Scientists have used satellite trackers to shed light on the “lost years” of young sea turtles, a period previously shrouded in mystery. For decades, researchers have puzzled over the lives of these creatures between the time they hatch and their return to coastal areas as near-adults. This period can last anywhere from one to 10 years.
A new study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, offers some answers. Marine scientists, led by Kate Mansfield of the University of Central Florida, attached GPS tags to the shells of 114 young turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. The species tracked included endangered green turtles, loggerheads, hawksbills, and Kemp’s ridleys.
