Tracking Turtles
In the context of the current LIFE project ARCHELON recently equipped 4 turtles with satellite transmitters to remotely monitor their movements and diving behaviour. The transmitters were glued to the turtles' shells using a special epoxy that should keep them stuck there for the transmitters' lifespan of hopefully over 6 months.
Two of the turtles were fitted with their transmitters after nesting in the important areas of Kyparissia Bay, west Peloponnesus, and Rethymno, Crete. Their movements will be compared with those of turtles rehabilitated and released from our Rescue Centre, which count for the other two recent deployments, with more to follow. Following a turtle's movements at sea provides opportunity to identify migratory routes and foraging locations in addition to better understanding of the external factors that stimulate and direct the turtle's journey.
The nesting turtles and the first rehabilitated turtle tracked show preferences for foraging in the Aegean Sea but in distinctly separate areas. The last turtle released, has so far been content to spend his time along the north coast of Crete, in the vicinity of Rethymno where he was released.
| Turtle | Treatment Location | Last transmission / Currently |
|---|---|---|
| Toby2 | Απελευθερώθηκε στα Χανιά (Κρήτη) | Last transmission: East of Chios, coast of Turkey, E. Aegean |
| Evropi | Nested in Kyparissia Bay | Currently: Off Thasos Island, N. Aegean |
| Rethymnia | Nested at Rethymno | Currently: Mykonos Island, S. Aegean |
| Orestis | Released at Rethymno | Currently: N. Crete near Rethymno |
You can follow the progress of these turtles on line from seaturtle.org from the tracking page under project 21: "ARCHELON's turtles from Greece".
Telemetry data are collected, processed and analysed by STAT, a free-of-charge service of seaturtle.org
ARCHELON EVENTS October 2005-January 2006
Fishermen and Volunteers feed the turtles.
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