EFFECTS OF BEACH NOURISHMENT ON SEA-TURTLES - REVIEW AND RESEARCH INITIATIVES

Beach nourishment is an engineering solution to erosion of beaches. As in any restoration project, the goals of beach nourishment are the re storation of habitat to promote survival of plants and animals and to maintain aesthetically pleasing sites for humans. Unfortunately, beach nourishment sometimes alters parameters of the natural beach, decreas ing the reproductive success of sea turtles. Engineers have recognized this problem and are working to improve nourishment practices. Biolog ists must specify problems incurred by sea turtles as a result of beac h nourishment so that they may be addressed. A review of the literatur e on sea turtles and beach nourishment found certain problems repeated ly identified. For nesting females, characteristics induced by nourish ment can cause (1) beach compaction, which can decrease nesting succes s, alter nest-chamber geometry, and alter nest concealment, and (2) es carpments, which can block turtles from reaching nesting areas. For eg gs and hatchlings, nourishment can decrease survivorship and affect de velopment by altering beach characteristics such as sand compaction, g aseous environment, hydric environment, contaminant levels, nutrient a vailability, and thermal environment. Also, nests can be covered with excess sand if nourishment is implemented in areas with incubating egg s. The extent and implication of each problem are discussed, and futur e research initiatives are proposed.