ACS Monterey Bay Program for September 2007

Leatherback Sea Turtles: a race for survival

Leatherback Sea Turtle Photo © Monterey Bay Whale Watch

Thursday, September 27, 2007 7 p.m. Refreshments, 7:30 p.m. Program Lecture Hall, Monterey Boatworks, Hopkins Marine Station, Pacific Grove (Across from American Tin Cannery Outlet Stores) Speaker: George Shillinger, Ph.D. Candidate, Hopkins Marine Station

The leatherback sea turtle is a widely distributed species ranging throughout all oceanic habitats with the exception of Antarctica and the Arctic. It is critically endangered in the Pacific Ocean.

Our speaker's research efforts are focused on an enhanced understanding of their ecology, behavior and movements within the Eastern Tropical Pacific. The project uses satellite tags and remote sensing information to identify and assess critical sea turtle habitats, including remaining nesting areas, foraging grounds and migration routes. One objective of this project is to identify "hot spots": areas where turtles and humans are coming into conflict. Once identified, efforts can then be applied to identify the best management strategies for the "hot spots".

In addition to the "hard science" involved in this project, our speaker's research also involved a creative "marketing" component. To familiarize the general public, especially children, with the challenges facing the leatherbacks, our speaker devised the Great Turtle Race. Using a Web site, turtle enthusiasts around the world tracked a group of female leatherbacks, fitted with GPS devices, as they migrated from a Costa Rican beach, where they laid their eggs, to feeding grounds off the Galapagos Islands.

To help pay for some of the costs, each turtle in the race had a corporate sponsor. A "slow churned" leatherback named Sundae was sponsored by Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream and Stephanie Colburtle was sponsored by Stephen Colbert. The Great Turtle Race was a fun and inventive way to bring focus to a serious environmental challenge.

Please join us for a most interesting presentation on a species which spends time feeding in Monterey Bay and which, without our help, could very well disappear from our oceans.

Related web pages:

• Informative website on the great turtle race and leatherback facts
• Hopkins Marine Station

• Back to list of previous meetings.