In late October, a collaborative team of researchers from Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation and Upwell took a boat into the swift Agulhas Current, the southwest boundary current of the Indian Ocean that runs down the east coast of South Africa. There, they released 12 tiny loggerhead turtles with satellite tags attached to their carapace (top shells) in an effort to understand how these turtles are using this oceanic highway. See where these turtles have traveled over their first weeks in the ocean!
Upwell Turtles, the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, and the Sea Turtle Ecology Lab (STEL) have launched a partnership to explore the migratory ecology of the early life stages of loggerhead sea turtles.
Upwell’s Executive Director, Dr. George Shillinger, recognized that the rehabilitated early-stage juveniles at the Aquarium La Rochelle CESTM were perfect candidates for Lotek microsatellite tags and invited CESTM to join Upwell’s Lost Years Initiative, kicking off the collaboration with the tagging of 10 juvenile loggerheads in late July. Over the past two months, the turtles have shown a range of behavior, including surprisingly deep dives for turtles of such a young age!