We haven't seen a leatherback since Monday night but tonight provided a different kind of excitement. Chris and I have been working with our rehabilitation department to set up a satellite tracking program with released patients. Tonight, we tagged our first patient! The tag that we applied records locations at different times throughout the day. In addition, it also records water temperature which allows us to see changes in the turtle's behavior (quick changes in depth, movement into a different current system, etc.). The tags are very small (about 3"x3") and placed on the shell with a small amount of epoxy. Morgan, a subadult loggerhead, has been in rehab for a little over a year. He was hit by a boat and left with some pretty severe propeller scars. About six months into his rehabilitation, he developed a bone infection that required the amputation of his left front flipper. Morgan has caught the attention of many visitors that have come through our center. He was an excellent choice for studying some aspects of the affects of long-term rehabilitation on sea turtles. Morgan's tag will provide us with a map of where he is going after leaving our center and temperature data collected by the tag will allow us to understand some of his behaviors. You can view the progress of his tracking at www.marinelife.org. We anticipate tracking two additional rehab patients in the near future. Satellite tracking allows us to learn valuable information about the impacts of rehab on marine turtle behavior post-release. Additionally, we are able to gain more information about turtle behavior by tagging various species and size classes. Morgan's map on www.marinelife.org will be updated twice weekly and we anticipate his transmitter will last six months to a year.
