Science Blog

20230508 101957 Erosion

Sea turtle nesting starts strong despite hurricane debris

Sea turtle nesting season is underway in Southwest Florida as the female loggerheads return to beaches changed by Hurricane Ian. The beach itself is littered with tree trunks, snags, and…

Baby loggerhead sea turtle on the beach of Keewaydin Island

Turtle-powered elevator? Sea turtle hatchling emergence

People run. Feet burning, faces wincing, regret building with every second on the sizzling pavement. “It’s only a little ways. I’ll just leave my sandals in the car”. Admonishing themselves…

Loggerhead Night

So, you want to work with sea turtles?

The pump shut off with a clang that echoed in the empty gas station, jolting me awake from thoughts of sea turtles I’d seen overnight. At 5 am the city…

Mangrove Tree Crab (4)

The Tiny Mangrove Tree Crab

Species Highlight: Mangrove Tree Crab | Written by Science Intern, Julia Galante Mangrove forests host a wide range of biodiversity, many of which are invertebrates. Most invertebrate species utilize the…

SCIENCE Python

Ten years of Burmese python research and removal efforts

In the past ten years, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s python research and removal program has eliminated over 1,000 invasive snakes weighing in excess of 26,700 pounds from 160 square…

Picture5

Status update: Picayune Strand State Forest Restoration Project

For those of you that are unfamiliar with this project, it all stems from a land speculation deal that hoodwinked a lot of home buyers into purchasing swampland in Southern Golden…

Sea turtle team measuring a nesting loggerhead sea turtle at night

Record-breaking sea turtle season on Keewaydin

Our 40th year of sea turtle research and protection has been record-breaking. On Keewaydin Island, we have had a total of 627 nests and 682 false crawls. In addition, 445…

Rad mangrove roots photographed along the water

Mangroves research growing in importance

Mangrove forests are remarkable, forming the building blocks that make up the foundation of a complex coastal ecosystem. These trees support a variety of life, from bacteria that break down…

Loggerhead sea turtle on the beach with a GPS tracker on her back

R2D2 provides amazing insight to researchers

A long, long time ago in an ocean far, far away, R2D2 returned back to the place of her birth – Keewaydin Island in Naples, Florida. Conservancy biologists first encountered…