Zoe Bass, Karen Gilbert and other volunteers at the Coastal Wildlife Club gathered together at the north end of the island to get the turtle to safety.
“And there she was. It was two downed palm trees that she had wedged right between. She had nested and started to exit and went in between those two trees and just wedged herself in,” Bass said.
“First off I thought she was beautiful, and then I felt so sorry for her because I’m like ‘oh my gosh how long has she been here?’ You know she has to be tired, she has to be scared,” Gilbert added.
“They had to actually chainsaw that log out,” Bass explained.
Then she started the crawl back into the water.
“She was exhausted. It took her a while. She kind of crawled a bit, then stopped, then crawled a bit…then stopped. When she heard the waves coming in, she was like ‘oh there it is’ — and there she went,” Gilbert said.
Nesting season is just beginning for these turtles. May 1 was the first day, but turtles started showing up in mid-April. Bass said they just got information about the number of nests crews have counted so far.
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.
