1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:03,666 >> That nest is getting ready to hatch. 2 00:00:03,700 --> 00:00:05,133 >> Look at 'em all. 3 00:00:05,166 --> 00:00:07,033 >> Are you kidding me? 4 00:00:07,066 --> 00:00:08,833 >> Goodness! 5 00:00:08,866 --> 00:00:11,700 >> NARRATOR: Each year from late July to November, 6 00:00:11,733 --> 00:00:15,066 tiny sea turtle hatchlings seemingly vanish 7 00:00:15,100 --> 00:00:18,933 into the vast ocean along Florida's coast. 8 00:00:18,966 --> 00:00:21,700 >> The sea turtle lost years includes the time from which 9 00:00:21,733 --> 00:00:24,933 the turtles emerge from their nests, crawl down 10 00:00:24,966 --> 00:00:28,566 and enter into the ocean, and then they swim off shore. 11 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,200 >> NARRATOR: Bound for destinations unknown. 12 00:00:31,233 --> 00:00:34,433 For decades, researchers were left to guess 13 00:00:34,466 --> 00:00:37,766 where the hatchlings journeyed during their lost years. 14 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,500 >> We don't really know what they do, where they go, 15 00:00:41,533 --> 00:00:43,300 in part because it's really difficult to access 16 00:00:43,333 --> 00:00:45,533 those offshore waters. 17 00:00:45,566 --> 00:00:49,666 That life history stage has been historically understudied. 18 00:00:49,700 --> 00:00:51,566 >> Before now we just called them "the lost years" 19 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:53,300 and kind of threw up our hands. 20 00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:56,800 ♪ ♪ 21 00:00:58,233 --> 00:01:01,200 >> NARRATOR: Depending on the species, sea turtles can 22 00:01:01,233 --> 00:01:07,733 spend anywhere from two to upwards of eight years at sea. 23 00:01:07,766 --> 00:01:10,833 >> We had to just wave goodbye to a turtle off the beach 24 00:01:10,866 --> 00:01:12,766 and then see it again several years later 25 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:15,300 when it came back into shallow coastal waters. 26 00:01:20,100 --> 00:01:22,666 (cheering) 27 00:01:22,700 --> 00:01:26,166 >> NARRATOR: But now researchers are beginning to unravel 28 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,533 the mysteries of the sea turtle's lost years. 29 00:01:30,766 --> 00:01:32,933 >> For this youngest stage of sea turtle, 30 00:01:32,966 --> 00:01:35,133 it's really important for us to understand where they are, 31 00:01:35,166 --> 00:01:37,800 when they're there, so we can better understand perhaps 32 00:01:37,833 --> 00:01:43,133 what potential impacts humans might have on these turtles. 33 00:01:43,166 --> 00:01:45,800 >> NARRATOR: Where do sea turtles go 34 00:01:45,833 --> 00:01:48,066 during their lost years? 35 00:01:48,100 --> 00:01:51,400 And how are new technologies helping to solve 36 00:01:51,433 --> 00:01:54,333 this oceanic enigma? 37 00:02:20,166 --> 00:02:22,833 >> Major funding for this program was provided 38 00:02:22,866 --> 00:02:25,266 by the Batchelor Foundation. 39 00:02:25,300 --> 00:02:27,733 Encouraging people to preserve and protect 40 00:02:27,766 --> 00:02:30,666 America's underwater resources. 41 00:02:33,066 --> 00:02:35,933 And by Divers Direct-- Emocean Club, 42 00:02:35,966 --> 00:02:38,266 inspiring the pursuit of tropical adventures 43 00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:40,133 and scuba diving. 44 00:02:41,233 --> 00:02:43,333 And by the Do Unto Others Trust. 45 00:02:54,900 --> 00:02:57,633 >> NARRATOR: Sea turtles have roamed the planet's oceans 46 00:02:57,666 --> 00:02:59,666 for 100 million years. 47 00:03:02,533 --> 00:03:05,100 >> The group the turtles are in as a whole has existed 48 00:03:05,133 --> 00:03:06,800 since the dinosaurs existed. 49 00:03:06,833 --> 00:03:09,866 >> NARRATOR: Just in the past few decades, 50 00:03:09,900 --> 00:03:13,233 sea turtle populations have declined in certain locations, 51 00:03:13,266 --> 00:03:16,833 due to poaching, destructive fishing practices, 52 00:03:16,866 --> 00:03:21,600 loss of habitat, water pollution, and other pressures. 53 00:03:21,633 --> 00:03:24,300 >> There's issues that these sea turtles can't overcome 54 00:03:24,333 --> 00:03:26,366 without a little bit of help 55 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,333 and a little bit of conservation. 56 00:03:29,366 --> 00:03:31,600 >> NARRATOR: There are six species of sea turtles found 57 00:03:31,633 --> 00:03:34,266 in the United States, and those are protected 58 00:03:34,300 --> 00:03:38,033 under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. 59 00:03:38,066 --> 00:03:42,333 >> So it's just a tremendously complicated problem to manage. 60 00:03:42,366 --> 00:03:44,500 >> And to do that you need knowledge. 61 00:03:44,533 --> 00:03:46,566 And to gain the knowledge you have to go out 62 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,233 and do research projects like the ones we're doing. 63 00:03:49,266 --> 00:03:52,766 >> NARRATOR: Founded in the late 1970s 64 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:57,133 by Dr. Llewellyn Ehrhart, the Marine Turtle Research Group 65 00:03:57,166 --> 00:04:00,133 at the University of Central Florida was established 66 00:04:00,166 --> 00:04:03,133 to better understand coastal sea turtles. 67 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,133 >> There's a green just north of here, I think. 68 00:04:14,166 --> 00:04:16,266 But I want to know where the loggerhead is. 69 00:04:16,300 --> 00:04:18,233 >> NARRATOR: Today, under the leadership 70 00:04:18,266 --> 00:04:21,466 of Dr. Kate Mansfield, the research group's scope 71 00:04:21,500 --> 00:04:24,666 has broadened to include the whole life history 72 00:04:24,700 --> 00:04:28,600 of sea turtles, from egg to adult, 73 00:04:28,633 --> 00:04:33,166 with study sites in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. 74 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:37,100 >> So what I'm trying to do is create a center where we have 75 00:04:37,133 --> 00:04:40,233 the early reproductive history, we have the in-water work, 76 00:04:40,266 --> 00:04:42,566 where we're catching those new recruits 77 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:45,800 to the coastal environment, the larger juveniles. 78 00:04:45,833 --> 00:04:48,600 And then we have my offshore work, where I'm looking 79 00:04:48,633 --> 00:04:51,533 at the early dispersal and movements and behavior 80 00:04:51,566 --> 00:04:53,666 of the lost years. 81 00:04:53,700 --> 00:04:56,433 So I'm trying to tie that all together in a cohesive 82 00:04:56,466 --> 00:04:59,366 research program where we have a whole life history approach. 83 00:05:06,533 --> 00:05:07,833 >> NARRATOR: One of Kate's study sites 84 00:05:07,866 --> 00:05:11,066 is in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge 85 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:15,233 along Florida's Atlantic coast. 86 00:05:15,266 --> 00:05:20,666 The 248-acre refuge was established in 1991 to protect 87 00:05:20,700 --> 00:05:24,266 sea turtle foraging and nesting habitats 88 00:05:24,300 --> 00:05:28,766 along this developed barrier island. 89 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,566 >> The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge 90 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:33,633 is one of the most important nesting beaches 91 00:05:33,666 --> 00:05:35,466 in the Western Hemisphere. 92 00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:41,533 We get more turtle nests in a 13-mile or 20-kilometer stretch 93 00:05:41,566 --> 00:05:46,533 of beach than any other place in the U.S. 94 00:05:46,566 --> 00:05:50,533 >> NARRATOR: 30 years ago, only 8,000 sea turtle nests 95 00:05:50,566 --> 00:05:53,433 were laid in the refuge each year. 96 00:05:53,466 --> 00:05:57,466 But in 2013 it saw over 20,000 nests. 97 00:05:58,933 --> 00:06:00,466 >> So it's this really incredible 98 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:03,200 exponential population growth that can be directly attributed 99 00:06:03,233 --> 00:06:05,166 to something like the Endangered Species Act 100 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,533 and to the protection that the refuge provides itself. 101 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,033 >> NARRATOR: The Marine Turtle Research Group monitors 102 00:06:15,066 --> 00:06:18,733 around 13 miles of coastline in the refuge, and has generated 103 00:06:18,766 --> 00:06:22,600 more than 30 years of data from these important habitats. 104 00:06:39,533 --> 00:06:42,733 The life cycle of a sea turtle begins after a nesting female 105 00:06:42,766 --> 00:06:47,700 lays her eggs in the sand, typically on a tropical beach. 106 00:06:47,733 --> 00:06:51,800 Six to 11 weeks later, hatchlings emerge. 107 00:06:53,500 --> 00:06:58,900 In the Archie Carr National Wildlife refuge, 108 00:06:58,933 --> 00:07:03,066 sea turtle nests are laid in the sand nearest the dunes 109 00:07:03,100 --> 00:07:06,700 and a turtle can lay more than 100 eggs per nest, 110 00:07:06,733 --> 00:07:09,400 upwards of three to five times per season, 111 00:07:09,433 --> 00:07:12,566 depending on the species. 112 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:14,500 >> When the hatchlings all hatch out of the eggs, 113 00:07:14,533 --> 00:07:16,600 it's really cool, because they all work together 114 00:07:16,633 --> 00:07:18,333 to get out of the nest. 115 00:07:18,366 --> 00:07:20,200 So what they do is that all the little hatchlings 116 00:07:20,233 --> 00:07:22,133 push the sand behind them as they go. 117 00:07:22,166 --> 00:07:24,133 And so it kind of just makes this elevator where the sand 118 00:07:24,166 --> 00:07:26,366 just is rising beneath them. 119 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:28,100 This whole process takes like maybe two or three days 120 00:07:28,133 --> 00:07:30,366 for them to get to the surface. 121 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:33,200 >> Most likely they've evolved to emerge at night 122 00:07:33,233 --> 00:07:36,100 where visual predators may not be out as much. 123 00:07:36,133 --> 00:07:39,433 >> And the sand looks like it's boiling with all these 124 00:07:39,466 --> 00:07:41,933 little hatchling heads and flippers. 125 00:07:41,966 --> 00:07:45,233 >> NARRATOR: And if all goes well, the hatchlings will race 126 00:07:45,266 --> 00:07:48,000 toward the sea-- an innate behavior 127 00:07:48,033 --> 00:07:50,766 they've been reenacting for millennia. 128 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,233 >> They'll focus on the lightest horizon, so in a natural setting 129 00:07:54,266 --> 00:07:57,633 it's the ocean horizon, even on a moonless night. 130 00:07:57,666 --> 00:08:02,000 The back dune area is very dark, pitch black, but there's 131 00:08:02,033 --> 00:08:04,266 a lighter horizon and that's where those hatchlings 132 00:08:04,300 --> 00:08:07,233 are meant to go, is to the ocean. 133 00:08:08,866 --> 00:08:11,466 >> NARRATOR: These first few minutes after they hatch 134 00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:15,266 are a dangerous time for the tiny turtles. 135 00:08:15,300 --> 00:08:17,733 >> The biggest threat to small hatchlings 136 00:08:17,766 --> 00:08:20,766 on the nesting beach, as they emerge from the nest, 137 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:25,833 crabs, raccoons, birds may pick them off. 138 00:08:25,866 --> 00:08:29,400 >> NARRATOR: And in some highly developed coastal areas, 139 00:08:29,433 --> 00:08:32,200 sea turtles may mistake beachfront lighting 140 00:08:32,233 --> 00:08:36,066 for the horizon and run toward the lights along busy streets, 141 00:08:36,100 --> 00:08:39,533 rather than the ocean. 142 00:08:39,566 --> 00:08:43,666 Along the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, where there is 143 00:08:43,700 --> 00:08:46,133 less beachfront lighting from homes and businesses, 144 00:08:46,166 --> 00:08:49,566 most hatchlings know just where to go. 145 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:52,833 >> And they all run down the beach and into the water 146 00:08:52,866 --> 00:08:54,566 as fast as they can. 147 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:56,233 >> NARRATOR: But even in the water, 148 00:08:56,266 --> 00:08:59,266 they are not safe from potential predators. 149 00:08:59,300 --> 00:09:03,066 >> Once they get into the water, near-shore reef fish, barracuda, 150 00:09:03,100 --> 00:09:06,533 snapper, a lot of other species, may eat them. 151 00:09:06,566 --> 00:09:08,733 And birds may also pick them off because they're swimming 152 00:09:08,766 --> 00:09:10,200 at the sea surface. 153 00:09:10,233 --> 00:09:12,800 So there are a lot of near-shore predators, coastal predators, 154 00:09:12,833 --> 00:09:15,733 that they have to get through in order to get offshore. 155 00:09:18,500 --> 00:09:21,066 >> NARRATOR: No one knows how many hatchlings survive 156 00:09:21,100 --> 00:09:23,266 their first day. 157 00:09:23,300 --> 00:09:27,333 Some experts estimate that as few as one in 10,000 turtles 158 00:09:27,366 --> 00:09:30,033 will reach adulthood. 159 00:09:30,066 --> 00:09:32,433 >> It is an extremely low survivability. 160 00:09:32,466 --> 00:09:35,600 >> NARRATOR: Once in the water, they disappear 161 00:09:35,633 --> 00:09:38,266 into the open ocean. 162 00:09:38,300 --> 00:09:42,300 What follows is a period known as "“the Lost Years,"” 163 00:09:42,333 --> 00:09:46,100 since until recently, the exact whereabouts of the sea turtles 164 00:09:46,133 --> 00:09:50,233 during that time was largely a mystery. 165 00:09:50,266 --> 00:09:55,800 >> These turtles are hardwired to swim as soon as they hatch. 166 00:09:55,833 --> 00:09:58,866 They get in that water and they just swim for the horizon. 167 00:09:58,900 --> 00:10:03,133 >> NARRATOR: To get offshore, hatchlings have a long way to go 168 00:10:03,166 --> 00:10:05,933 in a short time. 169 00:10:05,966 --> 00:10:07,600 >> They just swim like little wind-up toys. 170 00:10:07,633 --> 00:10:10,466 >> Through that 24-hour swimming frenzy, they swim as fast 171 00:10:10,500 --> 00:10:12,933 as they can so they're getting as far away 172 00:10:12,966 --> 00:10:16,066 as quickly as possible from the coast. 173 00:10:16,100 --> 00:10:18,166 >> What they're trying to do is get into the currents. 174 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,500 >> And they keep swimming until they encounter some good habitat 175 00:10:22,533 --> 00:10:23,900 for them. 176 00:10:23,933 --> 00:10:27,800 >> One of the longstanding hypotheses is that the turtles 177 00:10:27,833 --> 00:10:29,900 do associate with sargassum. 178 00:10:29,933 --> 00:10:33,933 And they receive benefit from associating 179 00:10:33,966 --> 00:10:36,333 with this floating macroalgae. 180 00:10:36,366 --> 00:10:38,366 >> And that provides two essential things. 181 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,066 It's a place to hide from predators, and it's a place 182 00:10:41,100 --> 00:10:43,666 to find something to eat. 183 00:10:43,700 --> 00:10:48,666 >> NARRATOR: Sargassum floats freely in the Gulf of Mexico 184 00:10:48,700 --> 00:10:54,066 and in the Atlantic, providing a critical habitat for sea life. 185 00:10:54,100 --> 00:10:56,100 >> The sort of base of the food chain 186 00:10:56,133 --> 00:10:57,866 is this drifting sargassum algae. 187 00:10:57,900 --> 00:11:01,366 >> It's basically this golden oasis out in the ocean. 188 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,733 >> NARRATOR: Sargassum habitat is known to be transient 189 00:11:04,766 --> 00:11:08,666 and can move, depending on particular oceanic features. 190 00:11:21,700 --> 00:11:24,200 >> We typically have to go into blue water, we have to go 191 00:11:24,233 --> 00:11:27,566 into oceanic water, which means that we have to move 192 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:30,233 off the continental shelf, for the most part. 193 00:11:30,266 --> 00:11:32,933 In the Gulf of Mexico, we are going out 194 00:11:32,966 --> 00:11:37,100 off of Louisiana anywhere from tens of miles offshore 195 00:11:37,133 --> 00:11:39,100 to upwards of a 100 miles offshore 196 00:11:39,133 --> 00:11:40,833 in order to encounter this habitat 197 00:11:40,866 --> 00:11:43,600 which is ideal for the smaller turtles. 198 00:11:47,300 --> 00:11:49,833 >> NARRATOR: In the Gulf of Mexico, the warm, blue, 199 00:11:49,866 --> 00:11:52,433 salty waters of the Gulf collide 200 00:11:52,466 --> 00:11:55,066 with the Mississippi River's cold, murky outflow 201 00:11:55,100 --> 00:11:57,200 of fresh water. 202 00:11:57,233 --> 00:12:01,766 Along this rip, an undulating ribbon of sargassum develops 203 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,400 into what is known as a "weed line." 204 00:12:05,433 --> 00:12:08,633 That's where turtles will get pushed to, and that's where fish 205 00:12:08,666 --> 00:12:11,766 will collect, and crabs and things that turtles like to eat. 206 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:16,533 >> Anything from microscopic up to a whale will be 207 00:12:16,566 --> 00:12:18,466 around these weed lines. 208 00:12:18,500 --> 00:12:21,133 They're really neat environments. 209 00:12:21,166 --> 00:12:23,933 >> NARRATOR: It's along the weed lines that form 210 00:12:23,966 --> 00:12:26,466 between the Loop Current and the Mississippi River 211 00:12:26,500 --> 00:12:30,200 where Dr. Kate Mansfield and her research team are hoping 212 00:12:30,233 --> 00:12:33,400 to find one- to two-year-old sea turtles that drift 213 00:12:33,433 --> 00:12:36,733 with the sargassum. 214 00:12:36,766 --> 00:12:40,400 Researchers believe young turtles in the Gulf of Mexico 215 00:12:40,433 --> 00:12:43,500 swim from nesting grounds in Central America 216 00:12:43,533 --> 00:12:46,833 and ride along the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current 217 00:12:46,866 --> 00:12:49,233 into North America. 218 00:12:49,266 --> 00:12:52,600 >> We look for very long lines of sargassum and we'll just 219 00:12:52,633 --> 00:12:55,766 take the boat and cruise along. 220 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,300 We'll look for little dark objects in the sargassum, 221 00:12:58,333 --> 00:13:00,033 things that look like floating coconuts 222 00:13:00,066 --> 00:13:02,566 or an upside-down flip-flop. 223 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:06,166 >> Once we do decide that yeah that's a turtle, then a lot 224 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:08,566 of things do happen at once. 225 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:16,333 ♪ ♪ 226 00:13:16,366 --> 00:13:19,266 Where is he? 227 00:13:20,700 --> 00:13:23,600 ♪ ♪ 228 00:13:41,133 --> 00:13:43,233 (cheering) 229 00:13:43,266 --> 00:13:45,000 >> NARRATOR: Once the turtles are on board, 230 00:13:45,033 --> 00:13:47,000 the work-up begins. 231 00:13:47,033 --> 00:13:49,500 >> So from the time that we capture the turtles 232 00:13:49,533 --> 00:13:52,633 and bring them on board, we'll put them in our cabin, 233 00:13:52,666 --> 00:13:54,866 keep them shaded, and we'll work them up. 234 00:13:54,900 --> 00:13:58,233 We'll take basic information on the turtles: how long they are, 235 00:13:58,266 --> 00:14:01,133 how wide they are, how big their heads might be. 236 00:14:01,166 --> 00:14:04,400 And we will weigh them as well. 237 00:14:04,433 --> 00:14:08,600 We'll then also insert a little tiny chip or pit tag 238 00:14:08,633 --> 00:14:10,433 into their flipper. 239 00:14:10,466 --> 00:14:13,000 >> Those little implanted pit tags are like the ones 240 00:14:13,033 --> 00:14:16,033 the vet uses microchipping your dog or cat. 241 00:14:16,066 --> 00:14:18,700 Those are really wonderful tools, 242 00:14:18,733 --> 00:14:20,066 and they're a forever tag. 243 00:14:20,100 --> 00:14:22,133 >> It's so we can identify those turtles later 244 00:14:22,166 --> 00:14:23,600 if they're recaptured. 245 00:14:23,633 --> 00:14:27,000 We take tissue samples, we will take scute samples. 246 00:14:27,033 --> 00:14:31,433 If they happen to poop on board, we'll take fecal samples. 247 00:14:31,466 --> 00:14:34,900 >> NARRATOR: The researchers also gather sargassum 248 00:14:34,933 --> 00:14:37,966 with the creatures that live inside it, from the same areas 249 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,933 where they found the turtles floating in the weed line. 250 00:14:40,966 --> 00:14:44,366 This will help them to better understand what the turtles eat 251 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:46,866 during their lost years. 252 00:14:46,900 --> 00:14:49,766 >> We are finding little crustaceans, little crabs, 253 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,300 little fish, some fish larvae, it's a real variety. 254 00:14:53,333 --> 00:14:56,066 Very little is known about these little turtles, so anything 255 00:14:56,100 --> 00:14:58,333 that we can collect, we try to do. 256 00:14:58,366 --> 00:15:01,266 >> NARRATOR: In the future, experts hope to compare 257 00:15:01,300 --> 00:15:03,433 the stable isotope ratios 258 00:15:03,466 --> 00:15:04,966 collected from the turtles' tissue 259 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,533 to those of the prey items living in the sargassum. 260 00:15:09,566 --> 00:15:12,033 >> So the stable isotope analysis gives us a general idea 261 00:15:12,066 --> 00:15:13,500 of where the turtles have been 262 00:15:13,533 --> 00:15:15,466 and what they might have been eating. 263 00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:19,633 >> And it's real kind of cutting edge science. 264 00:15:19,666 --> 00:15:23,366 >> NARRATOR: Once the work-up is completed, the team begins 265 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,933 the process of satellite tagging the small turtles-- 266 00:15:26,966 --> 00:15:31,500 something that up until recently was thought impossible. 267 00:15:31,533 --> 00:15:34,266 >> For a number of years, the satellite tag technology 268 00:15:34,300 --> 00:15:36,966 just wasn't small enough to be able to put on the backs 269 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,800 of little turtles swimming long distances. 270 00:15:39,833 --> 00:15:42,633 The tags themselves had very large batteries 271 00:15:42,666 --> 00:15:43,600 that were required 272 00:15:43,633 --> 00:15:46,133 to communicate with the overhead satellites. 273 00:15:46,166 --> 00:15:48,266 >> So there was too much weight and too much drag 274 00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:50,700 on the turtles. 275 00:15:50,733 --> 00:15:54,233 >> And only several years ago did a company come up 276 00:15:54,266 --> 00:15:58,300 with a solar-powered, tiny little tag for birds 277 00:15:58,333 --> 00:16:02,600 that we were able to have them modify slightly to be able 278 00:16:02,633 --> 00:16:04,966 to use in a marine environment 279 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,400 and use on the backs of tiny little turtles. 280 00:16:09,900 --> 00:16:12,033 >> NARRATOR: Kate and her collaborator, 281 00:16:12,066 --> 00:16:15,200 Dr. Jeanette Wyneken from Florida Atlantic University, 282 00:16:15,233 --> 00:16:19,766 spent a lot of time making sure the tags were just right. 283 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,000 >> Working with endangered and threatened sea turtles, 284 00:16:22,033 --> 00:16:24,866 we wanted to make sure that what we were doing to the turtles 285 00:16:24,900 --> 00:16:29,766 would not unduly harm their ability to survive in the wild, 286 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:30,933 would not affect their growth, 287 00:16:30,966 --> 00:16:35,466 would not affect their feeding behavior. 288 00:16:35,500 --> 00:16:38,266 >> NARRATOR: Once they found a satellite tag that would work, 289 00:16:38,300 --> 00:16:41,266 they needed to figure out how to attach the tags 290 00:16:41,300 --> 00:16:44,300 to the rapidly growing sea turtles. 291 00:16:44,333 --> 00:16:46,733 >> We'll prep the shell really well. 292 00:16:46,766 --> 00:16:48,633 We'll sand down the shell, make sure that there 293 00:16:48,666 --> 00:16:51,300 are no little bits and pieces that can peel. 294 00:16:51,333 --> 00:16:53,233 There were no previous methods. 295 00:16:53,266 --> 00:16:56,766 Traditional hard epoxies that are used on larger sea turtles 296 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:00,300 may stay on for a year, two years, three years. 297 00:17:00,333 --> 00:17:03,533 Those hard epoxies don't allow for the turtles to grow. 298 00:17:03,566 --> 00:17:07,633 There's not flexibility to those harder attachments. 299 00:17:07,666 --> 00:17:10,333 >> NARRATOR: So Kate and her team had to be creative 300 00:17:10,366 --> 00:17:12,033 to find a solution. 301 00:17:12,066 --> 00:17:15,600 >> The sea turtle shells, in general, for loggerheads 302 00:17:15,633 --> 00:17:17,866 and hawksbills and other species, 303 00:17:17,900 --> 00:17:20,100 they're made of keratin. 304 00:17:20,133 --> 00:17:21,866 And they have this outer keratin layer. 305 00:17:21,900 --> 00:17:25,166 It's the same thing as our fingernails and toenails. 306 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:26,800 The turtles are growing and they shed 307 00:17:26,833 --> 00:17:29,166 the thin layers of keratin as they grow. 308 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,266 We were having trouble initially with putting tags 309 00:17:32,300 --> 00:17:35,166 on turtles using a variety of different attachment methods. 310 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,033 We tested all of this in the laboratory. 311 00:17:38,066 --> 00:17:41,133 And the tag attachments were falling off 312 00:17:41,166 --> 00:17:43,300 within one to two weeks. 313 00:17:43,333 --> 00:17:46,933 They would have a little tiny bit of shell attached to it. 314 00:17:46,966 --> 00:17:49,733 So we finally put two and two together and realized 315 00:17:49,766 --> 00:17:52,733 that we could seal the keratin, or seal the shell 316 00:17:52,766 --> 00:17:55,200 with acrylic nail fill. 317 00:17:55,233 --> 00:17:57,533 >> NARRATOR: The acrylic nail fill delays 318 00:17:57,566 --> 00:18:00,800 the natural peeling process by sealing the sea turtle's shell, 319 00:18:00,833 --> 00:18:03,366 but without harming the animal. 320 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,266 >> That nail acrylic is really critically important to keep 321 00:18:05,300 --> 00:18:07,266 the tag on as long as possible. 322 00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:08,966 >> The next step, with these turtles, 323 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,366 unlike the green turtles, there's this vertebral ridge. 324 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,966 What we need to do is build up the sides, so we're going to put 325 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:20,366 two strips of old wetsuits onto the shell, we're going 326 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,266 to glue it with hair extension glue, and we'll let that cure 327 00:18:24,300 --> 00:18:26,400 for just a couple of minutes, it's very fast. 328 00:18:26,433 --> 00:18:30,866 And then we'll attach the tag with aquarium silicone. 329 00:18:30,900 --> 00:18:33,500 >> NARRATOR: This method allows the tags to stay on 330 00:18:33,533 --> 00:18:37,700 for several months before they naturally slough off. 331 00:18:37,733 --> 00:18:40,100 This gives the experts the chance to collect 332 00:18:40,133 --> 00:18:44,033 longer-term data on the movement of the turtles. 333 00:18:44,066 --> 00:18:45,400 >> What they came up with 334 00:18:45,433 --> 00:18:47,166 with this solar-powered little transmitter 335 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,333 and attachment technique took years of lab work 336 00:18:50,366 --> 00:18:53,266 and it really goes to their persistence. 337 00:18:53,300 --> 00:18:58,166 >> She's learned an awful lot about it and is really a pioneer 338 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,100 with these very small turtles. 339 00:19:00,133 --> 00:19:04,500 >> NARRATOR: Shell composition can vary by species, so they had 340 00:19:04,533 --> 00:19:07,700 to use a different method to attach satellite tags 341 00:19:07,733 --> 00:19:09,966 to green turtles. 342 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,666 >> For the green turtles, their shell is very different, 343 00:19:12,700 --> 00:19:14,200 and it feels different. 344 00:19:14,233 --> 00:19:16,766 The shell is almost like Teflon. 345 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,100 >> The green turtles seem to have a little more 346 00:19:19,133 --> 00:19:22,300 of a waxy coating on their carapace. 347 00:19:22,333 --> 00:19:24,633 >> And anything that we would put on the turtle would just 348 00:19:24,666 --> 00:19:27,000 fall right off within a... less than a week. 349 00:19:27,033 --> 00:19:32,100 So we ended up testing a number of other different options 350 00:19:32,133 --> 00:19:34,600 and came up with a very simple solution, which is just 351 00:19:34,633 --> 00:19:38,933 a flexible boat adhesive, and it works pretty well. 352 00:19:38,966 --> 00:19:42,433 >> NARRATOR: Once the turtles are tagged, the team waits 353 00:19:42,466 --> 00:19:45,700 an hour or so for the adhesives to dry. 354 00:19:45,733 --> 00:19:48,700 The animals are then released in the same general area 355 00:19:48,733 --> 00:19:50,666 where they were captured. 356 00:19:50,700 --> 00:19:53,600 ♪ ♪ 357 00:20:40,700 --> 00:20:43,633 >> One of the longstanding hypotheses about these 358 00:20:43,666 --> 00:20:47,733 young oceanic stage turtles is that they tend to just drift. 359 00:20:47,766 --> 00:20:50,566 They get offshore and they're passive drifters 360 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:54,000 for a number of years, we don't know how long. 361 00:20:54,033 --> 00:20:56,666 >> And so we release the drifter at the same time that we release 362 00:20:56,700 --> 00:20:58,200 the turtle with the satellite tag 363 00:20:58,233 --> 00:21:00,333 and then compare the tracks to see how they differ. 364 00:21:00,366 --> 00:21:05,033 And they definitely do differ quite a bit over time. 365 00:21:05,066 --> 00:21:06,833 >> The turtles, they're actually actively moving 366 00:21:06,866 --> 00:21:08,133 to different habitat. 367 00:21:08,166 --> 00:21:09,966 Which would probably make sense. 368 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,600 >> Because these oceanographic features, these weed lines 369 00:21:13,633 --> 00:21:15,566 and convergence zones, they disappear. 370 00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:17,500 And they move. 371 00:21:17,533 --> 00:21:20,366 >> And they actively seek out other big hunks of sargassum 372 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:22,000 where they're going to find food. 373 00:21:22,033 --> 00:21:24,466 And that's just a matter of survival, looking for food. 374 00:21:24,500 --> 00:21:28,866 But to prove that is pretty unique. 375 00:21:28,900 --> 00:21:31,000 >> NARRATOR: Young sea turtles Kate satellite-tagged 376 00:21:31,033 --> 00:21:33,800 in the North Atlantic Ocean provided the first 377 00:21:33,833 --> 00:21:37,666 conclusive evidence detailing what happens to sea turtles 378 00:21:37,700 --> 00:21:40,733 during their lost years. 379 00:21:40,766 --> 00:21:43,433 >> They can cover tremendous distances 380 00:21:43,466 --> 00:21:47,766 and sort of ride the big ocean highways of these currents, 381 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:51,100 coming back around, making trips that last years, 382 00:21:51,133 --> 00:21:53,833 and covering thousands and thousands of miles. 383 00:21:53,866 --> 00:21:55,633 So they're really world travelers. 384 00:21:55,666 --> 00:21:59,366 ♪ ♪ 385 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,700 >> NARRATOR: And the sea turtles didn't just travel far. 386 00:22:02,733 --> 00:22:05,300 >> I think it's astonishing how quickly they travel 387 00:22:05,333 --> 00:22:06,800 when they're released. 388 00:22:06,833 --> 00:22:10,000 We had turtles that after maybe one or two weeks were already 389 00:22:10,033 --> 00:22:11,266 up off North Carolina 390 00:22:11,300 --> 00:22:13,766 when Kate released them off the coast of Florida. 391 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:16,433 And so traveling hundreds upon hundreds of miles in two weeks 392 00:22:16,466 --> 00:22:19,266 is unheard of for most species. 393 00:22:19,300 --> 00:22:21,466 But for turtles it's practically normal. 394 00:22:21,500 --> 00:22:23,933 It's not even really surprising but it's really cool to see it. 395 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,666 >> NARRATOR: Data on the sea turtles her team captured 396 00:22:29,700 --> 00:22:33,966 and tagged in the Gulf of Mexico is still emerging but revealed 397 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:38,666 no less surprising preliminary results. 398 00:22:38,700 --> 00:22:42,066 >> Here is a map from the turtles that we tracked 399 00:22:42,100 --> 00:22:45,200 this year in the Gulf of Mexico. 400 00:22:45,233 --> 00:22:47,133 We're seeing a real mix of behaviors. 401 00:22:47,166 --> 00:22:50,400 A number of the turtles that we tagged have dispersed 402 00:22:50,433 --> 00:22:53,200 fairly far from where we initially released them 403 00:22:53,233 --> 00:22:56,800 off of the coast of Louisiana. 404 00:22:56,833 --> 00:23:01,033 These data are the first in-water captured sea turtles 405 00:23:01,066 --> 00:23:03,066 that have been satellite-tagged. 406 00:23:03,100 --> 00:23:06,166 So it's really the first information on where the turtles 407 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,200 are going, what they're doing, how they're interacting 408 00:23:08,233 --> 00:23:11,766 with their physical environment in the open ocean. 409 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:16,900 >> The key message is, the lost years are no longer lost years. 410 00:23:16,933 --> 00:23:18,666 We have some ideas now. 411 00:23:18,700 --> 00:23:20,966 >> 698. 412 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,433 >> NARRATOR: While Kate's team has gained insight 413 00:23:23,466 --> 00:23:24,866 into the lost years of sea turtles 414 00:23:24,900 --> 00:23:26,233 in the North Atlantic Ocean 415 00:23:26,266 --> 00:23:30,366 and the Gulf of Mexico, there is much left to learn. 416 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:32,400 >> It's still a great mystery. 417 00:23:32,433 --> 00:23:34,366 >> And it's kind of neat, 418 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:37,266 because we're asking some really basic, fundamental, 419 00:23:37,300 --> 00:23:40,866 almost naturalist questions about the life history 420 00:23:40,900 --> 00:23:45,033 and the behavior of the turtles that haven't been answered yet. 421 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,833 >> NARRATOR: Once they grow to about dinner-plate size, 422 00:23:55,866 --> 00:23:58,700 sea turtles leave their open ocean home 423 00:23:58,733 --> 00:24:02,800 and migrate to coastal areas. 424 00:24:02,833 --> 00:24:05,366 >> So we don't know how long the Lost Year time frame is, 425 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:07,233 that oceanic stage. 426 00:24:07,266 --> 00:24:10,100 But after several years, depending upon the species, 427 00:24:10,133 --> 00:24:14,600 the turtles will then recruit into near-shore habitats 428 00:24:14,633 --> 00:24:17,200 as larger juvenile sea turtles. 429 00:24:17,233 --> 00:24:21,000 >> They're programmed to turn around and head back 430 00:24:21,033 --> 00:24:22,600 into shallow water. 431 00:24:22,633 --> 00:24:24,300 Except for the leatherbacks. 432 00:24:24,333 --> 00:24:25,733 They'll stay out there their whole lives. 433 00:24:25,766 --> 00:24:28,966 >> NARRATOR: Those species that do migrate to the coast 434 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,200 have grown large and fast enough to avoid near-shore predators, 435 00:24:33,233 --> 00:24:35,600 like sharks. 436 00:24:35,633 --> 00:24:38,800 >> And that's a place where there is more food items 437 00:24:38,833 --> 00:24:41,133 and shelter places that are appropriate 438 00:24:41,166 --> 00:24:43,033 for a little bigger turtle. 439 00:24:43,066 --> 00:24:46,966 >> We don't know how long that juvenile coastal phase is 440 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,466 but they will reach maturity, depending upon species, 441 00:24:49,500 --> 00:24:52,300 in 20 to 30 years. 442 00:24:52,333 --> 00:24:55,766 >> As they approach sexual maturity, the teenage years, 443 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,700 they'll start migrating to a nesting beach. 444 00:25:02,333 --> 00:25:05,766 >> NARRATOR: After they've mated offshore, pregnant females 445 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:11,533 come to shore to lay their eggs along the beach, 446 00:25:11,566 --> 00:25:17,900 an ancient ritual that repeats itself with each new generation. 447 00:25:17,933 --> 00:25:21,533 >> Most turtles lay their eggs on the nesting beach 448 00:25:21,566 --> 00:25:23,600 where they themselves were hatched. 449 00:25:23,633 --> 00:25:27,300 They remember and imprint on that beach. 450 00:25:27,333 --> 00:25:29,700 >> The life cycle comes full circle. 451 00:25:29,733 --> 00:25:33,100 >> And start that process over again. 452 00:26:02,566 --> 00:26:05,233 Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH, access.wgbh.org 453 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,566 >> Major funding for this program was provided 454 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:18,566 by the Batchelor Foundation. 455 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,533 Encouraging people to preserve and protect 456 00:26:21,566 --> 00:26:24,466 America's underwater resources. 457 00:26:27,100 --> 00:26:29,833 And by Divers Direct-- Emocean Club, 458 00:26:29,866 --> 00:26:32,966 inspiring the pursuit of tropical adventures 459 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:34,900 and scuba diving. 460 00:26:34,933 --> 00:26:36,866 And by the Do Unto Others Trust.