Survey: 8,000 turtle nests washed out by Dorian in Florida
![0442c799-sea turtle nest fwc_1449694002350_600800_ver1.0_2560_1440_1569191548240.jpg-401385.jpg](https://images.foxtv.com/static.ktvu.com/www.ktvu.com/content/uploads/2019/10/764/432/sea20turtle20nest_1449694002350_600800_ver1.0_2560_1440_1569191548240.jpg_7670812_ver1.0_640_360.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
(FWC)
MELBOURNE BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Scientists say Hurricane Dorian washed out to sea more than 8,000 sea turtle nests from a Florida wildlife refuge.
The University of Central Florida said Friday that a recent survey conducted at the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge in Melbourne Beach shows the storm that brushed Florida's east coast earlier this month washed away 45% of green turtle nests.
Researchers say other turtle species dodged a bullet because the peak of their seasons passed before the storm, unlike green turtles. Dorian washed away 20% or 2,260 of the loggerhead nests from this season, and one leatherback nest.
But the turtles aren't doomed. Scientists have already seen more than 400 new green turtle nests since Dorian.