Sea Turtles

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Sea turtles are among the largest reptiles in the world and inhabit almost every ocean. Fossil evidence indicates sea turtles shared the Earth with dinosaurs over 210 million years ago. Sea turtles are cold-blooded, air breathing, egg laying reptiles that deposit their eggs on dry, sandy beaches. Sea turtles differ from freshwater turtles because they have flippers instead of feet, cannot retract their heads and spend all of their life in salt water, except when females come ashore to lay eggs. There are seven species of sea turtles in the world. Click here to read more or download a brochure from the South Carolina Marine Resources Division.

Snorkeling Site at AKR

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Bailey’s Key (From the RIMS Instructors Guide)


Bailey’s Key, located in the western part of AKR’s property, houses one of RIMS's dolphin enclosures. This key also serves as a wildlife sanctuary for parrots, agoutis, iguanas, and at one time some resident sea turtles. A nature trail encompasses the island and provides access to the west side of the key where you can explore the rocky intertidal zone or snorkel the shallow back reef. The rocky shores on Bailey’s Key are typically vertical with an undercut of approximately 1.5 ft height and a depth of 2 ft. The weathered coral rock is sharp and jagged and must be traversed with care.


The water depth on the west side of the key is shallow becoming 3 to 4 feet deep about 100 ft from shore. It may be necessary to wade out a short distance before snorkeling. Be careful to avoid the aggregations of Rock Boring Urchins (Echinometra lucunter). As you snorkel west of the key you travel over an extensive bed of Turtle Grass (Thallasia testudinum). Scattered through the bed are small boulders of Mustard Hill Coral (Porites asteroides). As you continue further west you will encounter larger boulders of coral and patches of reef and rubble. Take your time and slowly navigate your way around and through the narrow openings. If you reach a dead end, back up and try again. Attempting to snorkel over the boulder heads may result in damage to the fragile coral and other organisms and cuts and abrasions on you.


Lettuce Coral (Agaricia tenuifolia) is the most dominant coral in this area. Finger Coral (Porites porites), Mustard Hill Coral (Porites asteroides), Smooth Brain Coral (Diploria strigosa) and Lobed Star Coral (Montastrea annularis.) are also common. Starlet corals (Siderastrea spp.) are also present along with an occasional Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis). Black Sea Rods (Plexaura homomalla), Corky Sea Fingers (Briareum asbestinum) and sea fans (Gorgonia spp.) are among the more common octocorals observed.


There is also a prevalence of algae at this site likely due to the closer proximity to shore and nutrient rich runoff. Turbinaria spp., Dictyota spp., Halimeda spp. and Stypopodium zonale are algae species found in this area as well as Rhipocephalus phoenix on the sandy bottom. If you carefully lift pieces of the rubble you may find the Spiny Brittle Star (Ophiocoma paucigranulata) or some of the many other brittle star species that thrive in these low light environments. Reef Urchins (Echinometra viridis) can be seen in the cracks and holes between coral and rubble. Variegated Urchins (Lytechinus variegatus), West Indian Sea Eggs (Tripneustes ventricosus) and Donkey Dung Sea Cucumbers (Holothuria mexicana) are among the many other echinoderms encountered in the sandy bottom and sea grass beds.

The Rarest Place on Earth

"It was complicated, all right, but I finally saw that the whole mess could be reduced to a narrative. The reef, the greater ecosystem, is suffering from four distinct stresses. The four big problems are the virtual extinction of the spiny sea urchin, Diadema; over fishing of major predators, like snapper and grouper, and of herbivorous fish, like the parrotfish; ocean warming; and El Niño. And of course, the four crises aggravate one another, yielding a cascade of difficulties for life on the reef."

Click here to download the whole narrative by Archie Carr III (Chuck), Senior Conservationist, Wildlife Conservation Society. A worthwhile read! As the crow flies, only some 85 miles to our location on Roatan.

An Overview of Modelling Climate Change Impacts in the Caribbean Region with contribution from the Pacific Islands

The nations of CARICOM in the Caribbean together with Pacific island countries contribute less than 1% to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (0.33%17 and 0.03%18 respectively), yet these countries are expected to be among the earliest and most impacted by climate change in the coming decades and are least able to adapt to climate change impacts. These nations’ relative isolation, small land masses, their concentrations of population and infrastructure in coastal areas, limited economic base and dependency on natural resources, combined with limited financial, technical and institutional capacity all exacerbates their vulnerability to extreme events and climate
change impacts. Click here for a link to the report and posters.

Coral and Coral Reefs

Thomas F. Goreau, Nora I. Goreau, Thomas J. Goreau
Scientific American, August, 1979

This paper, still the classic introduction to the field, was written around 1970, but its publication was delayed by nearly 10 years because the publishers did not think coral reefs were of sufficient interest to the public.

It was written at a time when large scale coral bleaching, coral diseases, and coral reef eutrophication were unknown, or confined to tiny areas with extreme local stresses. All of that changed in the decades after this paper was published, as coral reefs began dying on a large scale and the reefs described in this paper virtually vanished.



Read more from Thomas J. Goreau and download the paper here

Computer model helps biologists understand how coral dies in warming waters

Cornell researchers have developed a new tool to help marine biologists better grasp the processes under the sea: mathematical models that unveil the dynamics of bacterial communities behind afflictions that bleach and kill coral.

The corals shown here are partially bleached. Bleached areas appear lighter in color.

Read more about coral bleaching...

The National Marine Educators Association Special Report on Ocean Literacy Scope and Sequence

NMEA Special Report

This NMEA Special Edition, the Ocean Literacy Campaign Special Report #3, features the work of dozens of agencies and hundreds of individuals to bring ocean sciences into the mainstream of both formal and informal education.

The ocean is the defining feature of our planet. It allows for all life to exist on Earth. We all depend on a healthy ocean.
Ocean Literacy is the understanding of the ocean’s influence on you and your influence on the ocean.


Download a copy by clicking here.