Research will explore whether rising sea levels will affect Kemp’s ridley sea turtles on Padre Island National Seashore/Rebecca Latson File
How rising sea levels will affect Kemp’s ridley sea turtles on Texas’ Padre Island National Seashore will be studied by shore staff thanks to $153,000 in funding from the National Park Service’s Natural Resources Fund.
The Park Service will partner with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) on the field survey. TAMU-CC will use mobile LiDAR surveys to measure sea levels and the park’s shoreline during the summer 2024 sea turtle nesting season. The data collected will be used to develop a risk assessment model to quantify the risk of sea turtle nest flooding.
This project is part of a comprehensive effort to better understand and protect the endangered population of Kemp’s sea turtles, which use parks as nesting sites. This research will complement two other recently federally funded projects that also focus on the conservation and management of Kemp’s sea turtles. The first project awarded his $200,000 to the U.S. Geological Survey to study the survival rates and resource use patterns of the endangered Kemp’s sea turtle. The second provided $100,000 to study new incidences of the wildlife disease fibropapillomatosis in Kemp’s sea turtles.
Padre Island’s Sea Turtle Science and Recovery Department focuses on the protection and conservation of five species of sea turtles: Kemp’s ridley, green turtle, loggerhead turtle, hawksbill turtle, and leatherback turtle. Its work is an important part of the global effort to save sea turtles, and the park is proud to partner with the many volunteers, organizations and local communities to support the recovery of these iconic species.
