Blood Samples to Help Track Migratory Routes of Loggerhead Sea Turtles

Scientists have found a new technique to track the movements of loggerhead sea turtles that are facing a major threat of population decline.

A team of researchers led by Simona Ceriani, a graduate student from the University of Central Florida, has revealed that the loggerhead turtles can be tracked by taking blood samples of the species, which can give precise details on the turtles' diet system, their environment and their migratory routes.

While turtles can be easily tracked using the satellite tracking system, it is very expensive. But the new technique developed by the University of Florida scientists is less expensive and gives accurate data as detected by GPS tags.

 Loggerhead sea turtles are oceanic turtles that are widely distributed in oceans across the globe. They spend most of their time (99 percent) in salt water and other habitats like estuaries, while the female turtles alone wash ashore to lay their eggs with a less reproductive rate. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has given a status of endangered to the loggerhead turtles with the species facing population decline on account of human activities like fishing. This species is the main nester in the Central Florida beaches.

 The turtles appear on the shore at the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge's beach in order to nest and lay eggs once in every two or three years. The beach is the second largest popular destination in the world for the turtles to nest.

 Since 2000, experts have been noticing a decline in the loggerhead turtles' nests, while nests of other turtles are thriving in the refuge beach. Nothing much is also known about the turtles' migration routes. However with the new technique experts can keep track of the turtles' migration.

 The technique links the chemical signatures of the diet system and the water environment to find out their migratory routes by using carbon isotopes. Accordingly, the technique will help in analyzing the carbon isotopes in the blood samples which appear from the food that the turtle consumes. The isotopes in the carbon vary from region to region. Based on different variants in the carbon, the migratory routes can be detected, reported OurAmazingPlanet.

"By combining isotope research with satellite tracking technology, we are learning exciting information about loggerhead sea turtles," Daniel R. Evans, a research specialist at the Sea Turtle Conservancy and co-author of the research paper, said in a news release from the university.

Experts hope the technique will help in conserving loggerhead turtles' nesting grounds and formulate policies to protect the turtles. "This research helps scientists and conservation managers identify key feeding areas for loggerhead turtles and helps direct policy and regulations that protect sea turtles in these specific areas," Evans said.

The findings of the study are published in the journal PLOS ONE.