Tour de Turtles: A Sea Turtle Migration Marathon, or simply Tour de Turtles, is an annual online

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

-tracking event hosted by the

Caribbean Conservation Corporation The Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC), formerly known as Caribbean Conservation Corporation, is an American not-for-profit 501(c)(3) membership organization based in Gainesville, Florida. It was incorporated, based on an earlier informal organization k ...

. Endangered sea turtles are monitored using an attached but harmless satellite tracking device. Caribbean Conservation Corporation biologists gather satellite tracking information in order to better understand sea turtle migration patterns. Understanding sea turtle migration patterns would allow for sea turtle conservation groups to lobby for more sea turtle protection in proven areas with higher sea turtle populations. Sea turtles are the participants for the Tour de Turtle marathon. Participating sea turtles are tracked as they race to be the first to complete a journey that is estimated to last three months. Tour de Turtles aims to increase awareness about different sea turtle species and the threats to their survival. The turtle to first swim the 1,628 miles wins the marathon.

Marathon

After departing from some of the most important nesting sites in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

, typically

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

and

Melbourne Beach, Florida Melbourne Beach is a town in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population had 3,231 residents at the 2020 United States Census, up from 3,101 ...

, sea turtles will be monitored using Platform Terminal Transmitter (PTT) that send signals via satellite to record their locations and the distances traveled. The data will then be uploaded to interactive maps on the Tour de Turtles website
TourdeTurtles.org
Because the turtles will be released at different times, depending on the species, the distance traveled by each turtle will not be counted until the last turtle is released. This will ensure that the first turtles released do not get a head start in completing the marathon. Each participating sea turtle will have a spot on the "leader board", which will provide an overview of all the turtles' progress. The marathon may end in less than three months, but the program will continue to follow the turtles' progress for up to two years. The first turtle to reach will win the marathon. Although there will be only one turtle marathon winner, another sea turtle has the chance to win the Causes Challenge.

Cause Challenge

Tour de Turtles includes a fundraiser to fund the fight against numerous sea turtle threats. Along with the marathon, each turtle is symbolically linked to support a cause for multiple primary sea turtle threats; commercial longline fisheries,

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

predation, plastic

marine debris Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created solid material that has deliberately or accidentally been released in seas or the ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, freque ...

marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial waste, industrial, agricultural pollution, agricultural, and municipal solid waste, residential waste; particle (ecology), particles; noise; excess carbon dioxi ...

from

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into th ...

s and chemical pollution from coastal development, adult harvest for meat consumption, sea level and temperature rise from

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

, commercial

trawl Trawling is an industrial method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch di ...

fisheries, sea walls, egg harvest for consumption and native species predation Each turtle is swimming for a cause to raise awareness about each specific threat to sea turtles. The public is encouraged to support a turtle's cause or several causes. The turtle that generates the most support by the conclusion of the race will win the Causes Challenge. All donations made towards Causes have a direct impact on sea turtle conservation.

How Tour de Turtles helps sea turtles

Tour de Turtles empowers audiences with ways to help combat sea turtle threats. This level of community involvement and public support has a significantly positive impact on sea turtle populations around the world. Using information gained through Tour de Turtles, the public will understand how to fight and eliminate human-caused threats to sea turtles. The scientific community also benefits All data collected will be applied to research about these endangered species and their little-known migratory patterns.

Participating in Tour de Turtles

Audiences can view photos, watch videos, learn about the turtles' causes, see individual migration-tracking maps and hear periodic interviews with each marathoner through the biography of each participating sea turtle. People participate through adopting a swimmer to support a Cause. Tour de Turtles also provides a free Educator's Manual that teachers use to incorporate sea turtles and conservation themes into lesson plans.

Satellite tracking technology

Satellite

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...

involves following an object on the Earth's surface through the use of orbiting satellites. Researchers at CCC use this technology to track the migratory patterns of sea turtles in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Satellite telemetry allows researchers to obtain up-to-date location data every time the sea turtle rises to the surface for air. A Platform Terminal Transmitter (PTT) is attached to the back of a sea turtle. The PTT sends a signal full of information to an orbiting satellite each time the turtle surfaces. The satellite re-transmits the data to a receiving station on Earth. Researchers can then access this information through their computer. Satellite transmitters can be attached several different ways. For hard-shell turtles, such as

Green turtles The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

, Loggerhead or Hawksbills, the Marine

Epoxy Epoxy is the family of basic components or Curing (chemistry), cured end products of epoxy Resin, resins. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups. The epoxide fun ...

Method or the

Fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

and Resin Method are used. Both methods are safe for the turtles, neither hurting their shells nor restricting their movements in the ocean. Transmitters are designed to safely fall off the turtles after about a year and a half. Leatherback turtles, which lack a hard shell, require a different method because of their size and the texture of their

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

. A harness that goes over the shell is used to secure a transmitter. The harness tends to last longer than the epoxy or fiberglass methods, allowing researchers to track leatherbacks for up to two years before the harness falls off harmlessly.

References

External links

Official Tour de Turtles website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tour De Turtles Sea turtles Events in the Caribbean Turtle conservation Reptiles of the Caribbean Turtles of North America