Moving Sea Turtle Research forward so it can be applied to conservation efforts
Archelon Research Foundation, or ARF for short, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was founded in 2022 by sea turtle biologists Heather and Lexie (see below for more details on them). While there were plenty of amazing sea turtle conservation efforts going on in South Florida, Heather and Lexie felt like there was a missing piece. The work of a conservationist is never done, with workloads that can be overwhelming. and time consuming. Realizing that between the two of them, Heather and Lexie had over 15 years of sea turtle research and conservation experience, the idea for ARF was born. This nonprofit was created to be a resource for other conservation nonprofits by providing services such as research design, data analysis, work hours, funding, and advertising. We are hoping to not only provide support for local groups and nonprofits, but to participate in global sea turtle research projects and help further scientific communication world-wide.
Meet Lexie (Peterson) Dvoracek, M.Sc, Co-founder of ARF
🐢 Lexie is in her tenth season of conducting sea turtle nest monitoring, and has been involved in both morning and nightime sea turtle research. She is currently the program manager for a sea turtle program that monitors a three mile stretch of beach in Boynton Beach, Florida.
🐢 Her research has focused on environmentally cued hatching in loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles in Broward County, Florida. Specifically, this work looked into the relationship between meteorological factors associated with tropical cyclones and incubation lengths/ hatch frequencies.
🐢 Her final thesis work can be found through NSUWorks, and has been presented at the Southeast Regional Sea Turtle Meeting (SERSTM 2020).
Meet Heather Seaman, M.Sc, Co-founder of ARF
🐢 Heather has completed 5 years of sea turtle nesting surveys and is currently working on her Doctorate in Integrative Biology (Concentration in Marine Science and Oceanography) at Florida Atlantic University.
🐢 Her current research focuses on physiological impacts of plastic ingestion on sea turtles. Specifically, this research is looking at the types of plastics being ingested by sea turtle and the impacts chemicals associated with plastic can have on sea turtles
🐢 Aside from turtles, Heather works at Manatee Lagoon as an Education Outreach Specialist
🐢She also sits on the City of Delray Beach Green Implementation Advancement Board
