Written By: Dean Bagley. Vice-president/Secretary, IRG
2006 Brevard Zoo Conservation Fund Grant: $2,500

Inwater Research Group is committed to marine conservation and research with an emphasis on sea turtles and their habitats. This 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation was initiated in May 2002 by a small group of sea turtle biologists (who just happen to be friends) to begin baseline studies of sea turtles in their marine habitats throughout Florida. Since that time the group has grown to include six board members and a dozen volunteers with multidiscipline backgrounds. The group currently conducts research projects in the Key West National Wildlife Refuge, Indian River Lagoon, Lake Worth Lagoon and on the nearshore reefs off of Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin Counties. Through these projects Inwater Research Group has developed specialized methods to assess sea turtle aggregations found in neritic habitats in Florida.

Learn more by following these links: Project Updates, Videos, Photos, Maps, Links, FAQ, Documents

Many of these projects are in areas where little or no sea turtle research work has been conducted. Findings from these projects are used by state and federal agencies to better manage sea turtle populations in Florida and provides them with previously unavailable data on sea turtle species found in state waters. In the future, Inwater Research Group will continue to expand their research efforts and begin to disseminate their findings through public outreach programs, scientific journals and web-based reporting. These initiatives will increase our current knowledge of sea turtles and their marine habitats in Florida and will aid in the conservation and management of these endangered species.

Research projects undertaken by Inwater Research Group have already produced some remarkable results. Between 2002 and 2006, surveys conducted in the Marquesas Keys verified the presence of large subadult and adult green turtles actively foraging on sea grass pastures in densities not seen in Florida in over 100 years. Until these surveys were conducted we were unaware that a foraging aggregation of green turtles in this size class existed in Florida waters. In Lake Worth Lagoon, sampling efforts constitute the first inwater survey of marine turtles ever conducted and the results are disturbing. Close to 70% of the green turtles captured at this site have fibropapillomatosis, a debilitating and often deadly disease manifested by benign, cauliflower-like tumors on the soft tissue and eyes.

These are just some of the results from important studies being undertaken by Inwater Research Group. The research conducted at these sites is still in its beginning stages and plans for more comprehensive, multidiscipline studies are in the works. The goal of these studies is to expand our knowledge of sea turtles and their marine habitats in an effort to conserve both.

To learn more about Inwater Research Group please visit their website at www.inwater.org.