The research, educational opportunities, and scientific advisory service provided by the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group are made possible by long-standing partnerships and the generous support of numerous agencies, organizations, and private individuals. Over the years, these included, but are not limited to:
- Florida RESTORE Act Centers of Excellence Program
- National Academies of Sciences
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- The Sea Turtle Grants Program (funded from proceeds from the sale of the Florida Sea Turtle License Plate. Learn more at www.helpingseaturtles.org)
- Brevard County Board of Commissioners
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
- Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund
- Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research, University of Florida (for information on our Sea Turtle and Climate Change 2016 Workshop, click here)
- University of Central Florida
- Army Corps of Engineers
- Patrick Air Force Base Environmental Planning Office
- Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program
- Friends of the Carr Refuge
- World Wildlife Fund
- Sea Turtle Conservancy
- Hubbs Sea World Research Institute
- Richard King Mellon Foundation
- Brevard County Office of Resource Management
- National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation
- Surfrider Foundation
- Florida Safety Council Orlando
- The Moore Family Tag Endowment
- The Rosengren Family
- U.S. Navy and HDR, Inc.
Friends of the UCF MTRG include (but are not limited to):
D. Defreese, T. Tucker, A. Meylan, B. Witherington, D. Witherington, K. Kneifl, J. Wang, G. Balazs, T. Wibbles, D. Owens, J. Weishampel, M. Bresette, B. Schroeder, E. Possart, S. McPherson, A. M. Lauritsen, K. Dotillo-Bain, P. Tritaik, P. Raymond, R. Mojica, J. Stevenson, J. Hochella, the Moore Family, the Rosengren Family, and every student, intern, or volunteer who has spent a summer with us on the Carr Refuge.
We would also like to thank Citimarine Store and Boston Whaler for their generous support and equipment donations.
To all: Thank you.
The following research projects are currently funded (in part or completely) by the Sea Turtle License Plate Grants Program:
- Year 2: Connecting health and ecology for juvenile sea turtles in eastern central Florida (2022). This grant supports Ph.D. student and Co-PI Tiffany Dawson’s research examining the health of immature sea turtles captured at UCF’s in-water sites and builds on a previously funded project for nesting females.
- Late season turtle nesting in central and south Brevard County, Florida, Years 1-3 (2021-2023). These three grants support M.S. student and Co-PI Merope Moonstone’s research to determine nest frequencies, incubation duration, and hatching success for nests laid late in the sea turtle nesting season.
- Immunogenetics and pathogen drivers of fibropapillomatosis in stranded sea turtles (2022). This grant supports a collaborative sea turtle health project among Drs. Seney, Savage, and Forsman, including immune gene research led by PhD student Katie Martin.
- Equipment to continue a long term juvenile marine turtle population structure and abundance study (2023). This grant provides us with new buoys and tangle netting, replacing our old sea turtle sampling equipment for our in-water work in the coastal waters of central Florida.
The Sea Turtle Grants Program is funded from proceeds from the sale of the Florida Sea Turtle License Plate. Learn more at www.helpingseaturtles.org.
