Sea-Turtle Hatchlings Adapting to Humans

Guest: Sarah Milton, PhD, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University Sea turtles undertake a hazardous journey as soon as they hatch on the beach where their mother laid them. Usually under the cover of night, they emerge from the nest and head toward the surf where they’ll swim out to sea. That is, unless there are a lot of lights or obstacles in their path. If they become disoriented, then a trip that should take a few minutes might turn into hours of wandering before they finally make it to the water’s edge. Scientists at Florida Atlantic University wanted to know if all that extra energy would hurt a hatchlings’ ability to swim once they made it. So they made turtle treadmills to find out.