Dorian washes away thousands of sea turtle nests

High waters brought by Hurricane Dorian washed more than 8,000 green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests from a central Florida wildlife refuge. University of Central Florida researchers with the Marine Turtle Research Group say the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge lost about 45% of its green turtle nests and 20% of its loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nests. But researchers say they’re optimistic about the turtles’ future. “Even though we lost thousands of nests, we still have thousands of nests that remain,” PhD candidate Katrina Phillips told WMFE public radio. “So it was a big hit but it wasn’t overall a total loss.”

Read more from WMFE here.