Episode 701: Sea Turtles: The Lost Years

The lives of all sea turtles begin once their eggs are laid on the beach by nesting females. They are left alone to fend for themselves against predators, the environment, and human impacts. Researchers have long known that once these tiny sea turtles reach adulthood, they will mate and females will return to the same beaches where they first hatched. But the great mystery lies in those years in-between. Where do juvenile sea turtles go once they reach the water? For decades this gap in knowledge was referred to as “the lost years.” Now, a team of researchers in Florida has found an innovative way to tag and track these tiny turtles in ways no one had thought possible.

Experts

Meet the experts featured in this episode.

Episode Photos

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Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, which spans 20.5 miles across Melbourne Beach and Wabasso Beach along Florida's east coast.

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A juvenile sea turtle caught by the University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group. It will be tagged and released in the sargassum where it was captured.

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A juvenile sea turtle caught by the University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group. It will be tagged and released in the sargassum where it was captured.

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Kate Mansfield, Ph.D. and Ph.D. student Chris Long of the University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group prepare a turtle to be tagged and released.

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Researchers gather live crustaceans and juvenile fish from the sargassum where they captured juvenile turtles.

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Mansfield, Ph.D. and Ph.D. student Chris Long of the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group sand down the shells of juvenile sea turtles to prepare them for pit tag attachment.

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A juvenile turtle gets its shell sanded down in preparation for tagging.

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Videographer Sean Hickey operates a drone to film a scene.

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Jonathan Gorham from the Inwater Research Group releases a satellite-equipped passive drifter. Researchers will compare the data of its movements to those of the sea turtles.

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Sargassum on the beach at Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.

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A seabird.

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The research team from the University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group and the Inwater Research Group look for juvenile sea turtles in the sargassum.

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A green turtle resting on the reef.

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A green turtle resting on the reef.

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A sargassum fish caught in the weed lines by University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group researchers.

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The “weed line” where sargassum accumulates and juvenile sea turtles are found.

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A juvenile green turtle captured by the University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group for tagging.

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Ph.D. student Chris Long releases a tagged sea turtle back into the sargassum.

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Pit tags ready to be attached to juvenile turtles by the University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group.

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A green turtle swimming along the reef.

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A juvenile turtle has its shell sanded down in preparation for tag application.

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Jonathan Gorham from the Inwater Research Group nets a juvenile sea turtle from the sargassum so researchers from the Marine Turtle Research Group can tag it.

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A juvenile sea turtle caught in a net by researchers from the University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group.

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Ph.D. student Chris Long holding a tagged juvenile sea turtle.

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Kate Mansfield, Ph.D. from the University of Central Florida Marine Turtle Research Group monitoring tagged sea turtles as the glue dries on their pit tags.

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The beach at Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.

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A sea turtle hatchling.

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Producer Julie Hollenbeck and Videographer Sean Hickey operating the drone to film a scene for Changing Seas.

Special Thanks:

Jim Abernethy's Scuba Adventures
216 North Federal Highway
Lake Park, Florida 33403
1 (888) 901-DIVE (3483)

Image Credits

Changing Seas would like to thank the following individuals and institutions who kindly allowed their footage, images and other media to be used in this production:

Jim Abernethy

Alexander Gaos

ICAPO (Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative)

Sergio Figuera

Kate Mansfield

Pew Oceans Commission

Friend of Turtles

Pond 5

Projeto TAMAR

Save-A-Turtle, Inc. of the Florida Keys

Videoblocks

Ingrid Yanez