UCF Marine Turtle Research Group

05/31/2026

Love is in the air —and sea!

If you take a stroll on the ACNWR, you may spot turtles floating together in the water. If you do, chances are that it is a mating pair of green sea turtles, and don’t worry, they’re perfectly fine!

There’s also a small chance they may wash up on the shore and if that happens, it’s best to give them some space so they can sort things out on their own. It’s a truly unique experience!

As of May 29th, the UCF MTRG has recorded the following nest numbers on the Brevard County portion of the ACNWR (21 km/13 mi):

Leatherback - 59
Loggerhead - 4,629
Green turtle - 32
Kemp’s ridley - 1

05/23/2026

Happy World Turtle Day! 🐢

Today we celebrate all turtles, but sea turtles hold a spot near and dear to our hearts. The UCF MTRG is fortunate to conserve and preserve these magnificent creatures — from eggs to adults, we study it all! In other big news, green turtles have arrived at the Carr Refuge! 🎉

As of May 22nd, the UCF MTRG has recorded the following nest numbers on the Brevard County portion of the ACNWR (21 km/13 mi):

Leatherback - 48
Loggerhead - 3,185
Green turtle - 2
Kemp's ridley - 1

*All sea turtle research conducted by the UCF MTRG is authorized under MTP-186/171/231 and NMFS Permit 26268

05/15/2026

With sea turtle nesting season taking off, beachgoers are likely to see many crawls here in Brevard County, Florida without the yellow sea turtle signs. There is no need to worry! Unmarked nests are well-protected from the mother turtles’ efforts to cover the eggs with a well-packed layer of sand, usually 1-2 feet deep or more!

As many of you know, the Archie Carr NWR is a special place for turtles! The beach we monitor in Brevard County has some of the highest populations of nesting loggerhead and green sea turtles in the world. We get thousands - often tens of thousands - of nests in just 13 miles of beach in southern Brevard. We cannot locate and apply signs to every single one of these nests, nor do we need to monitor nest success. We only need to mark as subset of the nests laid (only about 1-3% in south Brevard), and we do this to estimate average numbers of eggs and hatchlings per nest each year. We typically do not put barriers around marked nests during the main nesting season to keep the beach as free of obstacles and debris as possible.

It may appear that nests are vulnerable to disturbance, but these tips can help nests stay safe and hatchlings emerge naturally:

• Don’t put long stakes in the ground.
• Don’t dig giant holes on the beach - this not only poses a threat to the nests, but also to you, other beachgoers, and nesting turtles.
• Do not purposely dig into any sea turtle nests at any stage in incubation.
• If you do witness a hatchling emergence, it’s important to let the hatchlings crawl to the water themselves and not stand in front of them. Just stand back and enjoy!

We know how much our community adores our sea turtles, and our team is working tirelessly to monitor local nesting. With your help, we can do our jobs more efficiently and keep nests safe!

As of today, May 15th, the UCF MTRG has recorded the following nest numbers on the Brevard County portion of the ACNWR (21 km/13 mi):

Leatherback - 41
Loggerhead - 1,916
Green turtle - 0
Kemp's ridley - 1

📸 (K. Szympruch 2025): green turtle tracks overlapping on beach

05/01/2026

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! 🤗 We are so excited to kick off our summer season and start training our new interns!

In other exciting news, we had our first Kemp’s ridley of the season on the Refuge a couple weeks ago! 🎉Our crew was able to collect data on the nesting turtle and mark off the nest for protection.

Kemp's ridleys are the smallest AND most endangered species of sea turtle in the world. We are lucky to get a handful nesting on our beaches each year.

Note: If you see a turtle on the beach during the daytime please remember to report it! The turtle may be stranded or it might be a rare species nesting— either way we want to know! Also, remember to take photos! It'll help us identify the species. One way to report is the Sea Turtle Preservation Society Hotline for turtles in the Melbourne Beach area: (321)206-0646!

As of today, May 1st, the UCF MTRG has recorded the following nest numbers on the Brevard County portion of the ACNWR (21 km/13 mi):

Leatherback - 20
Loggerhead - 213
Green turtle - 0
Kemp's ridley - 1

📸: Soleil H. Please do not stand close to or in front of turtles nesting or returning to the water. All sea turtles are handled by professionals under permits MTP-186/171.

04/09/2026

Today is UCF’s Day of Giving! With funding uncertainties on the horizon, every little bit helps.
Much of our undergraduate and graduate training happens on a shoestring budget. The work we do at the coast and offshore not only supports cutting-edge sea turtle conservation and science, our research also provides a rare opportunity for hands-on training for ’s next generation of scientists and resource managers! 🐢

Please click this link to support our research and educational program. Thank you!

https://foundation.ucf.edu/givetocos?id=fabb7f3d-5be7-4650-9a5c-c11d187a1e3d

📸: UCF MTRG. All photos are taken during permitted sea turtle research.

03/23/2026

The leatherbacks are HERE!

We found our first nest on the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge portion of our study area yesterday!

Here are some reminders as the nesting season picks up:

• Do not disturb turtles and their nest area. Nesting females are easily spooked by people and can abandon their nesting attempt. Our crew uses the tracks in the sand each morning to understand and document each crawl. As a reminder, we DO NOT mark every nest in our area. If you encounter an unmarked nest please do not alter it in any way, including placing sticks in the sand.

• Leave the beach DARK, FLAT, and CLEAN! Make sure no artificial lighting is visible from the beach (close your curtains or switch to turtle friendly lighting)!

• Knock down your sand castles and fill in your holes.

• Properly dispose of your trash and bring beach furniture home. The turtles thank you!

• If you see a sick or injured turtle on the beach please call the FWC Wildlife Hotline at 888-404-3922.

📸Photo by Franko Solis: Leatherback nest found by our survey crew. Photo taken while conducting permitted research activities. Please do not use our photos without permission, but please do like and share our posts!

12/02/2025

🚨 it is ‘Giving Tuesday!’ The UCF Marine Turtle Research Group is featured as one of ’s new crowd-funding initiatives! 🚨

Help us fundraise for a new (much-needed) All-Terrain-Vehicle! We monitor over 40 km of Brevard County’s coastline. The ATVs help us with our monitoring and provide valuable hands-on training for our students. Between break-downs and damage from the salt air (and the jerks who stole one of our ATVs last winter), we need your help.

Any contribution is appreciated. 🐢❤️ please share widely!

Link above in our bio.

📸s: C. Long; G. Stahelin;

11/02/2025

🚨 The UCF Marine Turtle Research Group is featured as one of ’s new crowd-funding initiatives! 🚨

Help us fundraise for a new (much-needed) All-Terrain-Vehicle! We monitor over 40 km of Brevard County’s coastline. Between break-downs, damage from the salt air, and the jerks who stole one of our ATVs last winter, we need your help. Any contribution is appreciated. 🐢❤️ please share widely!

Join me to support the future of sea turtle research through the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group.

09/13/2025

We had a great time at the Sea Turtle Preservation Society Turtle Krawl this morning!!

As of today, 13 September, here are the number of nests documented on the Brevard County portion of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (ACNWR):
Leatherback - 52
Loggerhead - 10,615
Green turtle - 20,401 (2nd highest!)
Kemp's ridley - 1

These numbers have been updated from past weeks reports, due to an issue with data reporting.

08/30/2025

🚨 this is the 2nd highest green turtle nesting season on the ACNWR!! 🚨

2023 was our record-shattering green nesting season with 23,220 nests, breaking the previous record of 15,784 nests in 2019! Well, this week we passed that number again, making this year the 2nd highest green nesting season in our study area!!! 🐢💚

As of yesterday, 29 August, here are the number of nests documented on the Brevard County portion of the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge (ACNWR):
Leatherback - 52
Loggerhead - 9,770
Green turtle - 17,237 (2nd highest!)
Kemp's ridley - 1

Photo by S. Doolittle: Green turtle morning nester. Please do not use our photos without permission, but please do like and share our posts!