MONITORING

ABOUT

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ABOUT

Like all Research Reserves, Rookery Bay Research Reserve conducts monitoring according to the National Estuarine Research Reserve System’s (NERRS) System Wide Monitoring Program. Research staff also monitors wildlife and habitats with local significance. Staff partner with local, state, and federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions to augment monitoring efforts.

SEA TURTLES

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SEA TURTLES

Rookery Bay Research Reserve resource management specialists work in cooperation with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Collier County Natural Resources and the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to preserve this threatened species. With much assistance from volunteers and summer interns, staff patrol the beaches of Sea Oat Island, Cape Romano, Kice Island, and other islands in the Ten Thousand Islands five days a week during nesting season to locate nests and place cages over them so that the eggs will be protected from predation by raccoons.

Nests

Each nest contains between 80 to 120 eggs.

After roughly 60 days, baby turtles emerge from the nests under the cover of darkness and crawl to the water, swimming until they reach relative safety in seaweed beds before being swept away on currents across the sea. Resource managers follow up on each nest to document the number of hatched eggs to get a better understanding of nesting success.

Reserve Efforts

Although cages cannot protect nests from inundation by high tides or fire ant predation, the incorporation of caging efforts has increased nesting success in the reserve tremendously. Rookery Bay Research Reserve staff rely on help from interns and volunteers to protect and monitor the nests inside reserve boundaries.

Incubation

Why it’s Important: Keewaydin appears to be producing male hatchlings regularly which makes it a very important nesting ground. Nests on the east coast of Florida are producing mainly female biased clutches so Keewaydin is supplying the South Florida Nesting Subpopulation with much needed males. This is one of the longest and most intensive incubation temperature studies of its kind and is contributing invaluable data into the professional community. The data are also being used to educate the public on the anthropogenic and environmental factors that influence sea turtle nests. Data were published in 2008 and have been presented at several of the Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation conferences.

As of July 2018, 1,139 temperature data loggers have been deployed in sea turtle nests with the help of Conservancy interns.

Partnership: Conservancy of Southwest Florida

Although cages cannot protect nests from inundation by high tides or fire ant predation, the incorporation of caging efforts has increased nesting success in the reserve tremendously. Rookery Bay Research Reserve staff rely on help from interns and volunteers to protect and monitor the nests inside reserve boundaries.

Nest Monitoring

Nest monitoring on Keewaydin Island is managed by the Conservancy of SW Florida. Nest monitoring in the Ten Thousand Islands is managed cooperatively with Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Nesting totals courtesy of Collier County Parks and Recreation Department.
'Real-Time' Turtle Nest Discoveries
Catch up on our sea turtle intern’s latest adventures at their blog.

Read Cape Romano Complex Sea Turtle Annual Report 2016.

Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest

HABITAT CHANGE

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HABITAT CHANGE

Rookery Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands are dynamic systems.  We monitor changes to coastal structure and habitat that are impacted by storms, human use, or sea level change.  We are currently establishing the first Sentinel Site in south Florida.  Key contact:  Jill Schmid.

FISH POPULATIONS

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FISH POPULATIONS

Originally formed as a monitoring component of the downstream effects of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project, the Ten Thousand Islands fish and shark population studies have grown to a multi-decadal assessment of juvenile fish populations and habitat use. Biologist Pat O’Donnell runs monthly sampling efforts with a team of dedicated volunteers and graduate students. Scientists from the Marine Spatial Ecology division of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science are analyzing 20-year fish trawl dataset and conducting an acoustic monitoring study of commercially relevant fish.
Too Much Freshwater, Not Enough, or Just Right - July 2022
Man Made Changes vs Juvenile Estuarine Fishes - June 2023

SYSTEM-WIDE MONITORING PROGRAM

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SYSTEM-WIDE MONITORING PROGRAM (SWMP)

SWMP was developed on a national platform to coordinate long-term monitoring programs across all 29 National Estuarine Research Reserves. The Rookery Bay Research Reserve SWMP program measures water conditions, nutrients, and chlorophyll (an estimate of micro-algae) at five sites, with an additional weather monitoring station at our headquarters. Our habitat monitoring and Sentinel Site stations will also be incorporated through the SWMP program.

Learn about the SWMP Program and access data and metadata

BIRDS

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BIRDS

Beach-nesting seabird and shorebird populations are declining worldwide due to the loss of critical nesting habitat from coastal development and increased recreational use near nesting sites. Below you can learn about how Rookery Bay monitors both beach-nesting birds and non-breeding shorebirds.

Beach-Nesting Birds

At Rookery Bay Reserve, least terns (Threatened) and black skimmers (Species of Special Concern) nest in mixed colonies along our beaches. Frequent disturbance and flushing of birds off nests by beachgoers and their pets expose eggs and small chicks to intense summer heat and the threat of predators. These coastal species depend on a balance of viable nesting habitat and protection from disturbance to nest successfully.

In 2011, 600 least tern nests were recorded at one colony site within Rookery Bay Reserve, making it the largest nesting colony in Florida that year. Learn how reserve staff worked with FWC to designate this location as Second Chance Critical Wildlife Area.

Since 2000, Rookery Bay staff has annually monitored coastal nesting colonies within the Reserve. In 2015 the reserve’s partnership with Audubon Florida has afforded a full time Audubon staff member to help monitor and protect these birds with an office at Rookery Bay Reserve. This long-term data is used protect critical nesting habitat and at the beginning of each nesting season to determine the location of potential colony sites and guide the timing and placement of protective posting and educational signage. Likewise, Rookery Bay Research Reserve staff work with Audubon Florida to conduct bi-monthly shorebird surveys from north Keewaydin Island down to Second Chance Critical Wildlife Area (near Cape Romano).

Once nesting season begins, colony sites are visited weekly. The number of adult least terns, nests, chicks and fledges are recorded following established statewide monitoring protocol. This data is entered into the Florida Shorebird Database (FSD) and is available to researchers, managers, conservationists, and permit reviewers, allowing this valuable information to help conserve these protected species.

View the Florida Shorebird Alliance Database.

Non-breeding Shorebird Monitoring

Twice a year during spring and fall, thousands of shorebirds migrate along Florida beaches, travelling between high Arctic breeding grounds and southern wintering areas. For some, Florida is their final destination until the following spring and up to 7,000 shorebirds remain as winter visitors in Collier County to escape the cold northern winter and take advantage of warm sandy beaches, lagoons and mudflats that provide an abundant food supply and a safe place to rest.

Shorebirds use stored fat as energy and need to eat a lot and feed frequently to refuel themselves.
Repeated disturbance causes birds to waste valuable energy reserves. Weakened and vulnerable, migrating shorebirds with a reduced ability to feed may not survive to complete their journey.

In order to better manage coastal resources through informed decisions, Rookery Bay Reserve staff partners with Audubon Florida to conduct bi-monthly shorebird surveys from north Keewaydin Island down to Second Chance Critical Wildlife Area (near Cape Romano).

Surveys follow protocol established by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and data collected includes flock location, size, species composition, activity and incidence of disturbance. Special attention is placed on five shorebirds FWC recognizes as Focal Species: American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates), Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), Wilson’s Plover (Charadrius wilsonia) and Red Knot (Calidris canutus). Additionally, all birds observed with unique color-coded leg bands are reported to the USGS Bird Band Laboratory.

The goals of these surveys are to better understand the winter distribution of shorebirds and seabirds in our area, to recognize long-term trends or changes in winter shorebird population sizes and distribution and to help identify key wintering sites.

Data collected is input into the Rookery Bay Reserve Access database and is made available to Federal and State agencies, elected officials, scientists, conservation organizations, universities and land managers.

Help Make a Difference!

Volunteer at Rookery Bay

Hundreds of volunteers play a vital role in the preservation, restoration and management of our mangrove estuary. Opportunities are endless. Training is provided. A passion for our coastal environment is a must. Join one of our monthly volunteer orientations and learn about supporting our coastal treasure, Rookery Bay Research Reserve!
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