Rodney Lewis

Puerto Vallarta offers safe nesting to Lepidochelys olivacea Of the seven species of marine turtles that exist, the olive ridley turtle has recovered to the point that it has been removed from the list of critically endangered species, however, risks still remain, which is why sites such as the CasaMagna Marriot Camp in Puerto Vallarta is dedicated to its preservation. The camp located on the […]

Chelonia mydas tagging helps researchers understand the endangered species About 150 green sea turtles have been tagged and released into the ocean by The University of the South Pacific’s School of Marine Science since 2015. This is part of an ongoing project that has enabled researchers to gauge and monitor the feeding, breeding and migration patterns of the species. Green Sea Turtle has been given

Non-native seagrass impacting Caribbean Chelonia mydas A seagrass species from the Red Sea is outcompeting the native seagrass species in the Caribbean, where the green sea turtle lives. These iconic turtles are seeing their grazing areas decline, because they have little interest in the foreign seagrass. Wageningen researchers and colleagues from other research institutions discovered how these large underwater grazers seem to dig their watery

Padre Island National Seashore celebrates Kemp’s ridley sea turtles at Ridley Rendezvous Watching Kemp’s ridley sea turtles hatch in the early morning hours is probably one of the main reasons to go to the Padre Island National Seashore. That’s why the national park service hosted its first Ridley Rendezvous Saturday. More than 100 visitors attended the event to catch a glimpse of baby sea turtles

Threatened turtles of the Pearl River The Pearl River system hosts two unique turtle species: the Ringed Sawback (Graptemys oculifera) and the Pearl Map Turtle (Graptemys pearlensis). Neither of these species can be found anywhere else in the world… only the Pearl River system of Mississippi and Louisiana! The Ringed Sawback was designated as federally threatened in 1986, while the Pearl Map Turtle was petitioned

City destroyed turtle nests, Unity Road resident says A concerned Kingston citizen has called out the city for grading road shoulders in a turtle nesting area. Rick Jeffries was returning from his daily run when he noticed that a stretch of Unity Road near his house had been graded and rolled by a City of Kingston road maintenance crew. To most, nothing would seem awry

Fitzroy Island seeks investment partner for multi-million dollar redevelopment The family who owns Fitzroy Island has rejected suggestions their patch of paradise is up for sale by launching a call for an investment partner willing to tip in millions of dollars to create a hub of environmental tourism. Managing director Doug Gamble said he has engaged a real estate agent to represent Fitzroy Island in

History of side-necked turtle diversification revealed A work authored by a group of paleontologists affiliated to University of São Paulo’s Biology Department in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil – published in Royal Society Open Science – is the most comprehensive phylogeny of the Pleurodira suborder of side-necked turtles produced. Pleurodira includes the Yellow-spotted Amazon River turtle (Podocnemis unifilis). The study gathers phylogenetic, biogeographical and morphological data in

State investigating turtle deaths along St. Johns River State wildlife officials are investigating a string of turtle deaths across Central and North Florida and are asking the public to report sightings of dead or dying turtles. Since early March, more than 100 dead or dying freshwater turtles have been reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in counties along the St. Johns River,