Tracking Marine Turtles on the web Spring Brings new Movements for the Girls!

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Tracking Marine Turtles on the web

Spring Brings new Movements for the Girls!

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Tracking Marine Turtles on the web

Spring Brings new Movements for the Girls!

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND, Apr. 27 -/E-Wire/-- Recent increases in spring ocean temperatures have triggered 3 threatened1 adult female loggerhead sea turtles, being tracked as part of a migratory study of North Carolinas loggerhead sea turtles, to move North to feed. The project, in collaboration with SEATURTLE.ORG2 and marine turtle conservation projects in the Atlantic, is tracking the real-time movements of sea turtles from North Carolina for the very first time to highlight the oceanic movements of endangered marine turtles.

Four turtles were chosen during last years' nesting season to have satellite transmitters glued to their shells so that their post nesting migratory movements could be followed. "This is the first time such a project has been carried out in North Carolina and we are delighted with the results we have received so far" said Lucy Hawkes, Graduate Student with the Marine Turtle Research Group.

Three of the 4 transmitters are still sending valuable location messages, having been functioning now for 9 months. All 4 turtles headed North up to 600km (aprox. 370 miles) after nesting to richer feeding grounds, but all had retreated by Christmas to warmer waters. "Sea turtles, being 'cold blooded' reptiles, cannot live in cold waters and have to maintain the balance between colder, more productive feeding grounds and warmer, more habitable areas" added Ms Hawkes. Now that spring has arrived and water temperatures are increasing, northerly waters have again opened as potential feeding grounds for the turtles.

SEATURTLE.ORG , a non-profit web-based NGO, is providing instant public access to pioneering research into the migrations of turtles using state-of-the-art satellite telemetry3. The project is the result of collaboration with the UK's Marine Turtle Research Group4 and a consortium of conservation organizations and donors5. SEATURTLE.ORG recently added the ability to overlay sea surface temperature with the turtles being tracked on the website. "Being able to visual the movement of these turtles in real-time and in relation to the water temperatures around them is really fantastic" said Dr. Michael Coyne, founder of SEATURTLE.ORG.

Follow their progress and learn more about each of the turtles on seaturtle.org released from North Carolina: Sara Shellby Timber

Due to the great success of the migration project, a further deployment of 4 more satellite transmitters has been planned for July 2004 from Bald Head Island, North Carolina..

Photographs and video of the turtles and the attachment and release in North Carolina and the Cayman Islands are available for media use.

1. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) recognizes seven species of marine turtle. The leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest and is listed as critically endangered, as are the Kemp's ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) and the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtles are listed as endangered and Australia's flatback turtle (Natator depressus) is listed as data deficient.

2. Seaturtle.org is "Dedicated to providing online resources and solutions in support of sea turtle conservation and research" and is incorporated in the State of Maryland and is registered as a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization with the US Internal Revenue Service.

3. In recent years marine turtle researchers have been using satellite telemetry to track turtle migrations. Satellite transmitter tags are attached to the shell of the turtle so that every time the turtle surfaces to breathe, the tag transmits the turtle's position, as well as other information (e.g. depth and duration of dives), to satellites orbiting above, which then relay the data by e-mail to the computer of the scientist who attached the tag.

4. The Marine Turtle Research Group (MTRG) is based at the University of Exeter. Its members carry out research and conservation projects regarding turtles in UK waters, United States waters, the Mediterranean and the UK Overseas Territories including Cayman Islands and Ascension Island. MTRG staff edit the international Marine Turtle Newsletter . Funding for MTRG participation in this project was provided by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)

5. This project was generously supported by the following sponsors and donors: The Newport Aquarium, KY, The PADI Project AWARE Foundation, Progress Energy, The Whitener Foundation, Juanita Roushdy and Anne Pickering.

Cincinnati, KY The Whitener Foundation Juanita RoushdyAnne Pickering

Lucy Hawkes, Marine Turtle Research Group, University of Exeter

Tel: +441264 396064, E-mail: [REDACTED-EMAIL]

Michael Coyne SEATURTLE.ORG, Silver Spring, MD USA

Tel: [REDACTED-PHONE], E-mail: [REDACTED-EMAIL]

http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=29051

http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=29052

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