Upwell recently partnered with the Cayman Turtle Centre on Grand Cayman Island to deploy microsatellite tags on 30 captive-reared green sea turtles of different age classes. By releasing sea turtles of different age classes from the same location at the same time, we are examining how variables such as age and size may influence the likelihood of encountering optimal foraging habitats and decreasing the risk of early mortality. We used both solar and battery powered microsatellite tags weighing less than 5 grams. The juvenile turtles were also tagged with flipper and Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags (like those veterinarians implant in cats and dogs), to enable identification in the event of any future encounters.
Photo: Dr George Shillinger examines the attachment of a micro-satellite tag, Credit: Dr. Sean Williamson
Photo: Green sea turtle swims away after release with a micro-satellite tag (Credit: Dan Hollis/Upwell)
The tags have now been transmitting for three weeks and 13 of the turtles have moved away from the Cayman Islands in varying directions. The passive drifter concurrently deployed has also moved away from the islands towards the northwest. Three turtles moved northwards toward Cuba while another three turtles moved southwards toward the Caribbean Sea. Four of them are moving southwestwards toward the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and the remaining three have moved northwestwards toward the Gulf of Mexico along with the passive drifter.
Map: Tony Candela, Mercator Ocean International/Upwell
Cover photo: Dan Hollis/Upwell
