Nest caging as a sea turtle management strategy: Do the benefits outweigh the costs on urban beaches?

Caging of sea turtle nests has used by City of Boca Raton's sea turtle conservation program to deter terrestrial predators and reduce human disturbance. The juxtaposition of nest cages and artificial lighting may pose serious threats to hatchlings. I addressed possible negative effects of cages on sea turtle hatchlings' seafinding abilities and potential "cage-trapping" under natural and artificially illuminated conditions. Cages did not effect hatchling orientation on artificially illuminated or dark beaches. Hatchlings did not experience any delay in cage escape on dark beaches, but a significant number were trapped inside the cages on artificially illuminated beaches. The highest incidence of trapping occurred on nights surrounding a new moon. Disoriented hatchlings exited cages either after city lighting was reduced (past midnight) or as natural levels of illumination increased shortly before sunrise. When cages were darkened all turtles escaped but many still exhibited signs of disorientation.