sea turtles
Are you jelly? Citizen scientists find jellyfish to help sea turtles
The largest leatherback ever recorded weighed 2,019 pounds, and yet this behemoth lives on a diet composed almost entirely of jelly – gelatinous zooplankton that is. These endangered sea turtles travel up to the Atlantic Canadian coast during the summer in search of a tasty treat. In order to better understand the link between jellyfish […]
Global Warming Increases Cold-Stun in Sea Turtles
Global warming along the eastern United States is causing sea turtles to travel further northward during the summer, but as temperatures rapidly drop in the fall these sea turtles become stranded on coastlines causing a condition known as “cold-stun”. Samantha SettaI’m a PhD student in the Rynearson Lab at the University of Rhode Island (URI) […]
Studying Sea Turtles: The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears and More
For this Turtle Tuesday, I’m reflecting on time I have spent studying and working for sea turtle conservation. Rebecca FlynnI am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.S.) and the University of Rhode Island (M.S.). I now work in southwest Florida, contributing to the management of an estuary. I am fascinated by the […]
Turtles in the Trash: How microplastics are washing up where turtles breed
Like plastic bags and other larger plastic pieces, these insidious micro particles can make their way into animal digestive tracts and pollute the places they live. This pollution is what concerns Doctors Beckwith and Fuentes, from Florida State University. If microplastics are spreading through the ocean, what does this mean for the future of sea […]
Turtles unbothered by close drone monitoring, while birds and crocodiles flee
Bevan E, Whiting S, Tucker T, Guinea M, Raith A, Douglas R (2018) Measuring behavioral responses of sea turtles, saltwater crocodiles, and crested terns to drone disturbance to define ethical operating thresholds. PLoS ONE 13(3): e0194460. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194460 Unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as drones, are quickly gaining popularity as cost effective tools for conservation […]
How to clean a sea turtle
Could you imagine if you had to actively seek out showering stations to stay clean? For sea turtles, they must search for cleaning stations. Katherine BarrettKate is a 4th year PhD candidate in the Biological Sciences Department at the University of Notre Dame, and holds a Masters in Environmental Science & Biology from SUNY Brockport. […]
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. Anna RobuckI am a third year PhD student at […]
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! Rebecca FlynnI am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.S.) and the University of Rhode Island (M.S.). […]
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. Brittney G. BorowiecBrittney is a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada, and joined Oceanbites in September 2015. Her research focuses on the physiological mechanisms and evolution of the […]
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! Rebecca FlynnI am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.S.) and the University of Rhode Island (M.S.). I now work in southwest Florida, contributing to the management of an […]
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. Brittney G. BorowiecBrittney is a PhD candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada, and joined Oceanbites in September 2015. Her research focuses on the physiological mechanisms and evolution […]
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? Sarah GiltzI am a doctoral candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University. My research focuses on the larval dispersal and development of the blue crab in […]
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! Rebecca FlynnI am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.S.) and the […]
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. Virginia SchutteI just finished my graduate education in the Odum School of Ecology […]
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. Derrick AlcottDerrick is pursuing a Ph.D. in the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is interested in anadromous fish migrations, how aquatic organisms interact with their physical environment, and the […]
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 […]
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. Rebecca FlynnI am a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (B.S.) and the University of Rhode Island […]
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. Gordon OberPostdoctoral Researcher, Claremont McKenna College I am currently a postdoc at […]
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. Anne M. HartwellHello, welcome to Oceanbites! My name is Annie, I’m a marine research scientist who has been lucky to have had many roles in my neophyte career, including graduate student, laboratory […]
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