Marine turtles are thought to be particularly vulnerable to climate change; their life history traits, behavior and physiology are strongly influenced by environmental factors. In summary:
- Impacts from climate change will vary geographically, temporally, and between species and populations.
- Some populations of marine turtles may already be responding to changes in climate by shifting their nesting
phenology or redistributing their nesting grounds. - Successful management of marine turtles in a changing climate will require information from long-term monitoring
What we know, what we don’t know and what we need to know in relation to climate change and marine turtles in Florida. As part of a workshop funded by the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research at UF twenty managers and researchers meet at the Barrier Island Center, Melbourne beach, Florida (April 2016), to identify key knowledge gaps and research priorities related to marine turtles and climate change in Florida. The workshop was organized by Dr. Mariana Fuentes (FSU), Dr. Kate Mansfield (UCF) and Dr. Vince Saba (NOAA). The Barrier Island Center kindly provided the venue. Outputs from the workshop are available below.
- Priority Projects: Key projects/questions related to local weather, sea level rise and marine turtles.
- Assessing the effects of climate change on turtles: Biological and physical data that need to be collected over time to monitor for impacts of climate change on marine turtles.
- Past Projects: A gap analysis of marine turtle-climate related past projects in Florida./li>
