在连续第二个冬天，佛罗里达州的过夜温度使玛丽莲（Marinelife）陷入困境。在2010年1月的冷扣中复发佛罗里达州观赏海洋鱼类和科拉l farmerorajumped into action last week to serve as a warming center for marine sea turtles, stunned by the extreme cold. As the last of the well-rested (and toasty warm) sea turtles are returned to the water just before Christmas hits, we talked with Dustin Dorton of ORA to get the inside scoop on ORA’s participation in this seasonal sea turtle rescue.
Organizations around the state of Florida were out in force dealing with turtles in crisis, locating cold stunned turtles either washed up on beaches or in the case of most ORA rescues, floating in the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoons. Quite simply, if a turtle makes no attempt to escape when rescuers grab it, the turtle is deemed cold stunned and brought in for special care.
“It’s hard to say exactly how many turtles we housed this time around,” said Dorton. “Every day [FWC] would bring some in, and others would leave.” Dorton estimates at least 100 sea turtles recuperated in multiple 5,000 gallon holding tanks at ORA.
ORA发现自己在紧急情况下将FWC（佛罗里达鱼类和野生动植物委员会）呼吁提升了组织名单。“我不是乌龟专家，但是当他们不太忙于烦恼时，我问了FWC问题，”谦虚的多顿（Dorton）拒绝了，但我们认为ORA员工正在迅速学习。
去年冬天，在该州，有时在仓库中，有5,000多只受到暴跌温度影响的海龟。多顿（Dorton）传递了干燥的储藏可防止这些海龟溺水，并使它们能够热身，但它加剧了寒冷的水域引起的消化问题。随着海龟开始温暖，其中许多充满了气体，太浮动了，无法在地面下游泳，使它们容易受到掠食者和船只的袭击。
Before these turtles can be released, they have to be warmed to around 70F, and their digestive tracks emptied. This is most effectively accomplished in large, warm water holding situations that only a few facilities can provide. The multiple 5,000 gallon systems at ORA’s disposal are the remnants of a shrimp farming operation — too large for ornamental fish culture, but perfectly suited for housing dozens of cold-stunned turtles in the ideal manner.
虽然建筑物和设施已经空了一年多，但多顿说：“我们可以在短时间内填充和加热。”这次，来到ORA的大多数海龟都可以跳过“干船坞”程序，而是直接来到ORA，在短暂停留期间进行了一些重新疗程和温暖的水疗疗法。
最近这项救援工作中的另一个新活动是FWC计划（被动综合应答器）标记所有海龟以进行更可靠的跟踪。FWC的工作人员处于领先地位，从收集点到释放的海龟进行了分类，甚至跟踪储罐之间的移动。任何尚未被标记的野龟（今年救出的绝大多数海龟都缺少标签）。一个有趣的旁注 - 这次经过Ora门的所有海龟可能是FWC第一次遇到它们。
在一次海洋水族馆行业有限公司ming under ever more scrutiny from outsiders, we are proud to have ORA in our midst. It’s definitely worth mentioning that all the labor for this turtle rescue operation is donated freely, and to date ORA has not been compensated for any costs associated with the efforts. ORA’s investment in local marine conservation efforts like this turtle rescue is commendable, and their generosity is certainly made possible by the hobbyist and industry support they receive. All the sea turtles know is they’re still alive, and as Dustin Dorton reminded us (and the turtles), “this is just the start of the winter season, and ORA stands at the ready should emergency strike local sea turtles again.” On behalf of all the sea turtles and marine aquarists, we’d like to say thank you ORA.
