{"id":23160,"date":"2025-11-20T09:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T14:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mote.org\/?p=23160"},"modified":"2025-11-20T16:11:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T21:11:19","slug":"mote-marine-laboratory-also-warns-of-rising-disorientations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mote.org\/news\/mote-marine-laboratory-also-warns-of-rising-disorientations\/","title":{"rendered":"Mote Marine Laboratory &#038; Aquarium reports record sea turtle nesting numbers; also warns of rising disorientations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mote\u2019s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program (STCRP) documented a historic nesting season in 2025, with <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/mote.org\/nesting\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5,73<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> total nests recorded<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> along 35 miles of Sarasota County beaches, from Longboat Key to Venice. This marks the highest number of nests ever recorded in Mote\u2019s 43-year monitoring history, far surpassing 2024\u2019s 4,369 nests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Loggerhead turtles (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Caretta caretta<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), a threatened species protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, made up the vast majority of nests (5,384), followed by green sea turtles (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chelonia mydas<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), which accounted for 351 nests. Sarasota County occasionally hosts rare nests from Kemp\u2019s ridley and leatherback turtles as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, the unprecedented number of nests is not the only trend STCRP\u2019s data revealed. This year also marked the highest number of disorientations ever documented by Mote (716 events). Disorientations occur when artificial lighting along the shoreline misleads hatchlings or returning nesting females away from the ocean, often resulting in exhaustion, dehydration, or death.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis year\u2019s record numbers show that Mote\u2019s conservation measures are working,\u201d said Dr. Jake Lasala, Manager of Mote\u2019s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program. \u201cHowever, we\u2019re seeing new challenges emerge, such as the rise in disorientations. It\u2019s more important than ever for our community to turn off or shield beachfront lights, remove beach furniture at night, and keep nesting areas clear to give every hatchling the best possible chance at survival.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mote\u2019s STCRP has monitored and protected sea turtle nesting activity since 1982, collecting long-term data essential to understanding population trends, reproductive success, and how environmental and human factors affect nesting behavior. The program\u2019s dataset represents one of the longest continuous sea turtle monitoring efforts in the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The dedicated individuals of Mote\u2019s Sea Turtle Patrol are at the heart of this mission. Comprising STCRP staff, interns, and more than 300 volunteers, the Sea Turtle Patrol conducts daily surveys from April 15 through October 31, documenting every crawl, nest, and hatchling emergence. In an uncommon occurrence, this season is still showing nests incubating into November. STCRP\u2019s careful monitoring helps ensure each nest is properly marked and protected.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">STCRP scientists use the data they collect to study phenological shifts (changes in the timing of nesting), nest density, hatching success, and the influence of environmental factors, work that supports management decisions by local, state, and federal conservation partners.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To learn more about joining Mote\u2019s Sea Turtle Patrol or doing your part to keep sea turtles safe on our beaches, visit <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/mote.org\/seaturtles\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mote.org\/seaturtles<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mote\u2019s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program (STCRP) documented a historic nesting season in 2025, with 5,735 total nests recorded along 35 miles of Sarasota County beaches, from Longboat Key&nbsp;<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":23161,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mote-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mote Marine Laboratory &amp; Aquarium reports record sea turtle nesting numbers; also warns of rising disorientations | Mote Marine Laboratory &amp; Aquarium<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/news\/mote-marine-laboratory-also-warns-of-rising-disorientations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mote Marine Laboratory &amp; Aquarium reports record sea turtle nesting numbers; also warns of rising disorientations | Mote Marine Laboratory &amp; Aquarium\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mote\u2019s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program (STCRP) documented a historic nesting season in 2025, with 5,735 total nests recorded along 35 miles of Sarasota County beaches, from Longboat Key&nbsp;&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mote.org\/news\/mote-marine-laboratory-also-warns-of-rising-disorientations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mote Marine Laboratory &amp; 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