Satellite tracking provides clues about South Atlantic sea turtles’ ‘lost years’
A University of Central Florida biologist whose groundbreaking work tracking the movements of sea turtle yearlings in the North Atlantic Ocean attracted international attention has completed a similar study in the South Atlantic with surprising results.
South Atlantic sea turtles do not passively ride prevailing currents as historically assumed, but instead actively swim and orient to keep themselves offshore. Depending on whether they hatch early, in the middle or late in the sea turtle hatching season, they travel in different and sometimes opposite directions, including into the Northern Hemisphere.
Also: check out the video below of some sea turtles getting a good scrub!
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Did You Know…
A gyre is any large system of circulating ocean currents. The South Atlantic Subtropical Gyre is bordered by the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa.
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Photo from Projeto TAMAR.