After tracking female loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean, scientists at University of Exeter discovered that they feed at the same locations every year.
Specifically, these were in the Adriatic region, Tunisian Plateau and the eastern Mediterranean. Unfortunately, some of these locations are not ideal, and lead the loggerheads into danger.
A team of researchers from the University of Michigan focused on leatherback sea turtles nesting on St. Kitts, an island in the West Indies southeast of Puerto Rico. The team wanted to know what factors influence where and when the leatherbacks lay their eggs.
It has been suggested that characteristics of the sand, the slope of the beach and proximity to vegetation contribute to the success or failure of nests, but which factors cause female leatherback sea turtles to dig a nest in a particular spot has never been investigated.
The central African country of Gabon is providing an invaluable nesting ground for a vulnerable species of sea turtle. During a survey of nearly 600 km of Gabon's coastline, scientists from the University of Exeter uncovered the Atlantic’s largest breeding colony of olive ridley turtles. Study results estimate that there could be up to 9,800 turtle nests per year, compared with around 3,300 in French Guiana and 3,000 in Brazil.
Already at risk from oil spills, hunting and habitat destruction, sea turtles have another obstacle to contend with: decompression sickness, also known as the bends. Scientists claim the sickness has been diagnosed for the first time in loggerhead sea turtles, with individuals accidentally caught in fishing nets most likely to suffer.
Sea turtles have evolved a set of defenses against sharks, using their unusual shape, and their ability to flexibly change direction to evade these efficient predators. In this case, a tiger shark is shown attacking a sea turtle.
Luckily, a kind-hearted fisherman found her shortly after the attack and brought her to Suma Aqualife Park near Kobe, Japan where she has now been fitted with a new set of artificial limbs, reports the BBC
The World Society for the Protection of Animals WSPAhas handed in a petition with 144,000 signatures to the Cayman government
Information obtained by WSPA and a recent report into the conditions at the Cayman Turtle Farm (CTF) has confirmed that animal suffering is a major problem at the facility which is the most popular tourist attraction in the Cayman Islands.
CTF is currently housing around 7,000 endangered sea turtles in cramped, unhealthy and diseased conditions
The study also predict, based on projections from multiple models, that egg and hatchling survival will drop by half in the next 100 years as a result of global climate change.
When leatherback turtle hatchlings dig out of their nests buried in the sandy Playa Grande beach in northwest Costa Rica, they enter a world filled with dangers. This critically endangered species faces threats that include egg poaching and human fishing practices.
