Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Sea Turtles May Not Be Great Navigators After All

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Traditionally turtles have been famous for their navigation skills, as they migrate hundreds of miles to the beaches they were born on to lay their eggs.

Now, a team of scientists studying Hawksbill turtles has found that they may not be that good at navigation after all.

The team found that turtles regularly did not take the most direct route to their destination and, more often than not, ended up swimming more than double the necessary distance to get to their destination. In fact, one particular turtle undertook a huge 800-mile/1,287-km journey to reach an island a mere 100 miles/161km away.

Professor Graeme Hays, the study’s first author and chair of marine science at Deakin University, told The Independent newspaper that turtles “almost certainly are using a geomagnetic map…So, it doesn’t allow pinpoint straight-line migration, but it does tell them when they’re getting a long way off route.”

He added:

“In the final stages, they can smell an island that they’re headed to… As they get some sort of visual landmark – for example, the water starts to get a bit shallower, and they can see the seabed – then they’ve probably got some sort of cognitive map of that area. They could probably just recognise the sea floor, just like you would recognise visual landmarks in the area where you live.”

You can find out more and read the research paper here.

Sam Helmy
Sam Helmyhttps://www.deeperblue.com
Sam Helmy is a TDI/SDI Instructor Trainer, and PADI Staff and Trimix Instructor. Diving for 28 years, a dive pro for 14, I have traveled extensively chasing my passion for diving. I am passionate about everything diving, with a keen interest in exploration, Sharks and big stuff, Photography and Decompression theory. Diving is definitely the one and only passion that has stayed with me my whole life! Sam is a Staff Writer for DeeperBlue.com

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