DETERMINING THE IMPACTS OF BEACH RESTORATION ON LOGGERHEAD (CARETTA CARETTA) AND GREEN TURTLE (CHELONIA MYDAS) NESTING PATTERNS AND REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS ALONG FLORIDA’S ATLANTIC COAST

by ALLISON WHITNEY HAYS B.S. Principia College, 2004

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Biology in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida

Spring Term 2012

ABSTRACT Artificial beach nourishment, the most common method to mitigate coastal erosion in the United States, is also considered the most ecologically friendly alternative for shoreline stabilization. However, this habitat alteration has the potential to impact nesting marine turtles and developing hatchlings. The first objective of this study was to determine how nourishing beaches with two different design templates affects loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nesting success, the ratio of nests to the total number of nests and non-nesting emergences, and reproductive success, the ratio of hatched and emerged hatchlings to the total number of eggs deposited. Two types of restoration designs exist along the southern Brevard County, FL coastline, which supports some of the highest density loggerhead and green turtle nesting worldwide. Since 2005, approximately 35 kilometers of beach have undergone 1) fullscale restoration (typically called nourishment), where sand was added above and below the mean high tide line (2005, 2010) or 2) dune restoration, where sand was placed on the dune (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009). To quantify the effects of these restoration types, we used a Before-After-ControlImpact-Paired Series (BACIPS) model, which tests for significance between the difference in nesting success rates at the impact (engineered) and control sites (natural beach) before and after restoration ( ). For loggerheads, there was a significant difference in

after dune restoration

during the years of construction (2005, 2006, 2008, and 2009; p