Kiawah Conversations: Loggerhead Turtles
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KIAWAH CONVERSATIONS, a new lecture series of educational programs, focuses on Kiawah’s unique resiliency, sustainability, and environmental issues.
Our inaugural Kiawah Conversations — “Kiawah’s Loggerhead Turtles: Genetic Tagging of Ancient Mariners” — will take place on Thursday, Jan. 29, 3:00 p.m. at Kiawah Island Town Hall. Our speaker is Dr. Brian Shamblin from the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia.
Dr. Shamblin and his team have been collaborating with sea turtle patrols, including our Turtle Patrol here on Kiawah, to “genetically tag” nesting loggerheads north of Florida since 2006 through nest samples. They have identified over 16,000 nesting females via genetic information from a single egg from each nest.
Recently, Dr. Shamblin has developed a novel technique to identify breeding males via sperm trapped in the egg yolk membrane, allowing a non-invasive population count of adult sea turtles via land. He will discuss how the genetic tagging has informed loggerhead turtle recovery and continues to address questions of conservation concern, with a focus on South Carolina and Kiawah Island turtles.
This lecture is complimentary but reservations are required . Click here to reserve your spot.
