sea turtles
Turn off some lights for the turtles: using statistics to make turtle conservation tangible
You’ve heard about “turn down for what…”; now check out this article and figure out exactly what you’re turning down for, or at least turning the lights down for! Turtles are impacted by light pollution; this article summarizes research framing this problem in an economic way.
Let’s Ghost Fishing for Halloween!
Ghost fishing is ghastly because it creates underwater graveyards for wildlife. The authors covered here wrote a new review of gear entanglement among mammals, reptiles, and sharks. Find out what they discovered by reading today’s post!
With a little help from my friends: sea turtles hatch together to save energy
Sea turtle hatchlings face long odds when they emerge from their buried nests. But at least they don’t have to dig themselves out alone.
For Sea Turtles, There’s No Place Like Home
Tagline: Sea turtles are occasionally released in locations that are not their home areas. But do they remain there? Find out in today’s oceanbites!
Turtles turn heat exchange topsy-turvy
Counter-current heat exchange is a classic example of an elegant anatomical solution to this physiological problem. Leatherback sea turtles do things just a little bit different.
Sea turtles vs Airguns
As we look for oil beneath the sea floor we cause a ruckus. How do sea turtles react and how can we protect them from the disturbance?
The new fad diet for sea turtles? Plastics
Paper: Wedemeyer, K. R., George, S., James, H. B., Peterson, T. D., Wicksten, M. K. and Plotkin, P. T. (2015). High frequency of occurrence of anthropogenic debris ingestion by sea turtles in the North Pacific Ocean. Mar. Biol. Background If you’re a coastal resident, I’m sure you see the same thing as I do when I […]
Sea Turtles are Social Too
Ever wonder how sea turtles spend most of their time beneath the waves? Or how they interact with other sea turtles? Researchers put cameras on turtles and see what they see and do to find out! Check out what they found!
Activity at one end of a migration affects fitness at the other
Effectively managing migratory species requires an understanding of what impacts them along their entire migratory route. This paper evaluates how sea turtles reproducing in Greece are affected by their choice of foraging grounds, which can be some distance from their nesting beaches.
Using Robots to Track Sea Turtles
A new technique using underwater robots may be able to teach us about sea turtle behaviors in the wild.
Untangling the issues with longline fishing
Longline fishing has been used for decades as a way to catch large amounts of commercial fish. Though effective in capturing target fish, longlines unintentionally snag and kill millions of other marine species. Aside from being caught themselves, marine mammals (i.e. dolphins and killer whales) may eat target fish off the hooks and destroy fishing equipment. Are there ways to reduce incidental bycatch and make longline fishing more sustainable?
Technology for Turtles: TurtleWatch Program to Protect Sea Turtles and Assist Fishermen
A technology that both benefits fishermen and helps prevent sea turtle bycatch? Yes, please! The great news is that it exists! And now, it has been updated to include leatherbacks. Read on to learn more about TurtleWatch.
Nest Mess: rising seas change the environment of sea turtle nests, hindering hatching success
As a poster child for conservation, threats to sea turtles, such as fishing nets and coastal development, have been highly publicized. But recent research has shown that sea level rise, as a function of climate change, is affecting the emergence of turtle hatchlings.
Sea Turtles, Sea Grasses, and Sharks
What began as an innocent initiative to save the sea turtles may be having a detrimental impact on sea grasses and the ecosystem.
The turtle skylight: looks great and helps with time management.
Leatherback turtles have a built-in skull skylight that registers light and helps tell them when to migrate.
How sea turtles with backpacks can help establish highways for ocean health
It is a big scary world out there if you are a migrating ocean animal. However, data-generating backpacks worn by sea turtles can help delineate corridors linking MPAs for added protection!
Why Do Sea Turtles Get Tumors?
Large numbers of green sea turtles are growing tumors that impede their swimming, block their sight, and prevent them from feeding. Researchers know that the tumor-causing disease, fibropapillomatosis, is more prevalent in some areas than others, but no one knows why. In this study, scientists set out to determine whether exposure to chemical pollutants may make sea turtles more susceptible to fibropapillomatosis.
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