The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is supporting an effort to illuminate the negative impact of lighted beaches on sea turtle nests.
Sea turtles hatch from their beach nests at night and depend on the glow from the horizon to guide them to the ocean. Lights on nesting beaches can disorient baby turtles and lead them away from the ocean where they fall victim to predators, vehicles or exhaustion.
With support from the Fund, Sea to Shore Alliance’s sea turtle lighting survey looks at things from the animals’ point of view to gather new information. The project is providing Florida’s first statewide assessment of beach illumination from the sea turtles’ perspective. Biologists fly aerial surveys at night to collect video images and record beach lighting levels using special light measuring equipment. The data is linked to GPS information allowing wildlife managers to quickly and easily compare, observe and locate areas with excessive beach lighting.
