Navigating the watery milieu of the open ocean is a challenge for any species. And it’s even trickier for sea turtles, who as hatchlings must survive a mad dash from land to sea before spending the rest of their days underwater.
"Lots of things like to eat [hatchling sea turtles]," says Samantha Trail, a Ph.D. student at the Marine Science Laboratory of Florida Atlantic University and lead author of a new study on marine turtle sea-finding behavior. "Night herons, ghost crabs, raccoons, coyotes — even once they get in the water we have fish that like to eat these guys."
Trail’s study shows that hatchling leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) sometimes struggle to see the sea. The International Union for Conservation of Nature currently lists these turtles as vulnerable, and they may be at risk from light pollution, which has been a growing global issue for decades.
