Trinidad Leatherback Research

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Leatherbacks arrive each year (March-August) to nest on the beaches of Trinidad. Activities conducted at Matura Beach by Nature Seekers and Earthwatch include nocturnal beach patrols, tagging of nesting turtles, collection of morphometric information, documentation of mortality sources, assessment of population trends and behavioral patterns, supervision of ecotourism, and education of the public.  

Total Expedition Contribution: US $2,450 (includes food, lodging, on-site travel, and research costs; does not include airfare).

Conservation Pricing: $1,685 to conservation and local communities (69%) including $125 to SEE Turtles.

When: The research season runs from the end of March to early August.  2011 dates will be posted soon.

Each team will spend 10 full days at the field site and the better portion of two days in transit to and from Matura.

Volunteers will assist with the following tasks:

• Help tag, measure, and weigh leatherback turtles,
• Nightly data collection and monitoring of the nesting beach,
• Collect data on hatchling turtles (depending on timing),
• Work with project database, and
• Participate in hikes to see monkeys and swim in local rivers.

Click here to see all of EarthWatch's turtle volunteer projects.