Discover how differences in gut microbes between wild and captive-bred green turtles reveal critical insights into their health and reintroduction success, highlighting the need for improved conservation strategies.
Discover how a groundbreaking study across the Asia-Pacific region reveals that households are willing to pay significant amounts to preserve marine turtles, highlighting their non-use value and the immense economic benefits of conservation.
A recent study reveals that heavy metal pollution is undermining the reproductive success of green sea turtles by compromising egg quality and essential nutrients needed for embryo development.
Imagine spending half your life in freezing water, buried in mud, or tucked into a burrow—all without breathing. For turtles across North America, this isn’t science fiction, it’s survival. Dive into the chilly secrets of how these ancient reptiles endure winter’s harshest trials, from icy ponds to snow-covered forests, and discover why their survival strategies are rewriting the rules of animal resilience.
Turtles have existed for over 220 million years, surviving mass extinctions and outliving dinosaurs—but their evolutionary origins have long puzzled scientists. Were they land-dwelling reptiles with bony armor, or did they crawl out of ancient oceans? Dive into the debate over turtle ancestry, exploring fossil clues, contested theories, and groundbreaking research that links them to Triassic sea monsters.
Marine turtles, ancient mariners that have navigated our oceans for over 150 million years, now face an unprecedented challenge: climate change. From rising sea levels inundating nesting beaches to shifting ocean currents disrupting their epic migrations, these resilient creatures are struggling to adapt. But there's hope. Learn how climate change is impacting marine turtles and what we can do to help ensure their survival.
Loggerhead sea turtles, iconic yet endangered mariners of our oceans, face a grim reality: tens of thousands drown annually in shrimp trawls. Enter Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs)—ingenious escape hatches designed to free trapped turtles while keeping shrimp in the net. But do they actually work? Researchers Larry Crowder and his team developed a stage-based population model to find out. Their simulations revealed that TEDs could reverse the population decline, but recovery would be slow—taking over 70 years under current regulations. However, expanding TED use to year-round, all-waters implementation could double the recovery rate, offering hope for these ancient mariners. The key to success? Protecting large juvenile turtles, the most vulnerable yet most critical stage for population growth. While challenges like compliance and emerging threats remain, this research underscores the power of science and policy in shaping a future where loggerheads thrive once more.
Freshwater turtles, especially painted turtles, possess an astonishing ability to survive months submerged in icy water without oxygen. This feat is achieved through dramatically slowing their metabolism and utilizing their shells as chemical buffers to neutralize the buildup of lactic acid. These remarkable adaptations have significant implications for medical research.
