Why are GPS trackers important for sea turtles?
Mote’s Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Program utilizes sea turtle GPS trackers to analyse sea turtle migratory and nesting patterns. Their findings contribute to a better understanding of nesting trends and a brighter future for many generations of sea turtles to come.
Where are sea turtles found in the world?
Wanting to learn more about the living, feeding, and migration patterns of underwater sea turtles, scientists have begun using GPS tracking systems to follow their movements from the area surrounding the Cayman Islands and Florida coastal region all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
How does Mote work to track sea turtles?
Motes tags are programmed to transmit each time the turtle surfaces, though transmissions arent always successfully received by satellites. In other cases, tags may be programmed to transmit less often to save battery life. Also, transmissions vary in accuracy (see point 2 above), and Motes map does not show the least accurate transmissions.
What happens to the transmitter on a sea turtle?
After a period of time the batteries are exhausted, and the transmitter stops working and falls off the turtle or is removed by researchers when the turtle is encountered again. Data from the turtles are relayed to satellites flying high overhead.
#Turtle #gps