The beach nourishment process is critical to protect coastal structures, reduce coastal erosion, and restore beach habitat. However, it may also have some adverse effects on natural processes in the sediment, including alteration of physical and chemical characteristics of the sand composition. These characteristics may include sand temperature, moisture content, sand particle size, and sand texture, all of which influence the quality of the nesting environment for sea turtles. 

This study will examine sea turtle nests and false crawl densities from the 2016 – 2022 nesting seasons across North Carolina beaches in New Hanover and Brunswick County; Wrightsville Beach, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Bald Head Island, Caswell Beach, Oak Island, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, and Sunset Beach including Bird Island Coastal Reserve. We will compare the sea turtle activity with whether they occurred on regularly nourished or non-nourished beaches by utilizing ArcGIS, looking for a correlation in if sea turtle nesters prefer one area to the other and if there is a trend over time. We also intend to collect sand characteristic data to search for differences in sand properties between nourished and non-nourished beaches, giving us an overall idea of whether sand properties differ between the two areas and if they change over time. The results from this study could contribute to increased management practices in sea turtle conservation and a better understanding of the impact of nourished beaches on sea turtles' nesting location preferences. A map of all beach study sites can be found below.