Turtle Research Update

Yesterday, I drove Melany Su and a couple of Marymount students to Sweet Briar College so that Melany could give a presentation on her DISCOVER research at the 2011 MARCUS Conference. Aside from being a fun adventure through Virginia, Melany gave an AWESOME presentation! She told the audience about hawksbill sea turtles, why they are important, and about the satellite tagging research she is doing. Most importantly, she explained the current state of her research: finding out whether or not the satellite transmitter being used is the best transmitter for the job. Do we need all of the data that our current transmitter is giving us?

Beginning last week, Dr. Rimkus, Melany, and other Marymount students are meeting to discuss this very topic. We’ll be meeting every week to analyze the data which will hopefully help to tag more turtles in Belize next summer!

Marymount’s own turtle lab hasn’t changed much from Melany’s last blog post, but it’s about to get exciting. The turtles from last year’s experiment will be moving out soon. On Wednesday, the hatchlings that Melany brought into the world over the summer will have microchips inserted, and this year’s experiment will officially begin! The hatchlings will be moved out of their cups and into the “big-kid” tanks, and Marymount students will be recording their data on a regular basis to track their growth and incision healing. Some turtles will also go to a local high school to be cared for and tracked by high school students as well.