp's(Atlantic) Ridley sea turtlest9 their nesting beaches. Be-cause the turtles all arrivedtogether, the adult females andtheir eggs were easy prey.More recently, sea turtles have

been harvested and illegallypoached to produce productssuch as jewelry, trinkets,ornamental items and leathergoods. In many countries ofthe world it is still legal toharvest sea turtle meat andeggs as a food source.

Many activities and condi-tions near the open beach areacan reduce the chances of asea turtle nesting, a clutchdeveloping or a hatchlingreaching the ocean. Coastaldevelopment, vehicle and hu-man traffic, lighting, pollution,poaching, turtle products andcommercial fishing each havea negative impact on sea turtlesurvival.

50

Hammocks Beach State Park. NC 4.1.2

Coastal development hasdeteriorated nesting habitatand commercial fishing hascaused many turtles to drownin nets. Discarded plastics andother debris generated by irre-sponsible humans have causedturtles to suffocate when theseare ingested. Increased humanactivities can only lead thesea turtles closer to extinctionunless humankind takes re-sponsibility to reduce thesehazards. Responsibility beginswith education, research andresource management.

April 1994

Instructions:1. Prior to visiting the park,have the students read theStudent's Information and theLoggerhead Sea Turtle FactSheet (Appendix 2).

2. Divide the class into groupsof four students. Discuss thelocation of the nest sites turtlesmight choose.

3. Have the students walkfrom the surf zone to the duneline while discussing how aseveral hundred pound reptile,adapted for swimming, has tolumber from the ocean to finda suitable nesting location. Ifpossible, have the students pre-tend to be a turtle and crawl upthe beach like a turtle in searchof a nest site. Have each groupfind what they think would bea suitable nesting location andmark it.

4. After the student groupshave marked their "nests," re-assemble the class. Have eachgroup present their nest site

and describe why theyselected that particular site.Discuss the locations whereloggerhead sea turtles typicallynest.

Be sure to mention thatturtles often return to the samebeach or coastal area year afteryear. (Remember, the femaleswill not come back yearly be-cause they do not nest everyyear. However, the malesmight come back yearly; sci-entists do not know for suresince the males never comeup on the beach and are, there-fore, very hard to monitor.)These turtles might have beenimprinted to that beach as ahatchling, or they might focuson geologic features such asshoals, rocks or currents.

Sea turtles tend to nest be-tween the mean high tide andthe top of the primary dune.The location is also affectedby the consistency of the sand,amount of vegetation anddisturbance to the beach area,


by such things as vehicles,people, lights and buildings.Given all these considerations,have the students re-evaluatetheir group's nesting site andplace the wire mesh over theirfinal nest location.

5. Hand out the "Sea TurtleThreats" worksheet. After thestudents complete their work-sheets, re-gather the groupand lead a discussion on thepossible threats listed on theworksheet. Discuss the solu-tions the students created todeal with the problems.

6. Discuss what resourcemanagement is. Tell the classonly trained resource manag-ers with a valid permit fromthe North Carolina WildlifeResources Commission canwork with turtle nests andturtles. Why do you supposethat's so? (Becauk these arethreatened and endangeredspecies. The researchers mustbe trained to ensure theyproperly manage the turtlesfor maximum survival.) Besure to mention that one of themost important resource man-agement efforts that can bedone for sea turtles is to createsanctuaries of beach and wa-ter areas. These sanctuaries,such as Hammocks BeachState Park, provide protectedhabitat for the sea turtles.

April 1994

7. Finally, lead a discussion onthe resource management toolsused to protect sea turtles. Dis-cuss the use of a red flashlightto find turtles on the beach.(Sea turtles do not easily seethe wavelength transmitted bya red light.) Describe how totag/measure a turtle so you canhope to monitor it from nestingseason to nesting season. Doyou suppose many male turtlesare ever tagged? (No, sincemale turtles do not come upon the beaches.) Discuss howthe information is used to learnmore about a sea turtle's natu-ral history. Show the classhow the wire mesh is used to

cover the nest and explain whypredators cannot dig throughthe wire. In extreme cases, itis necessary to relocate a nest.This would include a nest laidbelow the high tide line, areasthreatened by storm tides,nearby vegetation's roots anderosion. The relocation mustbe done within the first 6-12hours after laying to be effec-tive. Did any group's nestneed to be relocated?

Remember, by law only atrained person is permitted toperform these activities. Havethe students return their papersso no litter is left on the beach.

Suggested Extensions:1. Take the class on a visit toone of the three North Caro-lina Aquariums to view livingsea turtles. (Note: You shouldcall in advance to have the ad-mission fee waived.)

2. Ask for a student to volun-teer to take photographs dur-ing the on-site visit. As a post-visit activity, assign students tocreate a bulletin board displayshowing what they havelearned.


52April 1994

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On-Site Activity #2 Talking Turtle

Major Concepts:Loggerheadseatuitle lifecycleAdaptationsNatural and humarLthreatsResource management

Learning Skills:ComniunicatingListening for details andacquiring information

Subject Areas:,Science: .

English Language. ArtsSee the Activity Stmunary.:for a Correlation with DPIobjectives in these subject

Location:Nature Center or Bathhouse

Group Size: 30 students

Estimated Time:30-45 minutes

Appropriate Season:April 15 - October 15(Island Trips)

Materials:Provided by the park:

Slide show & equipment;models and taxidermy, sPeci-mens, Jeopardy game board

Provided by the educator:Per student: one copy of

Appendices 1, 2 and 3',

Objectives:Describe the nesting pro-cess of the loggerhead seaturtle.List five adaptations thathelp loggerheads to survivein marine environments.List five natural threats tologgerhead survival.List five human threats tologgerhead survival.Describe resource manage-ment efforts used to protectsea turtles.

Your plastictrash is

killing me!

hawksbill

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 4.2.1 5 7


Por to their visit to the park,students should read and dis-cuss Appendices 1, 2, and 3.(This could be done in thecontext of one of the pre-visitactivities in this FF1 F) Theeducator should become famil-iar with the slide program textfound in this lesson plan, andprepare the students for listen-ing and viewing.

At the park, students willview a slide program describ-ing the natural history of theloggerhead sea turtle. Theprogram includes speciesidentification, adaptations, lifecycle and threats to the turtle'ssurvival. The students willsee and touch models and taxi-dermy items used to illustratethe slide program. After theprogram, the students will com-pete in a game of "'Fades inJeopardy" which is patternedafter the TV game show"Jeopardy."

March 1995

Instructions:After the slide program,

divide the students into threeteams. The teams will standin lines facing theJeopardy gameboard. The first

The first of the threecontestants to raise his/her hand gets a chance tocorrectly ask the questionthat would match the re-vealed answer. (Remind

the students to

441 A in the form of

always phrasetheir response

rA"). (lb, a question just

( ghost crab as they do inthe real Jeopardy

game.) It is help-

value on thecover card.The studentwith the correctresponse gets

to select thenext column and

amount to be re-vealed. The three con-

testants from round one go tothe back of their respectiveteam's line. The winning con-testant keeps the point carduntil the end of the game. Thethree new students, now at thefront of the line', are the nextcontestants for their teams.

After all columns have beenuncovered, each team addstheir point value cards to deter-mine which team has the mostpoints. If there are-any prizesor privileges to be awarded,that is done. at this time. Twogame boards are supplied inthis activity so that two roundscan be played if desired.

person in each line is the firstcontestant. Select one of thethree contestants to pick thefirst column and numberamount to be revealed. (Theamounts do not have to be se-lected in any particular order.)After the column and amounthave been selected, uncoverthe answer and read it aloud.

ful to have one leader read theboard while another leaderwatches to see whose hand israised first. If a student cor-rectly responds to the answer,his/her team receives the point

Itt hi

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100 100 100

200 200 200

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_11!7/111111 IIl Iii

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 4.2.2 58 March 1995

Slide Show Text

*NOTE: Instructions for the narrator are given in capital letters.

1) Welcome to Hammocks Beach State Park.The park consists of 33 acres on the mainlandand the adjacent Bear Island which is a barrierisland nearly 900 acres in size.

2) Bear Island is about three-and-one half milesin length and about one-half mile wide, and isoriented east-to-west. To the east of the islandis Bogue Inlet which lies between Emerald Isleand Bear Island. To the west is Bear Inlet andBrown's Island which is used by the military.As you may have noticed, Bear Island is unde-veloped, which makes it an ideal nesting beachfor sea turtles.

3) There are seven species of sea turtles, fiveof which may be seen off the coast of NorthCarolina. The largest one is the leatherback.This turtle may reach six feet in length andweigh about 1,300 pounds . Although thisturtle can be seen in offshore waters, it prima-rily nests in the tropics. The loggerhead seaturtle, seen here chasing a horseshoe crab, isthe most common nesting turtle at Bear Island.

*USE TOY MODEL WITH SLIDE #4*

4) The loggerhead sea turtle has a reddish-brown carapace, or shell. Fishermen whoused to see the turtle bobbing in the water saidits head resembled a log and gave it the name,loggerhead. Sea turtles are different from landturtles, because they live in the ocean. *ASKAUDIENCE WHAT THEY THINK THEDIFFERENCES ARE* All sea turtles haveflippers, which they use to swim. Theloggerhead averages about *SHOW LENGTHWITH ARMS SPREAD ABOUT THREEFEET WIDE* three feet in length and weighsbetween 200 and 400 pounds.

*SHOW TURTLE SKULL WITH SLIDE #5*

5) ASK THE GROUP IF LOGGERHEADSHAVE GILLS OR LUNGS. Sea turtles havelungs just like you and I. Loggerheads canremain underwater for several hours. (Up tofive hours under laboratory conditions). During

Hammocks Beach State Park,-NC 4.2.3

long periods underwater, their metabolic rateslows and their heart beats once every nineminutes. They also have a large head withstrong jaws, which they can use to breakopen-6) Crab and whelk shells * SHOW WHELKSHELL AND TURTLE SKULL*

7) They also eat jellyfish, shrimp and seaweed.

*SHOW BARNACLE AND BONE FROMCARAPACE WITH SLIDE #8

8) This crustacean is known as a barnacle.This particular barnacle only exists on seaturtles, and especially on the loggerhead.It is not known if this invertebrate is parasitic.

9) Scientists can use barnacles to identify seaturtles during the nesting season, because eachturtle has its own unique pattern of barnacleson its carapace, just as each human has aunique set of fingerprints. Scientists can takepictures of the loggerhead's barnacle patternand save them to compare with females thatcome ashore-later. This will help determine ifthe same females are coming back to Bear Is-land to nest. This procedure is called phototagging.10) As the sun slowly sets, it marks the begin-ning of a researcher's day. In the United Statesfemale loggerheads nest along the southeasterncoast between North Carolina and Florida.Nesting season here begins in late May and willlast until about the middle of August.

11) Females slowly make their way out of thewater and onto the beach anytime between sun-set and sunrise. They generally nest above thehigh tide line, near the dune base.

12) Once she has found a suitable place, sheuses her body to hollow out a body pit. Shethen uses her hind flippers to dig out the nestchamber.

SeMarch 1995

*SHOW MODEL NEST WITH SLIDE #13*

13) Once she has dug out a pear-shapedchamber, she will deposit between 100 and 180eggs, with the average being 120. Turtle eggsare different than chicken eggs, because turtleeggs have a leathery shell. They must be softso they will not break when the female dropsthem into the nest.

*SHOW MODEL TURTLE, TAGGINGEQUIPMENT AND HOW/WHERE THETAG WOULD BE PLACED WITHSLIDE #14*

14) While laying the eggs, the female goesinto a nesting trance, and she is not fully awareof her surroundings. At this time the researchercan approach the turtle to measure and tag her.Tagging is done to obtain more information onthese elusive reptiles. The researcher uses ared light because sea turtles cannot see thecolor red. Photo tagging may also be done atthis time.

15) While the female is nesting, tears can beenseen falling from her eyes. Some people thinkshe is crying because she is leaving her babiesbehind, but she is actually ridding herself ofexcess salt.

16) When she has finished laying her eggs, shewill use her hind flippers to pull sand over thenest, and then use her body to pack it down.

17) She will throw sand over the entire sitewith her front flippers to disguise the area.

18) The turtle then returns to the sea, but neverto that nest. She may, however, return to BearIsland in 10-14 days to make another nest. Aturtle will make about four nests a season, everyother year.

19) Walking along the beach on a summermorning, you may see something like this: twobulldozer-like tracts and a large disturbed area.This is a good example of a nest site.

20) Occasionally you may see something likethese turtle tracks that do not lead to a nest.This is known as a false crawl. Sometimes aturtle will come ashore and crawl around only

to decide she does not like the feel of the sand,or perhaps there are too many shells or roots inthe sand. She goes back to the ocean but mayreturn that night, or the following night, to tryagain.

21) This is an example of a nest that wasdestroyed by the cute but destructive....

22) Raccoon. Raccoons will dig up sea turtlenests and eat the eggs. They will also eathatchling turtles. Man has unwittingly helpedincrease raccoon numbers by providing themwith a year-round food supply, garbage.

23) Here at Hammocks Beach, the beach ispatrolled most of the night by researcherslooking for nesting turtles.

24) When a nest has been found, it is coveredwith a metal screen to protect it from predators.When the nest is due to hatch, the screen willbe removed.

25) It takes about 60 days for a nest to hatch.Once the hatchlings break out of the eggs, theywork as a group to get out of the nest. This willtake 1-3 days. As they make their way out, thehatchlings pull sand down, and a depressionforms. This indicates that the hatchling seaturtles will be leaving the nest soon.

26) Starting with the depression, hatchlingemergence is an amazing sight! Once thehatchlings begin to poke their heads and flip-pers out of the sand, it is only a matter of wait-ing and watching.

27) More hatchlings appear at the surface,stimulating the others to crawl out. Hatchlingsorient themselves towards the ocean becauseof its brightness. The top of the screen is thedirection of the ocean. Notice that one turtleis facing the opposite direction. Bright lightscause hatchlings to become disoriented andcrawl towards the bright lights. This is a bigproblem where people build houses, fishingpiers and roads close to the beach.

28) On a dark beach it does not take longbefore they are headed in the right direction.

29) It almost appears as if the sand is boilingwith turtles. These next few slides will give


you an appreciation of the hatching process.

30)

31)

32)

33) The hatching process is a group effort andgenerally occurs at night. This helps the hatch-lings escape such predators as . . .

34) birds. At night, however, . . .

35) ghost crabs pose the biggest threat.

36) A ghost crab will drag a hatchling into itshole where it will eat it, and in the morning yousee....

37) It took out the "trash," parts of the turtle itcould not eat.

38) It is believed a hatchling, surviving on itsleft-over yolk, will swim for a few days to acalm area in the Atlantic Ocean known as theSargasso Sea. Here it will float among thesargasso seaweed for the first year of its life.

39) Occasionally, a nest will have to be relo-cated, perhaps because it was laid too closeto the water, or surrounded by a lot of roots.Relocation is only done in extreme circum-stances. A sea turtle's sex is determined by thetemperature of the sand. By relocating the nest,you may be altering the delicate process ofdevelopment.

40) Sea turtles are protected under theEndangered Species Act. Beach developmentdestroys nesting areas of the sea turtles. With-out dark, undeveloped, clean beaches for theturtles to nest, their future generations willcontinue to be threatened.

41) Beach erosion is a natural problem thatsea turtles face. When we renourish beaches tocombat erosion, the sand which is placed on thebeach may influence the female in her selectionof nest site. This new sand may also alter thedevelopment of the hatchlings.


42) Dumping of wastes continues in theoceans. Plastic is one of the worst pollutants.Here is a hawksbill sea turtle that wasentangled in fishing line. This one probablydrowned when it could not surface for air.

Always remove fishing line found on thebeach. Can you think of other common plasticitems that could harm wildlife?

*SHOW SKULL TO POINT OUT BRAIN-CASE IN SLIDE #43 ASK A STUDENTTO POINT TO THE LOCATION OF THEBRAINCASE IN THE TURTLE SKULL.*

43) Here you can see the small size of theturtle's brain. The turtles rely on instinct.Sea turtles eat jellyfish. To them, a plastic bagfloating in the water looks like a jellyfish andthey eat the bag. Turtles can not digest or passthe plastic. The turtle will die of starvationbecause the plastic clogs its digestive system.

Whenever you see plastic pollution on ornear the beach what should you do with it?

44) If you ever find a dead sea turtle on thebeach, you should contact a park official, thelocal aquarium, or perhaps the police. Becausesea turtles are endangered, deaths or injuriesmust be reported and dealt with accordingly.Can you think of any other agencies you couldcontact?

45) Through resource management efforts,and with your help and support, we can attemptto save these reptiles from extinction.

61 March 1995

Turtles In Jeopardy

Talking Turtle

100

Turtle Trivia

100

Threats to Turtles

100

200 200 200

300 300 300

400 400 400Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 4.2.6 62 March 1995

' I 1 I

Talking Turtle

The sea turtlespecies that

nests onBear Island

Turtle Trivia

A clear,watery animal

eaten bya sea turtle

Threats to Turtles

This typeof pollutioncan drown

and entanglesea turtles

The numberof species ofsea turtles in

the world

A small cone-shaped creature

found on thecarapace of most

sea turtles

A crabthat preys onhatchlings

Months ofthe year

turtles nest onBear Island

Largestsea turtle

This causeshatchlings to

go in thewrong direction

The numberof days it takessea turtle eggs

to hatch

Smallestsea turtle

Loss ofnesting o- habitatis due to this

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC March 1995

What is theloggerhead?

What isa jellyfish?

What isdiscarded

fishing line orplastic pollution?

What is seven?What is

a barnacle?What is a

ghost crab?

What isMay through

August?

What is theleatherback?

What isbright light?

What is60 to 90 days?

What is theKemp's Ridley?

What is coastaldevelopment?


' 1 I .

Talking Turtle Turtle Trivia Threats to Turtles

100 100 100

200 200 200

300 300 300

400 400 400Hammocks Beach State Park. NC 4.2.9 March 1995


A sea turtlebreathes

with these

Crying helpsa sea turtle

do this

Name forsevere storms

that sometimeshit the coast

An adaptationthat allows

loggerheads toeat hard-shelled

animals

Method usedto recorda turtle's

barnacle pattern

A maskedmammal that

eats turtle eggs

Averagesize or weight

of a loggerheadsea turtle

Under labconditions,five hours

Turtles oftenmistake thesefor jellyfish

This determinesthe sex of

a developingsea turtle

The name forturtle tracks

that do not leadto a nest

Natural lossof beach

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 4.2.10 66 March 1995

1 1


What isWhat are lungs? rid its body of

excess salt?

What is ahurricane?

What is alarge head,

sharp beak orstrong jaws?

What isphoto tagging?

What isa raccoon?

What is threefeet in lengthor 200 to 400

pounds?

What is howlong a sea

turtle can holdits breath?

What areplastic bags?

What is thetemperature of

the sand?

What is afalse crawl?

What isbeach erosion?

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC67

4.2.11 March 1995

A

Major Concepts:AdaptationsPredator/prey relationshipsEndangered wildlifeHuman impact on wildlife

Learning Skills:.Communicating, inferring,predicting, interpreting dataGraphing, using probabilitiesRespOnding creatively topersonal experiences

Subject Areas:ScienceMathematicsEnglish. Language. ArtsSee the Activity. Summaryfor a Correlation with DPIobjectives in these subjectareas.

Location:Open beach on Bear Island;alternative sites include grassyplaying field or large indoorplay space

Group Size: 30 or more

Estimate Time: 45-60 minutes

Appropriate Season:April 15 to October 15

Materials:Provided by the park: boundary

markers for the playing field;pictures of ghost crabs,raccoons and/or other beachpredators; piece of posterpaper and magic marker;stopwatch or watch with asecond hand; whistle

Provided by the teacher:Per student Appendices 2 & 3,

graph paper (optional)

Special Considerations:Students should be dressed inclothing appropriate for aphysical education class.

Objectives:List three natural predatorsof loggerhead sea turtles.Describe the nesting cycleof loggerhead sea turtles.Explain the low survivalrate of hatchlings and howsea turtles compensate foryoung lost to predators.Describe how humansimpact sea turtle reproduc-tion.

alaa


Tn this physically active simu-lation, students will role-play

hatchling sea turtles as theycrawl from their nest site to theocean. A few students willrole-play the predators thatcommonly prey upon hatch-lings. The teacher should pre-pare the students for the fieldtrip by encouraging them towear proper clothing and bydiscussing the threats to seaturtle hatchlings in Appendices2 & 3. With some modifica-tion, this game can be playedon the school grounds, but isbest done in the turtle's naturalenvironment, the beach.

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 4.3.1 0March 1995

Instructions:

1. It is recommended that stu-dents read Appendices 2 & 3or complete one of the pre-visit activities in this EELEbefore participating in this.simulation.

2. The educator or park rangershould mark off a playing fieldapproximately 100 feet by 100feet on the beach. One endof the field should be justabove the high tide mark andthe other near the base of thedunes. The corners of the fieldshould be clearly marked withstakes, shoes or backpacks.The educator should check thearea carefully for hazardousobjects before starting thegame.

3. For a group of 30 students,select four to play the preda-tors. If the group is larger than30, increase the number ofpredators proportionately. Theremaining students will role-play hatchlinvea turtles.4. Introduce the game to thestudents by showing them pic-tures of ghost crabs, raccoonsand other beach predators.Briefly review how turtleshatch from a nest and crawlfor their lives to the ocean.Then describe the panto-mime for each role in thegame. Two of the preda-tors will be ghost crabs.They must bend theirknees and hold theirarms up at shoulderheight to mimic themotion of a real ghost crab.They may only move side-ways. (Educator/ranger should

demonstrate the motion.) Theother two predators shouldrole-play raccoons. They mustwalk on all fours by placingthe palms of their hands downon the sand. They can usetheir feet in the normal way;they should not crawl on theirknees. (Again, the educator/ranger should demonstrate themotion.) The other studentswill role-play the hatchlingloggerhead sea turtles. Theyshould kneel on the sand andplace their hands on theirshoulders. Then, they shouldbend over with elbows touch-ing the sand. (Their foldedarms and elbows represent thefront flippers of a sea turtle.)To crawl, they should movelimbs alternately; i.e., leftelbow with right knee andright elbow with left knee.This alternating motion repre-sents how loggerheads crawl;other turtle species moveopposite limbs together.(Educator/ranger should dem-onstrate the crawl for life.)Students should practice theirpantomimes before startingthe game.

5. The goal of each hatchlingis to crawl across the playing

tagged by a predator. Eachpredator will try to tag asmany hatchlings as possible.Both predators and hatchlingsmust stay within the bounds ofthe playing field. Turtles aresafe when they reach the hightide end of the field. Once theturtles reach the "safe" side,they should stay there until.theend of the game. If a turtle istagged, it is "dead" and muststay where it was tagged untilthe end of the game.

6. To start, ask the turtles toarrange themselves on thedune side of the field. Preda-tors will start on the oppositeside. When the educator blowsa whistle, the game will start.A second whistle blast signalsthat the game is over and allstudents should freeze in theirplaces. The educator shouldtime the game with a stop-watch or watch with a secondhand.

7. When all the hatchlingshave been tagged or havemade it to the "safe" side(ocean), the educator shouldblow the whistle a secondtime. Record the game timeon the poster paper with themagic marker. Make a quick

count of the number ofturtles that "died" and thenumber that made itsafely to the "ocean."Record these results onthe poster paper, also.(The educator may wantto take the poster back tothe classroom for graph-ing activities later.) The

educator should gather theclass together as a group and


field from the dune side to thehigh tide side without getting

4.3.2 69 March 1995

display the results. Tell theclass that they will be playingthe game again with four newstudents representing thepredators. Ask one or twoof the predators to role-playhumans who are poaching seaturtle eggs and hatchlings. Thestudent(s) playing humans canrun on 'two legs, of course.The remaining predators willbe ghost crabs and raccoonsand must do these pantomimes.Allow the students to "huddle"with other students playingtheir same roles to discussstrategy before starting thegame.

8. Play the game again andrecord the results. Gather thestudents together for a discus-sion. Ask the students whythey think the survival rate forhatchling sea turtles is so low.How do sea turtles attempt tocompensate for this problem?(Loggerheads nest severaltimes a season and lay about120 eggs each time. In 1992,forty-two turtle nests were re-corded on Bear Island. That'sabout 5,000 eggs! Sea turtles

lay large numbers of eggs andnest several times to insurethat a few young will survive.)Ask the students to think ofother animals that use thesame strategy. Compare theresults of the two games. Howdo human predators comparewith other animal predators?What other impacts do humanshave on sea turtle reproduc-tion? (Pets such as dogs andcats kill hatchlings; streetlightsconfuse hatchlings; vehicletracks on beach trap hatch-lings; beach development andrenourishment projects destroynest sites; people increase rac-coon and gull populations dueto an increase of garbage alongthe coast.) Conclude with adiscussion of why we shouldbe concerned about sea turtlesand what we can do to helpthem.

Extension:Play the game several times,doubling the number of preda-tors each time. (Game 1would have one predator;game 2, two; game 3, four;

game 4, eight.) Keep constantthe number of sea turtle hatch-lings playing each game. Alsokeep the playing time constantfor each game. Before begin-ning this series of games, askthe students to write a hypoth-esis that describes what willhappen to the number of sur-viving sea turtles as the num-ber of predators is doubled.Record the number of turtlessurviving at the end of eachgame. Graph the number ofsurvivors (dependent variableon the "y"-axis) versus thenumber of predators (indepen-dent variable on the "x"-axis).Ask the students to accept orreject their initial hypothesesbased on the actual results oftheir "experiment."

Note:

If you are playing the game on agrassy field, you will not wantstudents to crawl on their handsand knees as they could do onthe beach. Alter the panto-mimes somewhat to accommo-date a different playing surface.For example, turtles must hopon one foot; predators can walk(or run) normally.


March 1995

SA


Communication Skills lis-tening, reading, vocabularyand viewing comprehension,study skills using environ-mental sourcesGuidance: competency andskill for interacting withothersHealthful Living: environ-mental health, how peopleaffect the environmentScience: ecology

Grade 7Communication Skills: lis-tening, reading, vocabularyand viewing comprehension;study skills using environ-mental sourcesGuidance: being responsiblein a group .

Science: characteristics ofanimals, organization andvariety of living things, ani-mal communities, interactionof people and the environ-mentSocial Studies: know the im-portance of natural resources

Grade 8Communication Skills: listen-ing, reading, vocabulary andviewing comprehension,study skills using environ-mental sourcesScience: adaptation, ecology

Location: Classroom

Group Size: Class size



Materials:Provided by the educator:Part I:Per student: Student's Informa-

tion, 1 game token (can beanything small, such as asmall shell)

Per group: One game board(assemble by taping, gluingor laminating the game tocardboard), 1 set of "TurtleTip" cards, 1 die

Part II:Per student: "A Maze of Threats,"

pencil


a a

Major Concepts:Life cycleNatural threats to seaturtle survivalHuman threats to seaturtle survival

Objectives:Describe the life cycle ofthe loggerhead sea turtle.Explain the low rate ofhatchling survival.List three natural threatsto sea turtle survival.List three human-createdthreats to sea turtle sur-vival.


97 his activity focuses on the1 natural and human threats

sea turtles encounter duringtheir life cycles. Before begin-ning the activity, please readAppendix 3, Sea Turtle Con-servation.

In Part I, the students willread about sea turtles, thenplay the game of sea turtlesurvival, "Sea Turtle Trek."In Part II, the students willcomplete a maze, helpingthe hatchlings make it toadulthood.

April 1994

Sea turtles are reptilesthat spend almost theirentire life cycles in theseas and oceans of the

world. There are seven spe-cies worldwide. Of the seven,five of them, the leatherback,loggerhead, green, Kemp'sRidley (or Atlantic Ridley)and hawksbill, can be foundin the Atlantic Ocean. Themost common nesting turtlein North Carolina is the log-gerhead, which grows to aweight of between 200 and350 pounds when mature. Thelargest sea turtle, however,is the leatherback, which canweigh as much as 1300pounds.

Sea turtles have specialcharacteristics or adaptationsthat enable them to bettersurvive in their ocean environ-ment. For example, they con-sume the salty sea water thatsurrounds them and rid them-selves of excess salt by tearing.Instead of having feet forcrawling, like the smallerfresh-water turtles that wesometimes see on land, they


have flippers for swimming.Sea turtles, like all reptiles,have lungs instead of gills likefish, so they cannot breatheunderwater. However, theycan stay underwater for severalhours, by holding in the airthat they breathe when theysurface.

Unlike some other turtles,sea turtles can't pull insideof their shells for protection.Their head and flippers stayextended, making them morevulnerable to predators suchas fish, sharks and killer

whales. Fortunately, once theyreach maturity, due to theirlarge body size and thick,streamlined shells, they havevery few natural enemies.

Sea turtles are omnivorous,which means that they eatboth plants and animals. Someof the things they eat include.jellyfish, crabs, sea weed andmollusks (sea shell animals).Sea turtles don't have teeth.Instead, they have a horny cov-ering of the jaw called a beak.They have such powerful jawsthat they can actually crush theshells of crustaceans in orderto get at the meat inside theshell.

Loggerheads they neston beaches in temperate andsubtropical waters. In NorthCarolina they nest between themonths of May and Septem-ber. The females crawl ashoreat night to lay their eggs. Theyusually crawl to the dune base,beyond the reach of high tide

5.1.2 72April 1994

water and then dig a hole in thesand that is approximately 18inches deep. The female thendeposits, on the average, 120eggs. She then covers the holewith sand and crawls back tothe ocean. She does not incu-bate the eggs.

After approximately 60days. the eggs hatch and thehatchlings emerge from thesand. The temperature of thesand will determine whetherthe turtles turn out as malesor females. Lower sand tem-peratures tend to produce moremales, while higher tempera-tures tend to produce morefemales. Hatchlings orientthemselves toward the bright-est light which, hopefully, isthe ocean reflecting the starsand moon. If there are artifi-cial lights shining on the beach,some of the turtles mightcrawl in the wrong directionand never make it to the water.Once the hatchlings emergefrom the nest, they have to get

past the ghost crabs thatlive on the beach, as well assea gulls and other birds thatmight try to prey upon them.

Herpetologists believe thatsea turtles spend the first yearor so of their lives at the sur-face of the water, floating inclumps of seaweed. The sea-weed provides them with foodand shelter. Because they areso small when first hatched.they are very vulnerable topredators in the early stagesof life and many don't reachadulthood. In fact, manyresearchers believe that only1 in 10.000 eggs laid willproduce a turtle that reachesmaturity.

Sea tunics have been inexistence for over 150 millionyears, yet. in recent times theirnumbers have rapidly declined.This decline is a result ofhuman activities that haveaffected. and continue to affect,turtle populations. such asdevelopment along the coast


which reduces suitable nestinghabitat, pollution of our oceansand the taking of turtles forfood, jewelry and souvenirs.In addition, many sea turtleshave been caught in fishingnets. Because the turtles areunable to come to the surfaceto breathe when they are in thenet, they drown if not releasedquickly enough. A TurtleExcluder Device (TED) hasbeen developed to be installedin fishermen's nets to helpsolve this problem. This de-vice acts as a trap door to pushthe turtle out of the net afterit gets caught. Hopefully, themore these devices are used,the more turtles will he saved.There are other efforts under-way to protect sea turtles aswell, including the passageof laws in the United Statesto help protect sea turtles.

As you play the followinggame, think about the manynatural and human threatsfacing these unique reptiles.

April 1994

Instructions:Part-1:

Have the students read theStudent's Information. Sepa-rate the class into groups offive students and supply eachgroup with a Sea Turtle Trekgame set. Review Appendix 3,Sea Turltle Conservation andthe instructions with the stu-dents. Allow the groups 15minutes to play the game. Af-ter the game(s) ends, lead theclass in a discussion on howdifficult it was for a hatchlingto survive. Is this true for realhatchling sea turtles? (Yes)

Rules for the Sea TurtleTrek game:1. To decide who goes first,each player should roll the dieonce. The player who rollsthe highest number starts thegame. The person to his orher right plays next.

2. Each player should put hisor her token on the spacemarked start.


3. The first player rolls the dieand moves his or her token thenumber of spaces the die indi-cates. When a player landson a space, they must followthe instructions that are writtenon the space.

4. If the space is a "Turtle Tip,"then the player is asked aquestion from the "Turtle Tip"cards. The player to the leftdraws the top card from thestack. She or he reads it aloudfor the player to answer. Ifcorrect, the player rolls again;if not, the player must waituntil her or his next turn toagain attempt to correctlyanswer the next "Turtle Tip"question. A correct answermust be given before thatplayer can advance.

5. After the first player rollsonce and moves, the rest ofthe players go, one at a time.

6. Play the game until oneplayer reaches the end. Towin, the player must accuratelyanswer the final "Turtle Tip."If a second game is to beplayed, be sure to shuffle the"Turtle Tip" cards.

Instructions:Part II:

Give each student a copy of"A Maze of Threats." Allowfive to ten minutes for thestudents to complete the maze.When all the students are done,discuss with them how eachof these threats affect real seaturtles. Then ask them to listany suggestions they have onhow to reduce these threats.Ask them to try to think ofspecific things they could dowhich might help sea turtles.

(Note: If any of the stu-dents' suggestions are feasiblefor individual students or foryour class as a whole'to do, weencourage you to follow up onthem and share what you aredoing with the park staff.)

5.1.4 April 1994

Turtle Tip Cards

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC75_

5.1.5

-r

1

April 1994

1

b

L

How many typesof sea turtles are

possibly found offthe North Carolina

coast, in theAtlantic Ocean?

ANSWER: Five

What is the mostcommon nesting

sea turtle inNorth Carolina?

ANSWER: Loggerhead

Adult loggerheadsea turtles at maturity

weigh about ?

A. 50 - 75 lbs.B. 200 - 350 lbs.

C. 1000 -2000 lbs.D. 1500 - 2000 lbs.

ANSWER: B

4-

What is the largestsea turtle in theAtlantic Ocean?

ANSWER: Leatherback

-r-

A sea turtle is a(n)A. Insect

B. AmphibianC. Reptile

D. Mammal

ANSWER: C

True or False:Sea turtles can

breath underwater.

ANSWER: False

Hammocks Beach Slate Park. NC 5.1.6

1-

Do sea turtleshave gills or lungs?

ANSWER: Lungs

What do seaturtles drink?

ANSWER: Sea water

How do sea turtlesrid themselvesof excess salt intheir bodies?

ANSWER:By shedding tears

76

_J

April 1994

T

1

T

URTLE

P

TURTLE

P

fl

TURTLE(

1- -t


77April 1994

h

L

True or False:A sea turtle

can pull its headinto its shell

for protection?

ANSWER: False

Where dosea turtles sleep?A. On the beach or

sand dunesB. Under rocks on the

ocean floor or floating atthe waters surface

C. In the forest behindthe sand dunes

D. In the "Turtle View"CondominiumsANSWER: B

Instead of teeth,sea turtles have?

A. GumsB. Incisors and molars

C. CaninesD. A beak

ANSWER: D

t-

Loggerhead seaturtles are:

A. Herbivores(eat only plants)B. Carnivores

(eat only animals)C. Omnivores(eat both plantsand animals)

ANSWER: C4

Which of thefollowing is NOT

a food sourcefor sea turtles?

A. JellyfishB. Acorns

C. SeaweedD. Small crabs

ANSWER: B

Which of thefollowing is NOT a

predator of sea turtles?A. Ghost crabs

B. HumansC. Butterflies

D. SharksE. Sea gulls

ANSWER: C


True or False:Sea turtles nestin the winter

in North Carolina?

ANSWER: False

When do loggerheadsea turtles nest?

A. At nightB. During the dayC. Only during the

full moonD. Only after a storm

ANSWER: A

True or False:A female sea turtle

will lay anaverage of

120 eggs per nest.

ANSWER: True

78

1

1

April 1994


T

i_

7

5.1.9 7 9

_i

April 1994

r

L

Sea turtles lay theireggs on:

A. The ocean floorB. Sandy beaches

C. Coral reefsD. Fishing piers

ANSWER: B

T

True or False:Female sea turtles

incubate their eggs.

ANSWER: False

Sea turtle eggsusually hatch after

approximately:A. 2 daysB. 10 daysC. 60 daysD. 1 year

ANSWER: C

What determineswhether a sea turtlewill hatch out as amale or a female?

ANSWER:Temperature of sand

Could lights shiningon the beach cause

hatchling sea turtlesto crawl in the

wrong direction,away from the ocean?

ANSWER: Yes

Does moonlightreflecting on theocean attract seaturtle hatchlings

to the ocean?

ANSWER: Yes

80Hammocks Beach State Park. NC' 5.1.10

Where is it thoughthatchling sea turtlesspend the first year

of their life?A. Floating in seaweed

mats at the surfaceof the water

B. Buried under the mudon the ocean floor

C. In the sand dunes

ANSWER: A4

rt

J

Approximately howmany sea turtlehatchlings makeit to adulthood?

A. Every oneB. One in ten

C. One in one hundredD. One in ten thousand

ANSWER: D

Does developmentalong the coast

reduce goodnesting habitat?

ANSWER: Yes

1

_J

April 1994

81


J

7

April 1994

L

Which of thefollowing has a positive

effect on sea turtles?A. Pollution in the ocean

B. Nets without turtleexcluder devices

C. Coastal developmentD. Undeveloped beaches

ANSWER: D


Do laws protectsea turtles

in the U.S.?

ANSWER: Yes

What is the nameof the device thatallows sea turtles

to escape fromshrimp trawler nets?

ANSWER:Turtle Excluder Device

82

5.1.12 April 1994

A Maze of Threats

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Start Here

Raccoon

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Start at the top of the maze as a hatchling and finish at the bottom as an adult sea turtle. Watch outfor hazards along the way!

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 5.1.13 83 April 1994

Bluefish eatshatchling

Start Over.

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Hammocks Beach State Park. NC 5. 1 . 1 5

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

April 1994

Post Visit Activity #2 Turtle Tag

Major Concepts:Endangered speciesMigrationLatitude and longitudeInternational resourcemanagement

Learning Skills:Observing, measuring,communicatingMap reading, using informa-tion for decision-makingApplying and expandinginformationComputing, using spatialmodels

Subject Areas:ScienceSocial StudiesMathematicsEnglish Language ArtsSee the Activity Summaryfor a Correlation with DPIobjectives in these subjectareas.

Location: Classroom

Group Size: 30, class size

- Estimated Time:One to two class periods


Materials:Provided by the educator:Per student: one copy of the

Student's Information, TurtleStatistics Card, Sea TurtleTracking Chart and Sea TurtleWorksheet; calculator andruler


rr his activity is designed to1 give the students hands on

experience in analyzing datacollected from tagged seaturtles. They will becomefamiliar with latitude andlongitude, sea turtle ranges,

and the names of countriesand cities outside the

United States.

Objectives:Know the names and loca-tions of two countries inthe Western Hemisphereand two major cities withinthese countries.List two methods used totag turtles.Demonstrate the ability tocorrectly identify specificlatitudes and longitudes ona map.Demonstrate the ability tocalculate distances using amap scale.

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 5.2.1 86March 1995

All species have a

natural range.Range is defined as

the areas in the world that aparticularplant or animal isnormally found. The rangeof the loggerhead sea turtleis temperate and subtropicalwaters worldwide; however,loggerheads are occasionallyfound in areas outside theirnormal range. For example,research has shown that log-gerheads are regular visitorsto the northeast coast ofthe United States during thesummer months. The logger-head nests farther from thetropics than other sea turtles.In the United States the log-gerheads nest from Floridanorth to North Carolina.

Several private organiza-tions and federal, state andlocal governments are work-ing to protect sea turtles.Through federal, state and in-ternational agreements. lawshave been enacted to protectand promote population re-coveries. In 1973 the Endan-


gered Species Act was passed.making it a violation to"harass, harm, pursue, hunt,shoot, wound, kill, capture, orcollect endangered species."It also "provides for acquisi-tion and/or protection of turtlenesting habitat, establishmentof marine sanctuaries for turtleprotection." The law providesfor production of a list identi-fying species that are threat-ened and endangered to try toprotect them from becomingextinct.

Even though all sea turtlesare protected by the UnitedStates EndangeredSpecies Act, they areonly protected by thisAct while they are inUS waters. Sea turtlesare great travelers,often traveling far out-side their normal rangeas they migrate tonesting beaches. Intheir travels, sea turtles

cross international bound-aries. When they do this, thelaws governing them change-.

In poor countries, seaturtles are very valuable fortheir meat and eggs (high inprotein), and for the productsthat can be made from theirskins and shells, such asleather and jewelry. The peo-ple in these countries some-times do not understand whysea turtles should be pro-tected. Government leadersand researchers have toaddress these social issueswhen they try to developresource management plansand laws that protect seaturtles.

To develop better resourcemanagement plans, we needto know as much about asea turtle's life history as pos-sible. Since sea turtles spendall their lives in the ocean,

5.2.2 87

11011.

March 1995

they are very hard to observeand study. Sea turtle re-searchers get most of theirdata from female sea turtlesthat come ashore to nest.One method used to obtaininformation on sea turtlenumbers and their range isby tagging them. Turtles maybe tagged several ways. AtHammocks Beach, research-ers attach a metal tag to thefront flipper of each nestingfemale. They also take a pic-ture of the barnacle pattern

. latitude lines(horizontal)

on the turtle's carapace. Ifanother researcher finds atagged turtle, he or she willreport the information on thetag to the National MarineFisheries Service. The datacollected on each turtle can beused to determine how far thatparticular turtle traveled, howlong it took, and the conditionof the turtle during its travels.

N90° 80° 7

Another method used totag turtles is to attach a devicethat emits a signal that can bepicked up by telemetry equip-ment or even tracked by satel-lite. The satellite trackingmethod provides excellentdata but is very expensive.

In the following activityyou will analyze data on animaginary sea turtle. You willexplore sea turtle migrationroutes and discover why it isso difficult to protect and

manage sea turtles.

60°50°

40°GREENWICH

longitude linesI vertical)

Hammocks Beach State Park. NC 5.2.3 88March 1995

Instructions:1. Prepare the handouts listedunder Materials. Distributethe Student's Information toeach student and review terms-range, migrate and endan-gered species.

2. Hand out the Turtle TrackingChart to each student and ex-plain latitude and longitude.Latitude refers to the linesthat run horizontally acrossmaps or globes. Latitude ismeasured in degrees from theequator. All latitude linesabove the equator are northlatitudes. The latitude lineson the Turtle Tracking Chartare indicated by a series ofdots. The dotted latitude linesare labelled on the right sideof the chart and go from 10degrees up to 45 degrees.

Longitude refers to the linesthat run vertically on a map orglobe. Longitude is measuredin degrees from Greenwich,England. The longitude lineson the Turtle Tracking Chartare indicated bya series of dots.The dottedlongitude


lines are labelled across thebottom of the chart and rangefrom 45 to 105 degrees. Longi-tudes west of Greenwich,England, are west longitudes.

3. During this activity, studentswill be asked to pinpoint turtlelocations on a map. Each pointwill have a latitude and longi-tude number which studentswill use to plot the point onthe map. They will also use themap scale to estimate the dis-tance between points. On thisscale, one-eighth of an inch (or3.5 mm) equals approximately50 nautical miles. (A nauticalmile is about 6,076 feet, or 1.15terrestrial miles, and is used forair and water travel.) Do aguided practice using the ex-ample below.

Example:A turtle was recorded at

the following coordinates: 15degrees North latitude and 60degrees West longitude. Firstlocate where these two coordi-nates meet (just east of the is-land of Martinique). Mark thispoint on the map with a dotand circle it for visibility. Thenext coordinate for this turtleis 16 degrees North and 60degrees West. Mark it on yourmap with a dot and circle it.

There are several ways tomeasure the distance betweenthese two points. One way isto use a ruler to draw a lineconnecting the points. Cut outthe map scale and place it alongthe line to determine the lengthof the line in nautical miles.Another method is to measurethe line to find out how many

5.2.4

eighths are contained in theline. Then, multiply by 50 toconvert to nautical miles. Yourstudents may suggest othertechniques. As long as theyare within 25 miles of the cor-rect answer, their answer is ac-ceptable. The correct answerfor this example is 60 nauticalmiles. (We are assuming thatthe turtle swam in a straightline from one point to thenext.)

4. Distribute the Sea TurtleStatistics Card, Sea TurtleWorksheet, calculators andrulers. The students couldwork individually or in teamsto answer the questions on theworksheet.

Suggested Extensions:1. Write to request informationon 10 to 15 sea turtles thathave been tagged. Be sure toask for information on differ-ent species. The address is:National Oceanic and Atmo-spheric Administration,National Marine FisheriesService, Miami Florida Lab,75 Virginia Beach Drive,Miami FL 33149.

Once you receive the infor-mation, you can use the TurtleTracking Chart to plot thetravels of the turtles and calcu-late distances if desired.

2. Students could do somecreative writing by makinga journal or log book of oneof the turtle's travels from theturtle's point of view or froma human's point of view (ifa human were in a boat andfollowed the turtle's route).

99March 1995

Sea Turtle Statistics Card

Species: Loggerhead Caretta caretta

Sex: Female

Date Tagged: July 27, 1990

Location Tagged: Bear Island, Swansboro, NC, USA -34.5 degrees North latitude and 77.0 degrees West longitude

Tag Number: BEAR34

Method(s) Used To Tag: satellite transmitter attached to carapaceand metal tag attached to front right flipper

Carapace Length: 38 inches Carapace Width: 30 inches

Location Of Movements Since Tagged:

Date Location

8-02-90 33N - 79W

8-04-90 32N - 80W

8-17-90 29N - 79W

8-27-90 25N - 75W

9-06-90 19N - 66W


turtle tag

March 1995

Sea Turtle Worksheet

Instructions:Use the Sea Turtle Tracking Chart and Sea

Turtle Statistics Card to answer the questionsbelow.

1. What were the latitude and longitude wherethe turtle nested on July 27, 1990?

Mark and circle the point where the latitudeand longitude meet on the Turtle TrackingChart.

2. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on8-2-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howmany miles did the turtle travel from its lastknown point? (Assume the turtle swam in astraight line.)

3. What city is just west of the turtle's locationon 8-2-90?

4. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on8-4-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howmany miles did the turtle travel from its lastknown point?

5. What is the name of the island that is east ofthe turtle's location on 8-4-90?

6. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on8-17-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howmany miles did the turtle travel from its lastknown point?


7. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on8-27-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howfar did the turtle travel from its last knownpoint?

8. What is the name of the islands that arewest of the turtle's location on 8-27-90?

9. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on9-6-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howfar did the turtle travel from-its last knownpoint?

10. What is the name of the city in PuertoRico that is just south of the turtle's locationon 9-6-90?

5.2.6 91 March 1995

11. How many miles did the turtle travel fromthe time it was tagged to the last known loca-tion on 9-6-90?

12. How many miles per day -did the turtletravel from the time it was tagged to 9-6-90?

13. If the turtle were recorded at Grand Cay-man Island, what would be the latitude andlongitude?

14. What is the name of the peninsula justwest of Grand Cayman Island?

15. On June 25, 1991 this turtle was caught in.a fishing net at 40N - 70W. Circle this pointon your chart. How many miles did the turtletravel from its last known point, (in a straightline)?


16. The U.S. territorial waters extend about200 miles off the U.S. coast. Use your mapscale to help you estimate 200 miles. Then,lightly draw in the 200-mile "border" on yourchart from Key West, Florida, up the coast toabout Boston, Massachusetts. U.S. laws applywithin these territorial waters. (One exceptionwould be the waters around the country ofCuba, which is only about 90 miles fromFlorida.)

17. Now review the turtle's travels on yourchart. What areas on the turtle's migrationroute do you think were the most dangerousfor the turtle? Why?

Bonus QuestionConvert all nautical mile answers to kilome-ters. (There are 1.85 km in each nauticalmile.)

Question #2

Question #4

Question #6

Question #7

Question #9

Question #11

Question #12

Question #15

92

March 1995

Answer Sheet For Sea Turtle Worksheet

Note: Numerical answers will vary dependingon measuring technique used.

1. What were the latitude and longitude wherethe turtle nested on July 27, 1990?34.5N - 77W

Mark and circle the point where the latitudeand longitude meet on the Turtle TrackingChart.

2. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on8-2-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howmany miles did the turtle travel from its lastknown point? (Assume the turtle swam in astraight line.)150 nautical miles, 278 kilometers

3. What city is just west of the turtle's locationon 8-2-90? Charleston, SC

4. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on8-4-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howmany miles did the turtle travel from its lastknown point?100 nautical miles, 185 kilometers

5. What is the name of the island that is east ofthe turtle's location on 8-4-90? Bermuda

6. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on8-17-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howmany miles did the turtle travel from its lastknown point?200 nautical miles. 370 kilometers

7. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on8-27-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howfar did the turtle travel from its last knownpoint? 350 nautical miles. 648 kilometers


8. What is the name of the islands that arewest of the turtle's location on 8-27-90?Bahama Islands

9. Find the turtle's latitude and longitude on9-6-90. Circle this point on your chart. Howfar did the turtle travel from its last knownpoint? 650 nautical miles or 1,203 kilometers

10. What is the name of the city in PuertoRico that is just south of the turtle's locationon 9-6-90? San Juan

11. How many miles did the turtle travel fromthe time it was tagged to the last known loca-tion on 9-6-90?1,450 nautical miles or 2.683 kilometers

12. How many miles per day did the turtletravel from the time it was tagged to 9-6-90?35 nautical miles/day (1,450 nautical milesin 41 days)

5.2.8 93 March 1995

13. If the turtle were recorded at Grand Cay-man Island, what would be the latitude andlongitude?19.5 or 19N - 81.3 or 81W

14. What is the name of the peninsula just westof Grand Cayman Island?Yucatan Peninsula e

15. On June 25, 1991 this turtle was caught ina fishing net at 40N 70W. Circle this pointon your chart. How many miles did the turtletravel from its last known point, (in a straightline)? 1,375 nautical miles or 2,544 km

16. The U.S. territorial waters extend about200 miles off the U.S. coast. Use your mapscale to help you estimate 200 miles. Then,lightly draw in the 200-mile "border" on yourchart from Key West, Florida, up the coast toabout Boston, Massachusetts. U.S. laws applywithin these territorial waters. (One exceptionwould be the waters around the country ofCuba, which is only about 90 miles fromFlorida.) See answer key for Turtle TrackingChart


17. Now review the turtle's travels on yourchart. What areas on the turtle's migrationroute do you think were the most dangerousfor the turtle? Why? The answers may vary.Probably the area from the Bahamas downto the area near Puerto Rico would be themost dangerous. In this area, the turtle mayventure Out of U.S. territorial waters andwould no longer be protected by the U.S.Endangered Species Act. Other dangers tothe turtle would include areas of heavy fish-ing activity and areas where there might bemore sharks.

Bonus QuestionsConvert all nautical mile answers to kilome-ters. (There are 1.85 km in each nauticalmile.) Answers will vary.

Question #2 278

Question #4 185

Question #6 370

Question #7 648

Question #9 1,203

Question #11 2,683

Question #12 65

Question #15 2,544

94

March 1995

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Post-Visit Activity #3 Nest Management

Major Concepts:Resource managementEndangered species

Learning Skills: .

Interpreting data, inferring,predicting, communicatingAveraging, graphing, usingstatisticsAnalyzing and applyinginformation

Subject Areas:ScienceMathematicsCommunication skills

*See the Activity Summaryfor a Correlation with DPIobjectives in these subjectareas.

Location: Classroom

Group Size: 20-30 students

Estimated Time:One to two class periods


Materials:Provided by the educator:Per class: one copy of 1992 Nest

Data CardsPer student/group: Student's

Information, Bear IslandTurtle Nest Data Sheet, graphpaper and calculator

Objectives:Calculate correctly theincubation period andhatching success forindividual turtle nests.Calculate averages for turtlenests on Bear Island in1992, such as averagehatching success, averagenumber of eggs laid, aver-age number of eggs hatched,and average incubationperiod.List at least three factorsaffecting hatching successsuch as weather, time ofyear, location of nest, andpredators.

Using turtle nesting data,recommend managementstrategies for nesting

beaches along theNorth Carolina

coast.

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 5.3.1 99


he students will be respon-sible for compiling and

analyzing nesting data for1992 from Bear Island, Ham-mocks Beach State Park.Each student, or student team,will calculate the incubationperiod and hatching successfor at least one turtle nest.Then they will calculateaverages for the 42 nests laidin 1992 and recommendmanagement strategies basedon the available data. Graph-ing and other skills in probabil-ity and statistics are possibledepending on the direction thatthe teacher wishes to take thelesson. The teacher may alsowant to review the informationon loggerhead sea turtles pre-sented in Appendices 2 and 3.

March 1995

Student's Information

During the months of June,July and August, park staffspend all night, every nightlooking for nesting sea turtles.They try to tag as many turtlesas possible. They place a metaltag on the front flipper of eachturtle they find and make aphoto tag of the barnacle pat-tern on the turtle's carapace.The park staff also record thedate the nest was made, markthe nest, and cover it withfence wire to protect it frompredators such as (Th

raccoons and foxes.

During September, Octoberand November, thepark staffcheck thenests periodi-cally to lookfor signs ofhatching. Most \nests hatch within60 to 90 days from the datethat the eggs were laid. Thenumber of days that it takesthe eggs to hatch is called theincubation period. The parkstaff record the date that eachnest hatched, then they dig upthe nest to count the number ofempty eggshells and unhatchedeggs. With this information,they can calculate the totalnumber of eggs that were laid.The staff also count any deadturtles they find in the nestand rescue live turtles thatdid not make it out with themain group. If a nest has nothatched after 80-90 days, thestaff will excavate the nest andrecord their observations.

Hatching success is a veryimportant statistic for sea turtleresearchers. The park staffcalculate the hatching successfor each nest by dividingthe number of eggs thathatched by the total num-ber of eggs that werelaid. They multiply thisnumber by 100 to get a

100Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 5.3.2

percentage. For example,if a nest contains a total of 120eggs and if 60 eggs hatch,this nest has a 50% hatchingsuccess. [60 ÷ 120 x 100 =50%] This means that one-halfof all the eggs laid hatchedsuccessfully. On Bear Island,it is not uncommon for neststo have a hatching success ofover 50%. This is one reasonwhy Bear Island is an impor-tant sea turtle nursery.

On Bear Island in 1992, thepark staff observed a total of42 loggerhead sea turtle nests.They also recorded 49 "falsecrawls." A false crawl occurswhen a female turtle comesup on the beach but does notactually nest. In the follow-ing activity, you will be ana-lyzing and compiling datafrom the actual 1992 nestrecords from Hammocks

Beach StatePark.

March 1995

Instructions:1. Make one copy of each page of the 1992Nest Data Cards and cut out the individualcards. Copy the Student's Information andBear Island Turtle Nest Data Sheet for eachstudent or team of students.

2. Students should read the Student's Informa-tion and discuss the new terms, incubationperiod and hatching success.

3. Explain that each student, or team of stu-dents, will be calculating the incubation periodand hatching success for one to three turtlenests. The information needed to do the calcu-lations is contained on the 1992 Nest DataCards. Do a guided practice with Nest Card #1to demonstrate how to calculate incubationperiod. Remind the students that the months ofJune and September have only 30 days, whilethe months of May, July, August and Octoberhave 31 days. [For card #1: (31-24) + 30 + 31+ 14 = 82 days] Also demonstrate how tocalculate hatching success by dividing thenumber of eggs hatched by the number ofeggs laid. Discuss percent, especially if thisis an unfamiliar concept to your students.[For card #1: 44/102 x 100 = 43%]

4. Divide the students into teams of two.Each team should get two or. three nest cards.(There are 42 nest data cards in all.) Each stu-dent should do the calculations for one nest andthen ask a team member to check his or herwork. You may wish to give the students timeto share their results with the rest of the class.Which nest had the greatest/smallest numberof eggs laid? Which nest had the greatest/smallest number of eggs hatch? Which nesthad the longest/shortest incubation period?Which nest had the best hatching success?

5. Give one copy of the Bear Island Turtle NestData Sheet to each team and ask them to checktheir answers. (Optional: The educator couldalso make a transparency of this data sheet forthe overhead.) Give each team a calculatorand ask them to calculate the averages for the1992 nests (page 2 of the Bear Island TurtleNest Data Sheet). Depending on time and themathematics skills of the students, the educatorcould assign each team one of the four averages


to calculate or all the averages. These shouldbe reported on the board or overhead. Studentscan then compare their nests with the averageand comment verbally or in writing.

6. Give each team two sheets of graph paperand ask students to graph hatching successversus the date that the nest was laid. Theycould do a second graph of incubation periodversus the date the nest was laid. What conclu-sions can be made from studying the graphs?Do the students notice any trends in the data?What inferences can they make regarding thefactors that may influence hatching success?What predictions can they make about turtleeggs laid in certain months? Also let each teamdevelop resource management recommenda-tions for managing sea turtle nesting beaches.Their recommendations should be based on thenesting data and also on other information theyhave learned about sea turtles during their tripto Hammocks Beach State Park.

Answers for Bear Island TurtleNest Data Sheet

Totals, page one.

Number of days (incubation period) = 2,101Number of eggs laid = 3,759Number of eggs hatched = 2,947Hatching success totals = 2,341

Totals, page twoNumber of days (incubation period) = 730Number of eggs laid = 1,433Number of eggs hatched = 877Hatching success totals = 746

Overall totals, page twoNumber of days (incubation period) = 2,831Number of eggs laid = 5,192Number of eggs hatched = 3,824Hatching success totals = 3,087

Averages (a "typical" loggerheadnest on Bear Island in 1992)Average incubation period = 71 daysAverage hatching success = 74%Average number of eggs laid = 124Average number of eggs hatched = 91

5.3.3101 March 1995

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Nest #1 Nest #4Date Laid: 5-24-92 Date Laid: 6-7-92Date Hatched: 8-14-92 Date Hatched: 8-18-92Eggs Laid: 102 Eggs Laid: 131Eggs Hatched: 44 Eggs Hatched: 121

Incubation Period: days Incubation Period: daysHatching Success: Hatching Success:

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5.3.4102

-1

IMarch 1995

1992 Nest Data Cards

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5.3.510 3 March 1995

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Incubation Period: days Incubation Period: days

Hatching Success: Hatching Success:


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I104

5.3.6 March 1995

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Nest #20 Nest #23Date Laid: 7-8-92 Date Laid: 7-12-92Date Hatched: 9-17-92 Date Hatched: 9-18-92Eggs Laid: 116 Eggs Laid: 111Eggs-Hatched: 116 Eggs Hatched: 70




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Hammocks Beach State Park, NC105

5.3.7 March 1995

1992 Nest Data Cards

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Nest #25Date Laid: 7-15-92Date hatched: 9-20-92Eggs Laid: 145Eggs Hatched: 137

Incubation Period: daysHatching Success:

T,

Nest #26Date Laid: 7-16-92Date Hatched: 9-18-92Eggs Laid: 152Eggs Hatched: 147





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.1065.3.8 March 1995

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Nest #31. Nest #34Date Laid: 7-25-92 Date Laid: 7-26-92Date Hatched: 10-3-92 Date Hatched: 9-28-92Eggs Laid: 111 Eggs Laid: 145Eggs Hatched: 83 Eggs Hatched: 138


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March 1995

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Incubation Period: days

Nest #40Date Laid: 8-8-92Date Hatched: N/AExcavated 11-5-92Eggs Laid: 130Eggs Hatched: 0

Hatching Success: Incubation Period: daysHatching Success:

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Nest #39 Nest #42Date Laid: 8-7-92 Date Laid: 8-19-92Date Hatched: 11-5-92 Date Hatched: N/AEggs Laid: 73 Excavated 11-5-92Eggs Hatched: 24 Eggs Laid: 105

Eggs Hatched: 0


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1

5.3.1010 March 1995

Bear IslandDate Laid

Turtle NestIncubation Period

(days)

Data Sheet# Eggs Laid #Eggs Hatched Hatching SuccessNest #

1 5-24-92 82 102 43%

2 6-5-92 70 98 47%

3 6-7-92 70 161 54 34%

4 6-7-92 72 131 121 92%

5 6-9-92 74 155 68 44%

6 6-11-92 79 150 135 90%

7 6-11-92 75 143 96 67%

8 6-11-92 72 144 58 40%

9 6-21-92 69 144 109 76%

10 6-22-92 68 35 24 69%

11 '6-24-92 77 110 99 90%

12 6-24-92 79 106 85 80%

13 6-24-92 67 123 97 79%

14 6-25-92 69 117 46 40%

15 6-26-92 60 139 113 81%

16 6-27-92 64 91 56 62%

17 6-28-92 74 154 150 97%

18 6-29-92 65 113 101 89%

19 7-8-92 65 134 128 96%

20 7-8-92 71 .116 116 100%

21 7-9-92 63 133 128 96%

22 7-9-92 70 125 122 98%

23 7-12-92 68 111 70 63%

24 7-13-92 72 149 139 93%

25 7-15-92 67 145 137 94%

26 7-16-92 64 152. 147 97%

27 7-21-92 67 126 120 95%

28 7-21-92 73 128 125 98%

29 7-22-92 68 86 83 97%

30 7-24-92 67 138 130 94%

Totals:(this page)


March 1995

BearNest #

IslandDate Laid

Turtle NestIncubation Period

(days)

Data Sheet# Eggs Laid

(con' t. )

#Eggs Hatched Hatching Success

31 7-25-92 70 111 83 75%

32 7-25-92 66 102 99 97%

33 7-26-92 65 138 133 96%

34 7-26-92 64 145 138 95%

35 7-26-92 69 99 85 86%

36 7-26-92 69 105 94 90%

37 7-27-92 67 141 135 96%

38 8-7-92 82 98 66 67%

39 8-7-92 90 73 24 33%

40 8-8-92 N/A 130 0 0%

41 8-9-92 88 186 20 11%

42 8-19 -92 N/A 105 0 0%

Totals:(this page)

Overall Totals:42 Nests

Calculate:Average Incubation Period =*(note: 2 nests did not hatch)

Total Incubation*40 nests

Average Hatching Success = Total Hatching Success42 nests

Average No. of Eggs Laid = Total No. Eggs Laid42 nests

Average No. of Eggs Hatched = Total No. Eggs Hatched42 nests


110

5.3.12 March 1995

VCABULARYAdaptation A change in the structure oractivity of an organism that produces a betteradjustment to its environment, thus enhancingits ability to survive and reproduce. For ex-ample, the huge head and powerful jaws ofa loggerhead sea turtle are adaptations thatallow the loggerhead to feed on hard-shelledmollusks.

Anatomy The branch of biology that dealswith the structure of plants and animals.

Arribada A Spanish word that meansarrival. Used to describe the arrival of massesof Kemps Ridley sea turtles at their nestingbeaches.

Barnacle A cone-shapedsaltwater shellfish that attachesitself to the shells of sea turtlesand other hard surfaces.

Beach A smooth stretch of sand or pebblesalong the shore of the ocean.

Beak The horny covering of the jaws, inturtles consisting of a single plate over eachjaw surface.

Camouflage A means of concealmentblending in with natural surroundings.

Carapace The top (dorsal) part of the turtle'sshell, usually covered by scutes.

Carnivore A meat eating animal.

Classification The grouping of organismsinto categories based on shared characteristicsor traits.

Cloaca - The cavity into which the intestinal,genital, and urinary tracts open in vertebrateanimals such as fish, reptiles, birds, and primi-tive mammals.

Clutch A group of eggslaid in a single nest.

Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 6.1

Cold-blooded Having a body temperaturethat varies with the external environment.(Ectothermic)

Conservation The protection and manage-ment of natural resources.

Crawl - The tracks a sea turtle makes, the actof a turtle moving on the beach.

Cretaceous Period A geological time period66 138 million years ago. Scientists think thatsea turtles evolved during the CretaceousPeriod.

Crustacean - An invertebrate animal, usuallyaquatic, having two pairs of antennae. Ex-amples are lobsters, crabs and barnacles.

Dichotomous Divided into two parts, groupsor classes, such as a dichotomous key. Using adichotomous key, one can identify an unknownorganism by following the one branch of eachpair of statements that best describes theorganism.

Dorsal Pertaining to the top or upperside of aplant or animal. The dorsal part of a sea turtleshell is the carapace.

Ectothermic Pertaining to the inability tocontrol body temperature. Reptiles, amphibiansand insects are all ectotherms. Their bodytemperature is regulated by how warm or coldit is outside. (Cold-blooded.)

Endangered species A species that vergeson extinction in all or part of its range.

Extinct species A plant or animal no longerin existence.

Flipper A broad, flat limb used for swim-ming. The front and rear flippers of sea turtlesare attached to well developed muscles forlong distance water travel.

1March 1995

Habitat The place where an animal livesand finds food, water, shelter and space. Theplace where a plant has the soil, nutrients,water and climate it needs.

Hatching Success A percentage calculatedby dividing the number of eggs hatched by thenumber of eggs laid, multiplying by 100.

Hatch ling A newly hatched sea turtle.

Herbivore An animal that eats only plants.

Herpetologist A scientist who specializes inthe study of reptiles and amphibians.

Incubation period The number of days ittakes an egg to hatch after it has been laid.

Inframarginal scutes Scutes located be-tween the marginal scutes of the carapace andthe plastron. They connect the carapace to theplastron.

Invertebrate An animal having no back-bone.

Jellyfish - A floating marine invertebratewhich is almost 90%water. It usually has agelatinous, translucentbody, with tentacles thatentangle any prey thatcomes in contact with them.

Keratin - A strong, fibrous protein that is thebasic substance of nails, hair, hoofs, scutes andbeaks.

Key An ordered list of significant characteris-tics of a group of organisms. A key is used toidentify unknown species.

Lateral scutes Scutes located on each sideof the vertebral scutes on the carapace.

Latitude Measured in degrees, the distancenorth or south of the equator.

Leatherback Largest of the sea turtles, thesoft-shelled leatherback lacks an outershell orscutes; it can grow to more than six feet longand weigh up to 1300 pounds.


Longitude The distance measured in degreeseast or west of the prime meridian (0 degreeslongitude) at Greenwich, England.

Marginal scutes Outermost scutes, theyenclose the lateral and vertebral scutes

Migrate - To move from one region or climateto another for food or breeding.

Nautical mile Unit of length used in sea andair navigation.

Nesting The process of depositing eggs in anest. Sea turtles deposit their eggs in a bell-shaped hole they dig in the sand.

Nuchal scute - A marginal scute on the cara-pace located closest to the neck region.

Omnivore An animal that eats both animalsand plants.

Photo tagging The process of taking apicture of a sea turtle's carapace to use inidentification. A sea turtle's carapace is usuallycovered with barnacles. Each turtle has aunique pattern or arrangement of barnacles.Photo tagging documents this pattern. It iscomparable to finger printing in humans.

Plastron The bottom part of the turtle's shell.

Predator - An animal that hunts anotheranimal.

Prefrontal scute The scutes between theeyes.

Prey An animal that is food for a predator.

Range The geographical region in which aplant or animal normally lives or grows.

Reptile - Any of various cold-blooded, usuallyegg-laying vertebrates having an externalcovering of scales and breathing by means oflungs, such as snakes, lizards, crocodiles andturtles.

Resource Management The practices, suchas sea turtle monitoring, which are designed toimprove the habitat and survival of wildlifeand/or plant communities.

1 1 26.2 March 1995

Sanctuary A refuge or safe haven wheremost forms of plant and animal life are offeredprotection.

Scales A small platelike structure forming theexternal covering of fishes, reptiles and certainmammals.

Scutes Horny plates that cover the bones of aturtle's shell, except in leatherback sea turtles.

Shell - The hard outer covering that protectscertain organisms.

Subtropical Pertaining to areas close to thetropics.

Taxonomy A system of arranging animalsand plants into natural, related groups based onsome factor common to each, such as structure,embryology, biochemistry, etc.

Temperate zone Either of two middle lati-tude zones of the earth, the North TemperateZone and the South Temperate Zone, lyingbetween 23 1/2 degrees and 66 1/2 degreeslatitude north and south of the equator.


Terrestrial - Living or growing on land; notaquatic.

Threatened species Plants or animals likelyto become endangered within the foreseeablefuture.

Tropics The region of the earth's surfacelying between 23 degrees N latitude and 23degrees S latitude. Also known as the TorridZone.

Ventral Referring to the entire underside orbottom of a plant or animal. The ventral partof a sea turtle shell is the plastron.

Vertebrates Animals having backbones.The five groups of vertebrates include birds,mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians.

1136.3 March 1995

References

Boulon, Ralf H., Jr. 1989. "Virgin IslandTurtle Tag Recoveries Outside of the USVirgin Islands," Proceedings of the NinthAnnual Workshop of Sea Turtle Conservationand Biology. For more information contactthe National Marine Fisheries Service,Southeast Fisheries Center, 75 VirginiaBeach Dr., Miami, FL 33149.

Byles, Richard A. and C. Kenneth Dodd.1989. "Satellite Telemetry of A LoggerheadSea Turtle From the East Coast of Florida,"Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Workshopof Sea Turtle Conservation and Biology.For more information contact the NationalMarine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisher-ies Center, 75 Virginia Beach Dr., Miami,FL 33149.

Carr, Archie. 1963. "The Reptiles." LifeNature Library. New York, NY: Time Inc.

Carr, Archie. 1967. The Sea Turtle- SoExcellent a Fishe. Austin, TX: Universityof Texas Press.

Coulombe, D.A. 1984. The Seaside Natu-ralist. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall,Inc.

Federal Register "Sea Turtle Conservation."Part II. June 29, 1987. NOAA. For moreinformation contact the National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration, NationalMarine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisher-ies Center, Panama City Laboratory, 3500Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL32408.

Florida Department of Natural Resources.1988. Sea-Stats No. 12 - Sea Turtles.St. Petersburg, FL For more informationcontact the Florida Department of NaturalResources, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd.,Tallahassee, FL 32399.


Hammocks Beach State Park Files. Formore information contact Hammocks BeachState Park, 1572 Hammocks Beach Road,Swansboro, NC 28584.

Jacobs, Francine. 1981. Sea Turtles LasTortugas Marinas, For more informationcontact the Center for Marine Conservation,1725 DeSales St. NW, Washington, DC20036.

Keinath, John A., Richard A. Byles, JackA. Musick. 1989. "Satellite Telemetry ofLoggerhead Turtles in the Western NorthAtlantic," Proceedings of the Ninth AnnualWorkshop of Sea Turtle Conservation andBiology. For more information contact theNational Marine Fisheries Service, South-east Fisheries Center, 75 Virginia Beach Dr.,Miami, FL 33149.

Nelson, D.A. 1988. "Life History andEnvironmental Requirements of LoggerheadTurtles. U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceBiological Report 88(23), U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers TREL-86-2 (Rev).

Ogren, Larry (ed). 1989. Proceedings ofthe Second Western Atlantic Turtle Sympo-sium. For more information contact theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-tration, National Marine Fisheries Service,Southeast Fisheries Center, Panama CityLaboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road,Panama City, FL 32408.

Pritchard, P., P. Bacon, F. Berry, A. Carr, J.Fletemeyer, R. Gallagher, S. Hopkins, R.Lankford, R. Marquez M., L. Ogren, W.Pringle, Jr., H. Reichart and R. Witham.1983. Manual of Sea Turtle Research andConservation Techniques, 2nd ed. K. A.Bjorndal and G. H. Balazs, editors. Formore information, contact the Center forMarine conservation, 1725 DeSales St. NW,Washington, DC 20036.

7114 April 1994

Rohling, Jane. August, 1988. "Home isWhere the Shell Is," Wildlife in NorthCarolina. For more information, contactthe Wildlife Resources Commission,512 North Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC.27604-1148.

Rudloe, Jack. 1980. Time of the Turtle.New York, NY: Penguin Books.

United States Congress. Endangered Spe-cies Act of 1973. For information, contactU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office ofEndangered Species, Washington, DC20240.

Van Meter, Victoria Brook. Florida's SeaTurtles. May 1986. For more informationcontact Florida Power and Light Co., Corpo-rate Communications, PO Box 029100,Miami, FL 33102.


Western Regional Environmental EducationCouncil. 1987. Aquatic Project Wild. Forinformation contact the Wildlife ResourcesCommission, 512 North Salisbury St.,Raleigh, NC 27604-1188.

Woody, Jack B. 1988. "International SeaTurtle Program of the U.S. Fish & WildlifeService," Proceedings of the Eighth AnnualWorkshop of Sea Turtle Conservation andBiology. For more information contact theNational Marine Fisheries Service, South-east Fisheries Center, 75 Virginia Beach Dr.,Miami, FL 33149.

7.2 April 1994

Sea turtles inhabited the earth over 150million years ago and today only eight speciesof these ocean dwelling reptiles remain. Somescientists believe there are only seven. Oncemarsh dwelling animals, they evolved andadapted for life in the sea, the female returningto shore only to lay her eggs. Sea turtles arefound throughout the world in tropic to tem-perate oceans. On occasions they mighttravel into cooler regions. Most-species,migrate through international and territorialwaters, going from feeding to nesting grounds.

Generally, the only time sea turtles leavethe protective habitat of the ocean is whenthe female lumbers ashore to nest. Under thecover of darkness, the female drags her largebody toward an area usually above the hightide line. She digs a hole with her rear flippersand deposits more than 100 eggs. While lay-ing, she sheds tears Which wash the sand fromher eyes. She covers the eggs and returns tothe ocean leaving the future hatchlings to fendfor themselves. After an incubation period of50-80 days, the young turtles break out of theirshells and rest until a time, several nights later,when they scramble out of the sand. Guidedby the reflective light of the horizon, they raceto the ocean they have never seen. Once reach-ing the sea, little is known about their move-ment and fate until, when mature, the femalescome ashore to nest. It is estimated that only 1in 10,000 survives to adulthood.

By 1990 all species of sea turtles wereseverely depleted. Three of these species,leatherback, Kemp's Ridley (or Atlantic

Ridley) and hawksbill, appear on the U. S.Endangered Species List. The loggerheadand green are classified as threatened. Log-gerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, Kemp'sRidley and green sea turtles are found withinthe Atlantic Ocean off the coast of NorthCarolina. The olive Ridley is generally foundin the Pacific, Indian Oceans and in the south-ern and eastern regions of the Atlantic. Theblack turtle is thought to be either a separatespecies or a variety of the green turtle, and theflatback is found off the coast of Australia.

The leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea)is the largest of all turtles, weighing 1,300pounds or more, while reaching lengths of sixfeet. Major taxonomic differences place the

leatherback in a separate family from all othermarine turtles. Unlike other species, the leath-erback lacks an outer shell or scutes; their softshell is characterized by seven long ridges.Their flippers are clawless. They inhabit boththe tropic waters of South America and coolerlatitudes of Nova Scotia. The leatherback'sdiet consists entirely of jellyfish.

116Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 8.1.1 April 1994

The hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), isa small sea turtle, commonly 110 lbs., with anarrow birdlike beak for which it is named.Inhabiting coastal waters around coral reefs,the hawksbill is omnivorous, consuming jelly-fish, sponges, crustaceans and sea grasses.Their colored shell, highly valued for jewelry,is the most serious threat to this species' con-tinued survival.

The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas),is so named for the color of its fat and mayweigh over 300 lbs. It has an oval olive-browncarapace with darker streaks. Greens havebeen found as far north as New England andsouth to Argentina. Nesting occur along theWestern Caribbean coast and in Surinam.Green turtles are predominantly herbivorous,feeding on seaweed and sea grasses.

The Kemp's Ridley (Lepidochelys kempi),also called the Atlantic Ridley, is the most se-verely depleted of the sea turtles. A small seaturtle weighing up to 100 lbs., the Kemp's haSa gray circular shell. Although only one nest-ing site remains, Kemp's are found throughoutthe Gulf of Mexico and along some Atlanticcoasts. The females of this species arrive attheir nesting beach together en masse in whatare called "arribidas," (Spanish for 'arrivals').Although their nesting beach in Mexico is nowfully protected, past "arribidas" provided aneasy opportunity for large commercial slaugh-ters which have resulted in their present lownumbers.

The loggerhead (Caretta caretta), has a heartshaped brown carapace, a large head (10 - 12"long) and a hard horny beak. The loggerheadcan grow to three feet and weigh more than300 pounds. Although a highly migratoryanimal, Florida continues to be one of theirmore important nesting grounds. Primarilycarnivorous, loggerheads feed on mollusks,crabs, fish and jellyfish. More than 99 percentof the nesting sea turtles in North Carolina areloggerheads.

117Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 8.1.2 April 1994

Appendix 2 Loggerhead Sea Turtle Fact Sheet

COMMON NAME

SCIENTIFIC NAME

STATUS

DISTRIBUTION

DESCRIPTION

BEHAVIOR/ADAPTATIONS

LIFE HLSTORY_

Loggerhead, Lanternback

Caretta caretta

Designated as threatened on both the Federal Fish & Wildlife andNorth Carolina Endangered Species lists.

Loggerhead sea turtles are found world-wide in temperate to sub-tropical waters.

Loggerhead sea turtles are named for their large head. They are brownto reddish brown in color. Adults generally weigh 200-300 pounds andhave carapaces (shells) 36 to 42 inches long. Newly hatched sea turtleshave carapace about 2 inChes long.

It is unknown how long sea turtles live, although it is believed theytypically live 80-100 years.

Loggerhead sea turtles are well adapted to life at sea, with long flippersand special glands so they can drink salt water. They are relativelyslow swimmers but will put on a burst of speed when threatened. Thelargest natural threats to them are sharks and killer whales. Sea turtlesnest on the beach. Generally they return to that same beach to nestwhen they reach sexual maturity: (4 to 40 years).

Loggerhead sea turtles, are,oinriivOroii§, eating mollusks, crabs, jelly-fish, seaweed, shriiiip and algae:

They.sPerid most of their time in coastal,waters, however they have.-been seen as far as 500,miles out at'seici-4;,-4:

Prior to the nestiriiseasotrof May -June in North the males

the female isableto store the viable Sperm for rest Of the matingand females gather offshore for their mating rituals; After mating,

season, allowing to nest:1-6Iime§:and still:hive:fertile eggs. Whenshe is ready,to ne:st;sheerawls up the beachat-night past the high tideline, digs a'nest'and deposits an average of 120,ping pong ball sizedeggs,before:eovering thenest over and returning to the,,sea. The babysea turtle§hatch.about 55-80 daYSlater, and at dtiSk'they leave the nest,crawl rapidly to'the surf and swim to get caught in currents which willcarry them away fronfshore.


t18April 1994

THREATS TO SURVIVAL Adult loggerhead sea turtles have few natural predators except forsharks and killer whales. On land; hatchlings are eaten by raccoons,ghost crabs, sea gulls, fox and other animals. Although these animalswill sometimes wipe out allest;the largest_ threat to all sea turtles is

,- that from humans. Throughout nniCh,of,the :world :sea turtles are notprotectech From egg to adulthood, the4urtles.are collected for food,aphrodisia6S and trinkets (tortoise shell jeWelty;stiffed;,turtles, knick-knacks, etc:). All along the coast sea turtles are caught:in commercialfishing nets (some 11112,000 turtles die this way each year), discardedplastics, discarded fishing-nets and lines, and other forms of pollution.Each,year...more and more beach fronts are developed, destroying thesew,tUrtleS nesting beaches. All of this is nu-sing the _loggerhead sea

FUN FACTS

4 A

turtl6 population to remain in jeopardy.

''Conservation work is presently being done to promOte public educa-tion and research which will hopefully help uS better-protect thisimportant animal.

Loggerhead sea turtles are non- vocal. They'have excellent eyesightunder water, although they are near-sighted on land. They have anexcellent sense of smell. Sea turtles have evolved over a very longperiod of time, at least 150 million years (humans have been aroundless than 1 million years)! It is estimated that 1 in 10,000 sea turtlessurvives from hatching to sexual-maturity. A sea turtle's sex is deter-mined by the incubation temperature of the sand around the clutch(cooler temperatures make more males, warmer temperatures makemore females).

For more information about loggerhead sea turtles and what is beingdone,in North Carolina State Parks contact:

Fort Fisher State Recreation AreaPost Office Box 475Carolina Beach, NC 28428Tel: (910) 458-8206

Hammocks Beach State Park1572 Hammocks Beach RoadSwansboro, NC 28584Tel: (910) 326-4881

Fort Macon State ParkP. O. Box 127Atlantic Beach, NC 28512Tel: (919) 726-3665

o.


' 1 1 '

Since Kemp's Ridleysnest in large groups on abeach in Mexico, their num-bers are easier-to estimatethan other sea turtle species.In 1947, biologists esti-mated that 100,000 Ridleysused the nesting beach.This number dropped to2,000 to 3,000 nestingturtles by the early 1970s.In 1986, biologists countedonly 572 Ridleys on thenesting beach. All otherspecies have shown similarrapid population declines.While fully protected in theU.S. under the Endangered Species Act(which fines offenders), sea turtles are notafforded this protective status throughouttheir range. We protect nest sites frompoachers in the United States, only to havethese same turtles legally slaughtered inanother country. Despite U.S. protection,regulations and efforts, no population ofsea turtle has shown a significant increasein numbers. Commercial exploitation, acci-dental (incidental) drowning in shrimp nets,and habitat destruction of nesting sites posecontinued threats to the sea turtle's survival.

Commercial ExploitationThroughout their range, sea turtles suffer

exploitation at the hands of people duringtheir entire life cycle. Adults are harpoonedor speared from the water, or flipped overon their backs while attempting to nest. Themeat (especially from the green sea turtle)is a prized delicacy; flippers are used forleather products; cartilage is used in turtlesoup; and the shell, predominantly from thehawksbill, is used for tortoise shell jewelry.Nests are plundered for eggs and eatenlocally or exported to other markets. Even

I a


hatchlings, while struggling to reach theocean, are caught and molded in plastic forpaper weights and other "curio" items. Inter-national trade in such turtle products,whetherlegal or illegal., continues to be a money-making venture, thus the slaughter continues.

IncidentalIn 1981, it was estimated that over 12,600

turtles died in the U.S. alone as a result ofshrimping operations. The turtles caughtduring trawling operations are unable tosurface for air, and drown.

The National Marine Fisheries Service(NMFS) has developed a device 97% effec-tive in releasing sea turtles caught duringshrimping operations. The Turtle ExcluderDevice (TED) is installed inside, and justforward of, the end of the net. Turtles swim-ming through the net strike a deflector panelwhich forces them up and out a trap door.Furthermore, tests performed by NMFS haveshown that the use of the TED increasesshrimp take by 7%,discards unwanted fish,jellyfish and seaweed, and improves fuelefficiency.

8.3.1 120 March 1995

Another problem for turtles is the inges-tion of plastic that has been discarded bypeople. The plastic bags (sandwich, potatochip and garbage bags), which look like jel-lyfish to sea turtles, are eaten by the turtlesand clog their intestines. It is estimated thatalmost half of the oceanic turtles are affectedby the plastic. Most dead turtles have con-sumed enough plastic to have contributed to

".;

their death. One turtle had ingested enoughplastic to cover an a 9 x 12 foot area.

Habitat Destruction/AlterationCommercial and private development of

shorelines has greatly reduced suitable nest-ing areas that are safe from salt water intru-sion. Nests may also be subjected to foottraffic, automobile traffic and poachers. Ifthe eggs survive, the street and buildinglights may confuse the hatchlings, attractingthem to a brighter light source and awayfrom the surf. An estimated 6,000 hatchlingsdied in 1992 in Melbourne, Florida, as theyattempted to cross the highway and werecrushed by automobiles.

What Conservation Agencies AreDoing

Greenpeace has worked closely with thewider Caribbean Sea Turtle ConservationNetwork (WIDECAST). Consisting of ateam of scientists and conservationists,WIDECAST is producing a recovery planfor each of 38 nations throughout the seaturtle range. Together, they are working to-ward creating national and international lawsfor conservation, eliminating trade in seaturtle products, implementing nesting beachmanagement and curbing petroleum impacts.

Working in cooperation with the NationalMarine Fisheries Service, conservationistsare traveling to shrimping ports to encouragevoluntary use of the TED. Greenpeace isacting as a mediator between governmentagencies and shrimpers to expand the useof this device on a global scale. Volunteershave formulated beach patrols to monitorand diminish threats posed by salt waterintrusion and human related activity.

Conservationists discourage private andcommercial shoreline development thatdamages nesting areas. They encourage theuse of light diffusion devices on nestingbeaches, so as not to distract females fromnesting or disorient hatchlings upon emer-gence.

What You Can DoEducate your friends and relatives about

these unique reptiles. Report all nestingattempts and nests for protection. Do notdisturb nesting females. Never discardanything, especially plastic, in the water asit may be mistaken for food or jellyfish.Discourage building on the coastline and

the many lights associated with beachdevelopment. Do not buy turtle

products while in other coun-tries. Support organiza-

tions that are activelyworking to protect

sea turtles.


121March 1995

SCHEDULING WORKSHEET

For office use only:Date request received Request received by

1) Name of group (school)

2)Contact personname phone (work) (home)

address3) Day/date/time of. requested program

4) Program desired and program length

5)Meeting place

6)Time of arrival at park Time of departure from park

7)Number of students Age range (grade)(Note: A maximum of 30 participants is recommended.)

8) Number of chaperones(Note: One adult for every 10 students is recommended.)

9)Areas of special emphasis

10) Special considerations of group (e.g. allergies, health concerns, physical limitations)

11) Have you or your group participated in park programs before? If yes, please indicate previousprograms attended:

12) Are parental permission forms required? If yes, please use the Parental Permission

form on page 9.2.

1, , have read the entire Environmental EducationLearning Experience and understand and agree to all the conditions within it.

Return to: Hammocks Beach State Park1572 Hammocks Beach RoadSwansboro, NC 28584

Hammocks Beach State Park. NC122

9.1

Fax #: (910) 326-2060

April 1994

PARENTAL PERMISSION FORM

Dear Parent:

Your child will soon be involved in an exciting learning adventure - an environmental educationexperience at Hammocks Beach State Park. Studies have shown that such "hands-on" learningprograms improve children's attitudes and performance in a broad range of school subjects.

In order to make your child's visit to "nature's classroom" as safe as possible we ask that youprovide the following information and sign at the bottom. Please note that insects, poison ivy andother potential risks are a natural part of any outdoor setting. We advise that children bringappropriate clothing (long pants, rain gear, sturdy shoes) for their planned activities.

Child's name

Does your child:

Have an allergy to bee stings or insect bites?

If so, please have them bring their medication and stress that they, or the group leader, beable to administer it.

Have other allergies?

Have any other health problems we should be aware of?

In case of an emergency, I give permission for my child to be treated by the attendingphysician. I understand that I would be notified as soon as possible.

Parent's signature date

Parent's name Home phone(please print) Work phone

Family Physician's name phone

Alternate Emergency Contact

Name phone

12Hammocks Beach State Park, NC 9.2 April 1994

NORTH CAROLINA PARKS & RECREATIONPROGRAM EVALUATION

Please take a few moments to evaluate the program(s) you received. This will help us improve

our service to you in the future.

1. Program title(s) Date

Program leader(s)

2. What part of the program(s) did you find the most interesting and useful?

3. What part(s) did you find the least interesting and useful?

4. What can we do to improve the program(s)?

5. General comments

LEADERS OF SCHOOL GROUPS AND OTHER ORGANIZED YOUTH GROUPS

PLEASE ANSWER THESE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:

6. Group (school) name

7. Did the program(s) meet the stated objectives or curriculum needs?

If not, why?

Please return the completed form to park staff. Thank you.


Hammocks Beach State Park1572 Hammocks Beach Road

Swansboro, NC 28584Fax # (910) 326-2060

9.3 124 April 1994

(9/92)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and improvement (0ERI)

Educational Resources information Center (ERIC)

NOTICE

REPRODUCTION BASIS

1ERIC I

This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release(Blanket)" form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing allor classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore,does not require a "Specific Document" Release form.

This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission toreproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, maybe reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Releaseform (either "Specific Document" or "Blanket").

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