GEIS, A.*; WIBBELS, T.; FLETCHER, D.; GATES, W.; SWILLING, R.; Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham; Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham; Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge; Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge; Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge: Genetic evaluation of loggerhead sea turtles from the Alabama coastal waters and nesting beaches

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is a protected species that inhabits subtropical and tropical oceans throughout the world. Previous studies have identified several distinct genetic groups of loggerheads in the Atlantic coastal waters of the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. The current project evaluated the genetics of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles inhabiting the coastal waters of Alabama and hatchling loggerheads from nests at the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge (BSNWR) on the coast of Alabama. Specifically, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences were analyzed from juvenile and hatchling turtles. Blood samples were obtained from juvenile loggerheads that were captured by tangle net in the Alabama bay systems. Tissue samples were obtained from hatchlings that were found dead in nests at BSNWR approximately 72 hours after the live hatchlings had emerged. Preliminary analysis of the data from the juvenile turtles in this study suggests that these turtles may be from stocks common to the management units referred to as the South Florida nesting subpopulation (occurring from northeast Florida to Sarasota on the west coast of Florida) and the Florida Panhandle nesting subpopulation (occurring at Eglin Air Force Base and the beaches near Panama City, Florida). We are currently analyzing the DNA sequences from relatively large numbers of hatchlings from multiple nests at BSNWR. The results of this study have significant management implications for loggerhead sea turtles in the northern Gulf of Mexico.