Michaela Wiersema

Smuggling Data From Canada Border A Grim Reality And Call For Action Canada authorities are expressing concern over recent turtle smuggling data and the effects of this harmful practice. According to statistics, the past 5 years has resulted in 117 confiscated chelonians at the Windsor-Detroit border from three individual instances. Not only does smuggling impact the populations of these endangered animals, but the risk of […]

Experimental Research Uses Treadmills To Determine Disorientation Effects On Sea Turtle Hatchlings It has long been known that excess lighting on near beaches has an extremely detrimental effect on sea turtle hatchlings attempting to make the trek back to their ocean home. Researchers have determined that this causes major disorientation in the turtles and subsequently causes them to expend massive amounts of unnecessary energy, thus

New Development On Its Way To Decimating Chelodina longicollis Populations Two conservationists decided that they could wait no longer to act on behalf of their native turtle species, after realizing that they were being buried alive with no concern for their well-being. As a result of new development in the Liverpool area, old dams are being filled to allow for construction, thus creating a fatal

Founder Of Sea Turtle Conservation Program Puts Engineering Expertise To Excellent Use What could a coin cell have to do with sea turtle research? One conservationist from Greece has figured out just that. As founder of Wildlife Sense, a sea turtle conservation program, Nikos has used a coin cell to create a temperature monitor designed to keep track of conditions within the turtle nests. This

University Researcher Reports Clemmys guttata Population in a Dangerous Situation Clemmys guttata is a native resident of Rhode Island marshes, but unfortunately, due to human activity as well as wild collection, their population is dwindling and continuing to drop at a concerning rate. Scott Buchanan is a doctoral student at the University of Rhode Island and has explored nearly 100 wetlands in the past few

Fibropapillomatosis Continues To Devastate Sea Turtle Populations Worldwide Researchers in Florida are wracking their brains to determine to cause of the deadly herpes virus that is devastating the world’s populations of sea turtles. Fibropapillomatosis presents itself in the form of invasive tumors, which if not treated are fatal to the endangered turtles. Incapacitated animals are frequently discovered on the beaches and the numbers of strandings

Ghana’s Sea Turtles Plummeting Down The Path Of Extinction Poaching is a major threat for Ghana’s sea turtles, as the Fisheries Commission has come to realize. As a result of their popularity as a main dish, the animals are in the process of being poached to extinction. Even though there are laws protecting the turtles, including punishment by fine or imprisonment, poaching is still highly

New Turtle Corridor Creates Safe Passage For Nesting Sea Turtles Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) have been vital to the survival of sea turtles around the world, but unfortunately even these measures are not sufficient to sustain the populations of these endangered creatures and prevent their rapid decline. As a result, conservationists have implemented a new plan to ensure the safe migration and nesting of these