Skip to main content
Log in

Long-range migratory travel of a green turtle tracked by satellite: evidence for navigational ability in the open sea

  • Published:
Marine Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A female of Chelonia mydas was tracked by satellite in the South China Sea in 1993 from the nesting beach to the resident foraging grounds more than 600 km away. The final leg of the journey, 475 km long, directly pinpointed the goal, with the turtle maintaining a constant speed and direction both night and day. This provides clues about the navigational mechanism used.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Balazs GH (1976) Green turtle migrations in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Biol Conserv 9: 125–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balazs GH (1994a) Homeward bound: satellite tracking of Hawaiiar green turtles from nesting beaches to foraging pastures. Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, NOAA tech Meno US Dep Commerce NMFS, NOAA-TM-NMFS-SEFCS-341:205–208

  • Balazs GH (1994b). Satellite telemetry of green turtles nesting at French Frigate Shoals, Hawaii, and Rose Atoll, American Samoa. Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, NOAA tech Memo US Dep Commerce NMFS, NOAA-TM-NMFS-SEFCS-361:184–187

  • Batschelet E (1981) Circular statistics in biology. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Beavers SC, Cassano ER, Byles RA (1992) Stuck on turtles: preliminary results from adhesive studies with satellite transmitters. Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Workshop on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA tech Memo US Dep Commerce NMFS, NOAA-TM-NMFS-SEFCS-302:135–138

  • Berthold P (1991) Spatiotemporal programmes and genetics of orientation. In: Berthold P (ed) Orientation in birds. Birkhäuser-Verlag, Basel, pp 86–105

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown CW (1990) The significance of the South Atlantic equatorial countercurrent to the ecology of the green turtle breeding population of Ascension Island. J Herpetol 24: 81–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Byles RA, Dodd CK (1989) Satellite biotelemetry of a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) from the east coast of Florida. In: Eckert SA, Eckert KL, Richardson TH (eds) Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Workshop on Sea Turtle Conservation and Biology. NOAA tech Memo US Dep Commerce NMFS-SEFC-232: 215–217

  • Carr A (1972) The case for long-range, chemoreceptive piloting in Chelonia. In: Galler SR, Schmidt-Koenig K, Jacobs GJ, Belleville RE (eds) Animal orientation and navigation. NASA, Washington, DC, pp 469–483

    Google Scholar 

  • Carr A (1984) The sea turtle. So excellent a fish. University of Texas Press, Austin

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrenfeld DW, Koch AL (1967) Visual accommodation in the green turtle. Science, NY 155:827–828

    Google Scholar 

  • Green D (1984) Long distance movements of Galapagos green turtles. J Herpetol 18:121–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Hays GC (1992) Assessing the nesting beach fidelity and clutch frequency of sea turtles by satellite tracking. In: Priede IG, Swift SM (eds) Wildlife Telemetry, Ellis Horwood Ltd., New York, pp 203–213

    Google Scholar 

  • Hays GC, Webb PI, Hayes JP, Priede IG, French J (1991) Satellite tracking of a loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean. J mar biol Ass UK 71: 743–746

    Google Scholar 

  • Keinath JA, Byles RA, Musick JA (1989) Satellite telemetry of loggerhead turtles in the western North Atlantic. In: Eckert SA, Eckert KL, Richardson TH (eds) Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Workshop on Sea Turtle Conservation and Biology, NOAA tech Memo US Dep Commerce NMFS-SEFC-232:75–76

  • Koch AL, Carr A, Ehrenfeld DW (1969) The problem of open sea navigation: the migration of the green turtle to Ascension Island. J theor Biol 22:163–179

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liew HC, Chan EH (1993) Biotelemetry of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Pulau Redang, Malaysia, during the internesting period. In: Mancini P, Fioretti S, Cristalli C, Bedini R (eds) Biotelemetry XII. Litografia Felici, Pisa, pp 157–163

    Google Scholar 

  • Limpus CJ, Miller JD, Parmenter J, Reimer D, McLachlan N, Webb R (1992) Migration of green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles to and from eastern Australia rookeries. Wildl Res 19:347–358

    Google Scholar 

  • Lohmann KJ (1991) Magnetic orentation by hatchling loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). J exp Biol 155:37–49

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lohmann KJ, Lohmann CMF (1993) A light-independent magnetic compass in the leatherback sea turtle. Biol Bull mar biol Lab Woods Hole 185:145–151

    Google Scholar 

  • Meylan A (1982) Sea turtle migration-evidence from tag returas. In: Bjorndal KA (ed) Biology and conservation of sea turtles. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC, pp 91–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Mortimer JA, Carr A (1987) Reproduction and migrations of the Ascension Island green turtle (Chelonia mydas). Copeia 1987:103–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Renaud ML, Gitschlag GR, Hale JK (1993) Retention of imitation satellite transmitters fiberglassed to the carapace of sea turtles. Herpetol Rev 24:94–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw P-T, Chao SY (submitted). Surface circulation in the South China Sea. Deep-Sea Res

  • Stoneburner DL (1982) Satellite telemetry of loggerhead sea turtle movement in the Georgia Bight. Copeia 1982:400–408

    Google Scholar 

  • Taillade M (1992) Animal tracking by satellite. In: Priede IG, Swift SM (eds) Wildlife Telemetry, Ellis Horwood Ltd., New York, pp 149–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Timko RE, Kolz L (1982) Satellite sea turtle tracking. Mar Fish Rev 44:19–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H, Salamolard M, Jouventin P (1992) Satellite telemetry of foraging movements in the wandering albatross. In: Priede IG, Swift SM (eds) Wildlife Telemetry, Ellis Horwood Ltd. New York, pp 184–198

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Papi, F., Liew, H.C., Luschi, P. et al. Long-range migratory travel of a green turtle tracked by satellite: evidence for navigational ability in the open sea. Marine Biology 122, 171–175 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348929

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00348929

Keywords

Navigation