Sea Turtles

On this week's Florida Roundup: Hundreds gathered outside the Miami courthouse during Donald Trump’s arraignment, Florida’s crisis pregnancy centers are pushing to get abortion access on the ballot, and microplastics and warming sands threaten sea turtles.

Sea turtle nesting season starts on May 1 and runs through October 31, and early nesting activity has already been reported in Southwest Florida on Casey Key in Venice and Captiva Island in Lee County.

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is hearing from a group of turtle enthusiasts that wants new rules to allow people to capture and breed diamondback terrapins. They aren’t endangered but conservationists are worried about their numbers.

On The Florida Roundup, we discussed Gov. DeSantis flying migrants to Massachusetts, a report that shows extremism is increasing in the state, and the plight of sea turtles.

As intense heat becomes more common around the world, the potential threat to biodiversity increases. One species at particular risk to a warming climate is found on the beaches of Florida.

Stand on the beach in Boca Raton at 10 or 11 at night with your back to the ocean — over the dunes, you'll see a glowing sky. This artificial light is coming from city buildings and homes. It's confusing baby sea turtles.

The development coordinator at the Sea Turtle Conservancy said existing ordinances ensure bars, restaurants, and hotels along the coast use turtle-friendly lighting during nesting season.

The Florida Atlantic University study published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases looked at turtles in the Indian River Lagoon over the last two decades and found pollution weakened their immune systems.

A new study shows that nesting sea turtles on Florida beaches are getting smaller.

Part of the panhandle is on track to have one of the worst sea turtle nesting seasons in recent history. That's according to a volunteer group that monitors turtle nesting.

The nonprofit Sea Turtle, Inc. says it has brought in nearly 4,500 sea turtles and counting since Sunday. Still without power, it's heating its tanks with a commercial generator donated by SpaceX.

The threats to sea turtles are as big as the ocean they inhabit: red tide, overfishing, rising seas swamping their nesting grounds and being stunned by…