St. Catherines Island Sea Turtle Conservation Program: Resources: Useful Sources

ResourcesClassroom Presentations Classroom Activities SCISTP Web Products 2009 Program Brochure 2009 SCISTP Application Daily Journal Useful Sources Sea Turtle Websites Glossary Bibliography

Resources: Useful Sources

Sea Turtle Books & Periodicals

Bjorndal, K. A. 1979. Biology and conservation of sea turtles. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 583 p.

Carr, Archie. 1967. So excellent a fishe; A natural history of sea turtles. The Natural History Press (for The Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.).

Committee on Sea Turtle Conservation, National Research Council. 1990. Decline of the Sea Turtles. National Academy Press. 160 p.

Davidson, O. G. 2003. Fire in the Turtle House: The Green Sea Turtle and the Fate of the Ocean. PublicAffairs, 272 p. ISBN-10: 1586481991

The Library Journal review states, … in the genre biography of an idea "…, this book follows the attempts of marine scientists, veterinarians, and turtle lovers to unravel the causes and find a cure for fibropappilomatosis (FP), a serious epidemic disease currently devastating the green sea turtle population worldwide. Using FP research as a theme, Davidson … discusses marine ecology, disease transmission, overfishing, the migration of alien species between ocean basins, and especially the human factor in the spread of disease and pollution throughout the oceans."

Gulko, D. A. and K. L. Eckert. 2003a. Sea Turtles: An Ecological Guide. Mutual Publishing (Honolulu, HA), 128 p. $18.95 (Paperback)

Gulko and Eckert's book is a cutting-edge, popular work on sea turtles of the world. Its presentation is a highly illustrated assemblage of photographs, drawings, and text to transmit maximum information about sea turtles.

Gulko, D. A. and K. L. Eckert. 2003b. Sea Turtles: An Ecological Guide: Teacher's Activity Manual. Mutual Publishing (Honolulu, HA), 60 p. $15.95 (Paperback)

Gulko and Eckert's teacher's guide is designed to accompany their Ecological Guide. A series of 14 K-12 grade-appropriate critical thinking activities are presented in a colorful, interesting format.

LeBuff, C. R. 1990. The loggerhead turtle in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. Caretta Research, Inc. Sanibel, Florida.

Lenz, R. J. l99l. Wandering with the sea turtles: the struggle to save the ancient nomads from extinction. Georgia Wildlife, Fall: 10-16.

"This book explores in detail threats to the world's sea turtle population to provide sound, scientific conclusions on which dangers are greatest and how they can be addressed most effectively. Offering a fascinating and informative overview of five sea turtle species, the volume discusses sea turtles' feeding habits, preferred nesting areas, and migration routes; examines their status in U.S. waters; and cites examples of conservation measures under way and under consideration."

Ruckdeschel, Carol and C. R. Shoop. 2000. Sea Turtles of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States, Cumberland Island Museum 100 p. ISBN-10: 0967938805.

"Though sea turtles have been swimming the seas for 100 million years, they are now on U.S. and international endangered lists. The species covered in this book are the loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, green sea turtle, hawksbill, and olive ridley. Chapters on each species cover distribution, habitats, appearance, life history and behavior, and conservation. Color photos of hatchlings and adults are included, as are migration maps. Equipped with this book, readers will be better able to understand sea turtle biology and support sea turtle conservation efforts."

Safina, Carl. 2006. Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the earth's last Dinosaur. Henry Holt and Co., 400 p. ISBN: 0805078916; $17.33 (Hardcover)

"The leatherback is the largest sea turtle, often tipping the scales at more than 1,000 pounds, and as a species it is so ancient that its ancestors saw the rise and fall of the dinosaurs. The only reptile that can truly be considered warm-blooded, leatherbacks dive deeper than whales and are found in worldwide seas. Yet the numbers of this ancient turtle are plummeting in the Pacific, and they barely hold their own in the Atlantic. Safina, a well-known conservationist and author … explores the biology and ecology of the leatherback in this gracefully written book as he follows the turtles and the scientists who study them." ….. "A strong conservation ethic is woven through the narrative as Safina quotes from turtle researchers, tourists observing the nesting, and tribal elders. This beautiful book will not only seduce readers but also convince them of the necessity of saving such a wonderful species." Nancy Bent, Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Spotila J. R. 2004. Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 240 p. [$24.95]. ISBN 0-8018-8007-6.

Spotilla's book is the cutting-edge, semi-technical work on sea turtles of the world. Each species of sea turtle is summarized as to ecology, range, behavior, and current status. General sections summarize the physiology and status of sea turtles. "Winner of the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Awards in Biological Sciences, the National Outdoor Book Award in the Nature and the Environment Category. and Winner of an Outstanding Academic Title from Choice Magazine."

Van Meter, V. B. 1992. Florida's sea turtles. Florida Power and Light Company. 60 p. [On-Line at www.fpl.com/environment/endangered/pdf/turtles.pdf ].

Van Meter's little book provides a summary of the natural history of the sea turtles nesting in Florida. It is paper bound as a stapled pamphlet and now available as a PDF document from its sponsor, Florida Power and Light. Particularly appropriate to the K-12 audience, this work might be downloaded as a PDF and "bound" by the student as a sign of ownership.

Wyneken, J., 2001. Anatomy of Sea Turtles, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-470, 172p.

Wyneken's Technical monograph on the anatomy of sea turtles is the landmark publication on this subject. Richly illustrated with clear imagery and explanatory diagrams, the work treats sea turtle systems one by one. The manual is a government publication and is presented in English and Spanish editions and accompanied by four streamed Quicktime videos on the Southeast Fisheries Science Center web site.

Coastal Geology and Ecology

Clayton, T. D., L. A. Taylor, Jr., W. J. Cleary, P. A. Hosier, P. H. F. Graber, W. J. Neal, and O. H. Pilkey, Sr. 1992. Living with the Georgia Shore, Duke University Press, 188 p.

McKee, G. 1984. A guide to the Georgia Coast, The Georgia Conservency, 199 p.

Pilkey, O. H. and W. Kaufman. 1979. The Beaches are Moving. The Drowning of America's Shorelines. Anchor Press/Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 326 p.

Schoettle, H. E. T. , 1984. A field guide to Jekyll Island, Georgia Sea Grant College Program, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 48 p.

Tiner, R. W. 1993. Field Guide to Coastal Wetland Plants of the Southeastern United States, The University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 328 p.

Videos and DVDs

Clark, K., A. Hosticka, M. Schriver, J. Bedell, 2001. Cumberland Island National Seashore: Virtual Field Trip, Georgia Southern University.

Earth Island Institute
Ancient Sea Turtles: The Last Voyage (1991; 20 minutes)

Environmental Media Corporation. 200x. Journey of the Loggerhead, Box Lunch Media, LLC, ISBN 1-56791-328-8.

This interactive DVD contains GIS data, satellite tracking information, still photographs, extensive interviews, and a 30-minute documentary about the loggerhead sea turtle and other marine turtle species and the people who are devoting their lives to their protection and conservation. Not completely compatible with Macintosh and sound quality poor.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources
The Struggle for Survival: Georgia's Giant Sea Turtles (1992; 13 min.; post-elementary:$23)
Talking about Sea Turtles (1992; 13 min.; elementary: $23)

Georgia Humanities

Thomas, D. H. 1991. St. Catherines: An Island in Time. University of Georgia Press (Athens, GA), 94 p. ISBN: 0820313165 (Paperback); $12.95 [Barns and Noble or Amazon.com].

David Hurst Thomas history of St. Catherines Island, Georgia is a concise summary of the human occupation of St. Catherines based upon nearly four decades of research.

St. Catherines: An Island in Time: V-SC One videotape, 30 minutes, $19.95 from 1-800-359-4040.

"This exciting documentary chronicles the work of a team of archaeologists who discovered the lost sixteenth-century Spanish mission of Santa Catalina de Guale on the coastal Georgia island now known as St. Catherines. The discovery of the mission Santa Catalina has contributed significantly to knowledge about early inhabitants of the island and about the Spanish presence in Georgia nearly two centuries before the arrival of British colonists."