09/26/2022
With Hurricane Ian approaching Florida, many people are asking how sea turtles handle hurricanes, especially our satellite tracked turtles who may be in the path of the storm. There is evidence that the turtles themselves weather storms just fine by moving into deeper water and increasing their time spent underwater. Adult sea turtles, especially leatherbacks, are capable of diving deep enough they are not affected by the rough weather!
The bigger issue with hurricanes is the impact to incubating nests and habitat. Severe storms can cause waves to become overly active, flooding sea turtle nests with water and essentially drowning the eggs. Other natural consequences of storms include sand erosion, often exposing turtle eggs to the elements, and loss of beach for turtles to lay more nests. Hurricanes are natural events that sea turtles have overcome for millions of years but when we add the human impact of our debris and pollutants in the water plus increased ocean temperatures from global warming, hurricanes can have an adverse effect on these already endangered animals.
Hurricanes can completely rearrange beaches and threaten beachside homes, which often leads to post-storm responses that are not favorable to sea turtles. These include an increase in seawall and beach construction projects that impact nesting and reproductive success.
Hurricanes are natural forces that, similar to wildfires on land, scour and redistribute nutrients, plants and animals, which ultimately results in a renewed and resilient ecosystem. However, with the loss of natural habitats and increases in human coastal development, they can also spell bad news for sea turtles.