Kayla Sargent
Diving Into Underwater Photography with Nuno ...

Nuno Vasco Rodrigues is a Marine Biologist and researcher at MARE IPLeiria. He was named “Conservation Photographer of the Year” by Ocean Geographic Society in 2021. For the past three years, Nuno has photographed Upwell’s work tagging juvenile loggerhead turtles in the Azores Archipelago in partnership with the COSTA Project and the University of the Azores, which is part of Upwell’s Lost Years Initiative. Nuno took some time to chat with us about the highlights and challenges of documenting sea turtle releases underwater. 

Diving Into Underwater Photography with Nuno Vasco Rodrigues
Kayla Sargent
Researcher Interview: Analyzing Data from ...

With a team of collaborators, we tested new specially-designed prototypes of Lotek microsatellite tags on 160 juvenile sea turtles of four species in the North Atlantic. The data from these tags was published in a new article, "Novel Microsatellite Tags Hold Promise for Illuminating the Lost Years in Four Sea Turtle Species." We sat down with lead-author Tony Candela to talk about this article, his process as lead-author, and the important implications of these findings for the bio-logging community.

Researcher Interview: Analyzing Data from Microsatellite Tags on Juvenile Sea Turtles
Bycatch, Sea Turtle Tracking
Kayla Sargent
Leatherback Saved by Fisher-Researcher ...

When fishermen and researchers collaborate, they create opportunities to amplify efforts for the research and conservation of sea turtles. This past spring, Upwell participated in these efforts by providing a satellite tag for Liam Neythan, a leatherback sea turtle that was saved in Sinaloa, Mexico. Our collaborators, the fishers Edmundo Rafael Garcías Burgos and Mariano García Olivas, as well as Dr. Alan Zavala Norzagaray and the CIIDIR IPN Unidad Sinaloa are the key collaborators and heroes in this story.

Leatherback Saved by Fisher-Researcher Collaboration in Sinaloa
Leatherbacks, Sea Turtle Monitoring, Protecting Endangered Lea
Kayla Sargent
Aerial Surveys Result in One-of-a-Kind Finds

Upwell Research Project Technician Sierra Fullmer shares some of her most exciting sightings while conducting aerial surveys to look for leatherbacks off of the US West Coast.

Aerial Surveys Result in One-of-a-Kind Finds
Leatherbacks
Kayla Sargent
Why the High Seas Treaty Is Important to Sea ...

Most sea turtle species migrate and spend large amounts of their life history in areas of the ocean considered “high seas.” The high seas are the parts of the ocean that are not under the jurisdiction of any nation. In June of 2023, after almost two decades of negotiations, UN Member states adopted the Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty (also known as the High Seas Treaty) to provide a coherent and holistic framework for protecting the high seas. Earlier this month, Upwell Executive Director Dr. George Shillinger attended the High Seas Treaty symposium to learn more about how its implementation may impact sea turtle populations and to seek opportunities to further the protection of turtles at sea.

Why the High Seas Treaty Is Important to Sea Turtles

Sea Turtle Health

Leatherback hatchlings in a changing world

Leatherback hatchlings in a changing world

Upwell’s Laboratory Veterinarian Dr. Sam Kuschke is investigating the bacteria that lives on the skin of leatherback sea turtle hatchlings, blood values in leatherback sea turtle hatchlings, and the effect that climate change has on both.

Collaborative research helps save cold-stunned sea turtles on the Pacific Coast

Collaborative research helps save cold-stunned sea turtles on the Pacific Coast

With partner organizations, Upwell’s Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Heather Harris recently led a necropsy session at the Marine Mammal Center to learn more about the underlying health issue of cold stunned sea turtles stranded on the Pacific Coast.

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Leatherback Sea Turtles and Ecosystem Health in the California Current

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Leatherback Sea Turtles and Ecosystem Health in the California Current

Evaluating sea turtle health off the coast of Central California can tell us about environmental factors that pose threats not only to sea turtles but to the broader marine community.

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Leatherback Sea Turtles as Sentinels for Ocean Health

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Leatherback Sea Turtles as Sentinels for Ocean Health

How do you weigh an adult leatherback sea turtle often likened to the size of a Volkswagen Bug?! Upwell’s Wildlife Veterinarian, Dr. Heather Harris, shares her innovative approach to measure the health of leatherback sea turtles during her recent field study in Florida.

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The Plastic Effect: A first-hand account of how plastic is impacting sea turtles

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The Plastic Effect: A first-hand account of how plastic is impacting sea turtles

In 2015, Sean came face to face with one of the most insidious threats turtles face at sea: plastic. He was walking along Playa Ostional in Costa Rica with other sea turtle researchers when they spotted an olive ridley turtle with something protruding from its naris (more or less the word for a sea turtle’s nostril). As they approached the turtle, they discovered it was a piece of plastic.

Veterinarians apply diagnostic imaging tools for sea turtle conservation!

Veterinarians apply diagnostic imaging tools for sea turtle conservation!

Have you ever wondered how to tell whether an immature sea turtle is male or female? Or if an adult female sea turtle is preparing to lay eggs? Or whether a sea turtle with visible external fibropapilloma tumors also has hidden tumors on her internal organs? Or if she may suffer from gas bubble disease as a result of fisheries bycatch? The tools of diagnostic imaging can help answer all of these questions.