We are so fortunate to be attending the International Sea Turtle Symposium in Lima, Peru. Several hundred researchers from around the world are here to talk about our favorite topic – turtles! Today is the first day of talks that will cover everything from nesting and population biology to fisheries interactions and educational outreach. We Read more about Sea Turtlers Invade Peru[…]
No, really. It is actually a big check! Several members of the team at Florida Leatherbacks Inc. recently accepted a donation from the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation (NSTSTF) to support our study this upcoming research season. NSTSTF is a local non profit that supports many sea turtle conservation groups and we are very Read more about That’s a big check![…]
What tools do we use for this study? A lot! We use Honda All Terrain Vehicles (ATV’s) to patrol our entire survey area. Many thousands of kilometers are driven each summer and we have found that that Honda has been our most reliable ATV. Our study is a Mark / Recapture study where we utilize Passive Integrated Read more about Our tools[…]
During one of our nightly patrols, our team was very excited to encounter a nesting leatherback with a large Monel flipper tag on one of rear rear flippers. We often find turtles that were tagged at other beaches in Florida, but this was an especially exciting recapture! While many leatherbacks in the Caribbean are tagged Read more about A mystery[…]
The PAT tag that was attached to Katia has now been gathering and relaying data to us for 145 days and the battery is just now starting to show signs of failure. Her tag came off on October 15th and has been drifting in the Gulf Stream current system since then. If this tag didn’t Read more about 145 days[…]
Since the tag was released from Katia on 10/15/15 it has transmitted almost 10,000 messages via its small antenna. The latest message shows that the battery is still OK and it may be able to transmit for a few more days. While the tag is floating at the surface, it is attempting to send a complete Read more about Battery still good[…]
The Argos satellite system continues to relay data from the tag that Katia was towing. This tag is programmed to send as much data as it can before the small lithium battery is exhausted. As you can see from the image below, we have almost received a complete history from this tag. We are still Read more about Data streaming in[…]
This morning, the PAT tag that Katia has been towing around the Atlantic Ocean has relayed data to indicate that it has been floating at the surface for three days without diving. The tags has now gone “premature release” mode and will now attempt to send all of the data collected since June via satellite. While Read more about Premature release[…]
Katia has begun relaying regular data once again! One of the reasons we believed for the lack of data was that she was simply moving too fast and it seems that that was indeed the case. When she last transmitted a location on September 14th, Katia was located south of Nantucket just heading into deeper Read more about And, she is back[…]
Katia’s transmitter has relayed a few more data points over the past 24 hours. The transmissions indicate that the tag is still attached to Katia and she is behaving normally. Unfortunately these have only been brief messages and no Argos location has been computed. Data show that she is in 21° C water and is Read more about A few more transmissions[…]