A Resort for Sea Turtles

As February meanders into March and winter threatens to drag on forever, my reading tends toward science in the tropics. I want to know about warmth, and greenness, and people clever enough to work productively in the winter-free zone. Of course, I'm happy to share what I find with fellow Alaskans also waiting, waiting, waiting for spring.

I recently found a research project to rank high on the list of "What I'd Be Doing Now If I'd Done Better in School." It involves warmth and unfrozen waters. It's even reasonably important, for the hard-working scientists whose report I read are studying a highly endangered animal and its interactions with humans. Russell K. Miya and George H. Balazs, with the assistance of some students and technicians, have been observing green sea turtles that have taken up a new habitat in nearshore Hawaiian waters: Waikiki Beach.

Yes, for their project, these National Marine Fisheries Service researchers had to pay visit after visit to Waikiki Beach. Think of the hazards they endured---all those distracting bikini-clad tourists asking what they were up to, all that air-polluting aroma of suntan oil. At least they could now and again escape the unhealthy ultraviolet light on the beach in order to observe the turtles from a higher vantage point: an ocean-front room on the twelfth floor of the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

All right, so I'm envious. What makes it worse is that Miya and Balazs were actually working---or, at least, they actually came up with some interesting and useful results.

In the period between October 1990 and August 1991, the scientists caught and tagged fifteen different green sea turtles. Most were subadults---young turtles with a bit of growing to do before they reached full size. Their top shells, or carapaces, generally measured between 40 and 50 centimeters in length, which put them closer to the size range of beach balls than to full-grown sea turtles.

To determine what the turtles were eating, the researchers treated them rather rudely. As their article in the journal 'Elepaio put it, "Food sources were determined by sampling the turtle's mouth shortly after capture, or by gently inserting a plastic tube lubricated with vegetable oil into the esophagus to the upper portion of the forestomach (crop). This very basic research turned up a variety of algae, including one species of seaweed that some imprudent person had introduced to Hawaii from Florida. Snorkeling along with their study subjects, the researchers also watched turtles feeding on seaweeds growing along seawalls and on the sea bottom.

A more thorough investigation was made of the stomach contents of three turtles that washed up dead on the beach during the study period. All three died because of unfortunate encounters with people; two had been sliced by boat propellers and one drowned in a fish net. The contents of the dead turtles' stomachs also consisted mainly of different sorts of marine algae, but they'd also swallowed paper and plastic.

Most swimmers seemed unaware that they were sharing the famous beach with Sea turtles, and the turtles seemed generally unbothered by people. One of their favorite resting places, in fact, was discovered by an underwater tour guide, who takes scuba classes close---but not too close---to the spot.

It would have put the Hawaiian authorities in something of a quandary if the two species were unable to share the waters off Waikiki, but the habitat seems to offer advantages for both turtles and people. Sharks, a chief predator of sea turtles, are not welcome at Waikiki. Possibly by grazing off quantities of what tourists would think of as slimy seaweeds, the turtles are making the place more pleasant for people.

One concern proved to be no problem, so far. The published report notes: "On five occasions, surveys were made along the intertidal shoreline of Waikiki to look for fecal pellets. No pellets were encountered. This was considered an important finding," given the number of people on the beach and their probable unhappy reaction to turtle feces underfoot.

My, yes. Whatever would the tourist bureau say about that?