Excavation of a Leatherback Nest

Yesterday afternoon, we went with two of the biologists, Jen and Rachel, to excavate a leatherback nest that hatched two days ago. Two days allows enough time for any stragglers to emerge from the nest. The scientists dig up the nests to learn more about the nesting process.

Happy news first met us when Jen started excavating. A single hatchling made it to the surface! Upon further digging, she found one more live hatchling. Jen carefully placed these two hatchlings in a bucket to take back to the field station. A team will release them later at night when the chances of birds not eating them is greater than if they had made their way to the sea at that moment. 

Further excavation continued. Jen dug to the bottom of the egg chamber to find the egg shells and unhatched eggs. She and Rachel then broke open the unhatched eggs to identify the developmental stage of the egg, if any. They analyze these unborn eggs in hopes of predicting nesting patterns and to see if any bacteria infected the nest. On average, only about half of the eggs actually hatch from a nest. This is quite a messy project – and stinky if any nests had been inundated with bacteria or maggots! To be a biologist means rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty!