By admin Two historic sea turtle nests discovered in Southern California have been confirmed to belong to two different endangered olive ridley sea turtles, according to NOAA Fisheries.
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The nests are the first-ever documented olive ridley sea turtle nests on the West Coast. Researchers said the turtles likely moved north because of warm El Niño waters, raising the possibility that more nesting activity could follow.
Jeffrey Seminoff of NOAA Fisheries said the discovery was unexpected.
“Two individuals crawling up on our shores within eight kilometers of each other in Orange County. And it’s just a totally unexpected, totally different sort of a scenario in the turtle world than we’d ever expected,” Seminoff said.
Scientists say the unprecedented nesting activity may not be over. Seminoff noted that olive ridley sea turtles often nest multiple times during a single nesting season.
“Not only could there be more, but with olive ridleys, the species we know that during the nesting season, they’ll nest two or three times,” Seminoff said.
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The unusual marine sightings are not limited to sea turtles.
Hammerhead sharks, whale sharks, marlin and rare devil rays have also been appearing off the Southern California coast. Experts say sea temperatures farther south have become too warm for some species to remain in their typical habitats.
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Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, said changing ocean conditions are altering where marine animals are found.
“We’re now really strongly seeing the relationship between how these changing ocean conditions push these animals into habitats they don’t normally use. So, every year is kind of a surprise. What are we going to see? And is this a good sign, or is this is a bad sign?” Lowe said.
While the appearances of exotic marine species have drawn attention, Lowe said the changes can have negative effects on native wildlife and especially kelp, which struggles to survive in unusually warm waters.
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