76 John B. Andre and Larry West 



CRNWR report files and measurements of variation were not available. 



To increase loggerhead productivity, nests were moved to a predator-proof 

 exclosure (hatchery) located behind a 2 m high primary dune that pro- 

 tected the eggs from erosion and saltwater inundation. Nests were found 

 by following crawl tracks. The site was then carefully probed with a 

 metal pole to locate the eggs, which were excavated by hand, removed 

 from the nest, and placed in a plastic bucket containing about 5 cm of 

 moist sand. The eggs were then covered with moist sand from the nest 

 cavity to reduce evaporation and temperature fluctuation. In probing 

 for nests, 1-3 eggs at the top of the egg mass were broken in approxi- 

 mately 10 clutches during the nesting season. The in-nest orientation of 

 eggs was not maintained when transferred to the hatchery. Clutches that 

 were partly destroyed by raccoons received the same treatment, except 

 that eggs from different clutches were combined so that each trans- 

 planted group contained at least 60 eggs. Exhumed eggs were usually 

 less than four, never more than twelve, hours old, and were placed in 

 the hatchery within two hours of collection. 



Hatchery clutches, spaced 0.6 m apart, were reburied in holes 

 approximating the dimensions of natural nest cavities. Eggs were placed 

 in the holes until they held a complete clutch or at least 60 eggs. A 

 shallow layer of moist sand was placed over the egg mass and lightly 

 packed by hand, then additional sand layers were placed and packed 

 until the cavity was filled. Each nest in the hatchery was marked with a 

 flag indicating the nest number, number of eggs and date laid. Hatch- 

 ling turtles were removed from the hatchery before daylight, released on 

 the beach berm, and allowed to crawl down the beach and enter the 

 ocean unaided. 



The hatchery consisted of two pens (6.1 X 12.2 m and 6.1 X 18.3 

 m) placed together. Both enclosures were 1.8 m tall and the sides and 

 tops were enclosed with 5.1 X 10.2 cm welded wire. A 91 cm width of 

 chicken wire was buried around the perimeter of the pens to prevent 

 predators from digging under the sides. Fiberglass panels, 76 cm tall, 

 were placed around the pens to prevent wind-blown sand from covering 

 nests and to keep ghost crabs, Ocypode quadrata, and rats, Rattus rat- 

 tus and R. norvegicus, from entering the hatchery. The sparse vegeta- 

 tion within the hatchery was removed by hand to protect the eggs from 

 penetration and entanglement by plant roots. 



An egg and hatchling predator control program was conducted 

 from April 1979 through the loggerhead nesting season. Raccoons were 

 captured with live and leg-hold traps. Methods of raccoon population 

 management were outlined by Ehrhart (1979). 



