Advancing sea turtle photo-ID research with artificial intelligence
For long time now, sea turtle researchers have been exploiting the unique scale pattern of sea turtle individuals to identify them from images and study several aspects of their ecology and biology. These patterns are unique to every individual and stay stable in time (like human fingerprints!). The process, called sea turtle photo-identification (photo-ID), is nowadays used in projects all over the world and examples of studies facilitated by it include in-water behaviour studies, occurrence of injuries, progress of diseases, population monitoring and measuring ecotouristic impact on individual turtles.
The way sea turtle photo-ID is traditionally done is via comparing the facial geometric scale patterns of the same sides of turtles’ heads. This is because these are different from side to side on any individual sea turtle. Therefore, any new image showing the profile of an individual (left or right) is only compared to images of previously identified individuals showing the same side (left or right).
A recent study used artificial intelligence to push the boundaries of the method. The study was led by Kostas Papafitsoros, long term member and researcher of ARCHELON and Lukáš Adam, a researcher from Czech Republic who had also been volunteer in ARCHELON Zakynthos project. ARCHELON’s scientific committee member, ALan F. Rees, also participated in the study.
One of the main findings was that the similarity of left and right profiles of the same turtle is higher than the similarities of profiles of different turtles.
Try to verify that yourself! Can you match the left side of "Viktoria" with her right side?
The same study showed that artificial intelligence algorithms, including one previously developed by the team, can detect this left-right similarity in three sea turtle species. The algorithms can match left and right profiles of the same individual sea turtles which have otherwise no spatial overlap. This results in higher photo-ID matching accuracies and in the future, it might be sufficient to photograph only one side of a turtle’s face when collecting photo-ID data, allowing for more flexible data collection protocols.
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RECENT NEWS
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Kids Turtle Festival 2026 "In Deep Water"
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- OUR NEWS18/04/2026
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- OUR NEWS17/04/2026
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- OUR NEWS10/04/2026
ARCHELON takes part in Chania's “Move It Now” initiative
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- OUR NEWS09/04/2026
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Looking towards the upcoming nesting season, the tourism community of Chania gathered at the city’s Town Hall.
- OUR NEWS08/04/2026
The Return of the “Giant”: Everest Swims Again in Greek Seas After Two Years of Rehabilitation
The story of 'Everest' began in May 2024 in Preveza, when the sea turtle was found with a severe, intentional head injury. Upon arrival at the Rescue Centre, its condition was critical: malnourished, weighing just 81 kg, and suffering from serious buoyancy problems that made survival in the sea impossible.
- OUR NEWS07/04/2026
Through the dust: Rethymno looks for a sustainable future with the sea turtles
Neither the African dust nor the sandstorm of last Wednesday stood in the way of ARCHELON's event at the Rethymno City Hall!
- OUR NEWS02/04/2026
Volunteering Has Never Been More Attractive: Special offers for 2026
ARCHELON invites you to join its field projects and actively protect sea turtles and their habitats.
- OUR NEWS09/03/2026
The Annual General Assembly of the Association
ARCHELON's Members were invited to attend the Annual General Assembly on Saturday, February 28 at the Sea Turtle Rescue Centre.
- OUR NEWS03/03/2026
Join us for the Online Presentation of 2025 Results!
On Monday, March 23rd, we have the chance to meet again online and share what we accomplished together in the past year.
- OUR NEWS03/03/2026
A Digital Adventure for Your Class with ARCHELON
Through a live connection with the Centre, students learn about the turtles’ rescue stories and discover how everyday human activities can negatively impact marine ecosystems.
- OUR NEWS24/02/2026
32 Years Returning to Nest: A Record Reproductive Lifespan for the Loggerhead Sea Turtle in Kyparissia Bay
When we analyzed the turtles’ codes, we realized that this was a turtle that had been tagged for the first time in the area 32 years ago! Specifically, turtle P4849 was tagged on July 7, 1993 and today is the turtle with the longest documented reproductive lifespan in Kyparissia Bay!
- OUR NEWS18/02/2026
"The Mediterranean We Protect" ARCHELON Presented the 2025 Results and the New LIFE MareNatura Exhibition
The presentation of our Accounts for 2025 was held with great success on Saturday, February 14th in Glyfada, honoring the people who are on the front lines for the protection of the Mediterranean.