Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Biodiversity Wednesday – Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge

Posted on January 19, 2011January 19, 2011 By David Shiffman
Conservation
These beaches are narrow, beautiful, and largely undeveloped

On the east coast of Florida lies a thin, 20 mile long stretch of beach. It looks a great deal like the many other beaches in Florida, but one important difference is immediately clear. It is some of the least developed beachfront real estate in the United States, which is particularly jarring considering that it is close to the city of Melbourne and right off of the major A-1-A highway. Why isn’t this beautiful and accessible stretch of beach covered in hotels and luxury apartments?

An enormous number of signs listing the things you can’t do on this beach also grabs your attention. No ATV’s, horses, dogs, or beach chairs are allowed. Feeding wildlife, including seagulls, is strictly prohibited. Under no circumstances can you build a campfire- not that you’d need to, since the public isn’t allowed on the beach at all after dark.

What is this place?

Photo credit: David Shiffman
Photo credit: Blair Witherington

This remarkable stretch of beach is the Archie Carr national wildlife refuge. Though it takes up less than 250 acres, it provides critical habitat to some charismatic and endangered marine life. The beach here is some of the most important nesting habitat for green and loggerhead sea turtles on Earth.25-35% of all green and loggerhead nests in the United States are within this 20 mile stretch of narrow beach. No other beach in the U.S. has more green sea turtle nests, and no other beach in the Western hemisphere has more loggerhead nests.The occasional leatherback also nests here. What makes so many turtles lay their eggs in this small area? The answer has little to do with the beach itself. While the landscape at Archie Carr is just what an egg-laying sea turtle is looking for, the same is true of many other beaches which get drastically fewer chelonian visitors. What makes this beach so inviting for sea turtles is what isn’t there.

Now that the problem of shrimp trawler bycatch has been solved by the turtle excluder device, the main threats facing sea turtles come from humans disturbing their nesting beaches- disturbances which are absent from Archie Carr NWR. Lights from beachfront hotels disorient hatchlings trying to get to the ocean following the light of the moon. Beach chairs are insurmountable obstacles for a hatchling small enough to fit in the palm of someone’s hand. Beach renourishment and armoring alters the natural landscape. Pets dig up and eat eggs. ATVs can crush entire nests. With this in mind, all those pesky rules concerning what you can’t do in Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge make a lot more sense.

A baby green sea turtle at Archie Carr NWR with WhySharksMatter's hand for scale. Photo credit: David Shiffman

Without the existential threats that have become commonplace on beaches throughout the world, sea turtles here are thriving. After decades of population declines, TED laws and Archie Carr beach protections (which occurred at approximately the same time in the early 90’s) have resulted in increasing numbers of green and leatherback nests for several consecutive years. A few other beaches throughout the world are considering the adoption of similar rules.  As long as fishermen use TEDs, nesting beaches get critical protections, and global warming doesn’t result in entire populations of female turtles, these charismatic species should continue to awkwardly haul themselves along our world’s beaches for many years to come.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: archie carr national wildlife refuge nesting beach sea turtles

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: State of the Field: Modergasm – The flaccid finality of modern erections
Next Post: Lessons from the Death and Life of Monterey Bay ❯

You may also like

Conservation
Altered sea turtle sex ratios: Can global warming harm warm-water animals?
October 12, 2010
A sea turtle robot looking fearsome on a blue background.
Science
I built a horrifying cyborg sea turtle hatchling so you can learn a little bit about behavioral ecology
April 22, 2021
Conservation
This Rum Protects the Ocean: the world’s first conservation distillery is open for business.
November 15, 2024
Weekly Salvage
Chesapeake Requiem, the Black Friday for Climate Change, whale earwax, killing the GRE, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 26, 2018
November 26, 2018

Recent Popular Posts

David Attenborough's Ocean is on Hulu and Disney+. Let's watch together and discuss it!David Attenborough's Ocean is on Hulu and Disney+. Let's watch together and discuss it!June 16, 2025David Shiffman
Marine Biology Career AdviceMarine Biology Career AdviceMay 30, 2025David Shiffman
The story of the pride flag made from NASA imagery: Bluesky's most-liked imageThe story of the pride flag made from NASA imagery: Bluesky's most-liked imageSeptember 27, 2024David Shiffman
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
How many nuclear weapons are at the bottom of the sea. An (almost certainly incomplete) census of broken arrows over water.How many nuclear weapons are at the bottom of the sea. An (almost certainly incomplete) census of broken arrows over water.July 26, 2018Andrew Thaler
Here's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationHere's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationApril 10, 2024David Shiffman
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)September 7, 2010Andrew Thaler
Megalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentaryMegalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentaryAugust 7, 2014David Shiffman
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown