Last of the Volunteers

On Friday morning, the last of our volunteer groups will be leaving, that means it really is the end of season. Though the season was long, the last month seems to be going rather fast. My whole master's project is kind of up in the air right now, as I have not heard back from labs to see if they can process my samples. I keep loosing plates to maggots in the lab, no matter how tight I seal them and patch the seals everyday. Not sure why I still use the lab, since the only thing that will save my project at this point is sending them out, but I guess I just feel like if I'm not working, then I'm not trying.

On a more possitive note, look how cute this hatching runt of a ridley is!:

This group volunteer group has 9 people, but there is not enough turtles to go around. I am amazed that we have been able to get everyone to at least see a turtle at all, and for most, it has literally been a single turtle and after the nesting process. We have, however, had a lot of other cool things to keep them entertained. For instance, my first time on morning walk with this group I had a morning ridley, and I was walking to an excavation at 2:30 in the afternoon when my volunteer noticed a single hatchling on top of the berm. I sprinted up there to get him because it was WAY too hot and he could die before he got to the ocean. However, once I reached the top of the berm I noticed it wasn't just the 1 hatchling, but the entire nest erupting. There were far too may hatchlings for my bucket and I was forced to empty my excavation bag and put them in there until the other biologist could run back and get more buckets. Three had already died from the heat, but we were able to save 46!!! We released them at night and they all made it to the water! Fingers crossed that one of those will come back in 15 years to nest (since only 1 out of 1000 hatchlings makes it to adulthood).

The leatherback nest hatching:

The nest exploding with hatchlings

My favorite picture of the season.

 

My lovely volunteer helping me with an overflowing bucket and bag, their reward for going with me to an olive ridley excavation instead of the leatherback nest excavation that the rest of the volunteers went to.

After this excitment, Ashley, my volunteer, and myself went to our ridley excavation that had almost completely died out, probably due to high tides since they were all about the same developement stage and getting close to hatchling. The nest was well below the new spring high tide line (http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moontides/) and we had just recently had a full moon. Only 8 made it out, 60 stage 3's (about to hatch) were found dead, and maggots cleaned out about 10 eggs, making it impossible to determine their stages. However, one lucky little turtle, a runt if you will, did make it out (pictures above). Good thing we had such good news with the leatherback nest hatching, otherwise it would have been a depressing day with that ridley nest.

There are only 12 more days until I head home and can no longer say I live in Costa Rica. It's kind of bitter sweet, but I am really looking forward to being home. I am trying not to be too stressed about the project and enjoy my last few moments here, but it is quite hard with a Master's project that I thought would be long done by now lingering over my head.