Turtle, Turtle

Today we woke up and the weather looked sour again. There were grey clouds and the wind was blowing entirely too hard to go scuba diving. Mr. Napier told us that yesterday he went to the dive shop and asked them if we were going diving for the duration of the trip. They looked at him funny, which isn’t a great sign for those of us who love seeing all of the underwater life in the coral reefs. This morning we ate breakfast and then met in one of the kitchenettes at 8:30 to talk about our plans for the day and Martin Luther King Jr. day. We talked about what it really means to each of us and how we should really reflect on its significance instead of inactively listening to what everyone tells us about the day. After our serious discussion, we got in the vans and drove to The Turtle Hospital (http://www.turtlehospital.org/). There we listened to our guide about what the hospital does for the turtles and the research that it does in partnering with the Florida University. They rescue, rehab, and release any injured sea turtles that they find. Sea turtles are different from fresh water turtles in that they cannot retract their head and fins into their shells. They are all endangered and protected, which means that people cannot touch them or take them, and that all products that are made from sea turtles cannot be taken or sold in the US. The Turtle hospital does most of its research on Fibropapilloma, a disease that affects every species of sea turtle. Fibropapilloma is caused by a virus that causes tumors to develop all over the turtle’s body. Mostly the tumors appear under and around the sea turtle’s eyes, which may lead to blindness and eventually death. The virus can also cause tumors on the liver and kidney of the turtle, in which case there is nothing that the hospital can do for them, and they must be put to sleep. A majority of the turtles at the hospital are being used for Fibropapilloma research. The other turtles have been injured because of human involvement. Many sea turtles are killed every year because of shrimping nets snagging them and drowning them. Others get caught in fishhooks and lobster and crab traps or hit by ships, which puts an air bubble in their back, so that they become buoyant and cannot submerge to escape from sharks or eat the food on the bottom. The Turtle Hospital takes them in and tries to fix whatever problems they have. One happy story came last Thursday when they released a leatherback turtle that had lockjaw (where he couldn’t move his mouth) after one year and 2 weeks in the Hospital. We learned at the gift shop about internships that were available there. Mr. T told us that if he had known about marine biology and all of the fascinating life underwater that he definitely would have taken advantage of it. I totally agree, and I’ve really enjoyed learning and observing all of the oceanic life that we have seen here in the keys.This afternoon, we’re going to do blogs and finish our symposium presentations for the Wednesday we get back. After that we’re going to pack, return all of the rented equipment, and get a good night’s sleep for the long journey home.
Steven Clapp