Can’t wait for the next newsletter?
Check out recent stories on our blog:
Featured
At the end of June, Upwell Executive Director Dr. George Shillinger joined our Aquarium La Rochelle collaborators to tag and release 9 rehabilitated juvenile turtles. So far, about half of the turtles have left the bay swimming slightly northward, while the other half are taking their time. You can read more about each of the turtles, like where they were rescued and what care they received before their journey back into the ocean in the info cards made by the Aquarium below.
While the effects of HABs on marine mammals have been well documented, much less is known about their potential impact on sea turtles. Under the mentorship of Upwell Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Heather Harris, Cal Poly veterinary student Brenna Eikenbary is investigating the likelihood of HAB exposure among sea turtles stranded along the West Coast since 1990.
Last year in July, we deployed 10 micro-satellite tags on juvenile loggerheads in partnership with the Aquarium La Rochelle in France. Of this cohort, all of which are named after European scientists, the tags on turtles Archimede, Nicolas Copernic and Charles Darwin have continued to transmit for an astounding 312 days and counting (a new record)! As we prepare to release another set of turtles, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the observations from this first deployment, and how they help us to take the next steps in our research.