Sea Turtle Ecology and Head-starting certification program
All 7 species of sea turtle on the planet today are on the endangered species list, with populations of some reduced by 98%. Divers form a network that is integral in the identification and monitoring of sea turtle populations around the globe. Furthermore, in this course you will learn skills and techniques to feed and care for sea turtles in a nursery, rehabilitation program, or head-starting program.
Prerequisites
None (SCUBA diving section of the program is optional, and encouraged)
Standards
- Learn about the ecology, evolutionary history, threats, and identification of sea turtles
- Understand the basics behind sea turtle head-starting programs as well as the science and debate about such initiatives
- Attending briefing on the sea turtle nursery and understand how the system operates and how to troubleshoot the flow through system
- Know how to properly handle, care for, and feed sea turtles in nursery or rehabilitation programs
- Know how to monitor sea turtle growth and maintain the nursery
- Know how to perform the water quality check
Requirements
- Attend 1 lecture and 1 practical briefing
- Take data on sea turtle growth (weight and shell length)
- Perform cleaning, feeding, and maintenance activities
- Identify a sea turtle during a dive/snorkel and report the data to our database (Optional)
Expected course time about 2-5 hours (depending on if dive is completed or not)
