Our Osa In-Water Sea Turtle Project is appealing to volunteers with a passion for sea turtles looking to gain a hands-on environmental education in one of the most beautiful parts of Costa Rica, Golfo Dulce. The dynamics of the local sea turtle populations – including the Hawksbill and the Black Turtle – are poorly understood. While some information on females has been gathered from nesting beaches, little is known about population structure, genetic origin, in-water habitat use or health status. Sea Turtles spend only 1% of their life nesting on the beaches, and in these circumstances only adult females may be studied. Little, if no information is available about juvenile populations or sex ratios of adult populations, including how the human threats affects them.
Consequently, this project aims to gather more information on local sea turtle populations throughout their different life stages in order to prevent sea turtles from going extinct. Our monitoring and tagging efforts are critical to understand the presence of different size classes of these species, the role of these animals in the reef and sea grasses, and also their use of various habitats. This is an extraordinary way for you to work in a natural environment with sea turtles while making a real difference in the conservation efforts!
Volunteer Responsibilities
As a volunteer working at our Osa In-Water Sea Turtle Project, you will work side-by-side with the local team, researching sea turtles and monitoring the health of injured sea turtles. You will also work with the mangrove reforestation program aimed at improving these critical habitats of sea turtles. Volunteers can expect to work 6-8 hours per day, 6 days per week.
Typical volunteer responsibilities include:
- Assist the project staff in seagrass monitoring (on occasion)
- Capture of sea turtles
- Characterize feeding habitats
- Help staff prepare for in-water activities, including untangling sea turtles, preparing tanks for turtles and maintenance of equipment and rescue center
- Obtain and record scientific data for statistical information
- Assist with external tagging
- Assist with the extraction of tissue & blood samples for DNA study
- Participate in mangrove reforestation, including looking for seeds, getting mud, plant seeds and water them, plant propagules in their final destination