Leatherback Sea Turtles: powerful swimmers,
from Monterey Bay to Papua New Guinea?

Leatherback Sea Turtle Photo © Monterey Bay Whale Watch

Thursday, December 5 (Note change of date from last Thursday of month) 7 p.m Refreshments, 7:30 p.m. Program Lecture Hall, Monterey Boatworks, Hopkins Marine Station, Pacific Grove (across from the American Tin Cannery Outlet Stores) Speaker: Scott Benson, National Marine Fisheries Service and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML)

The leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest sea turtle, weighing up to 1300 lbs. These animals are considered critically endangered due to the demise of once large populations throughout the Pacific Ocean. Past and current threats include intentional harvesting of eggs and adults, and incidental bycatch in fisheries throughout the Pacific Ocean. The leatherback turtle has the most extensive range of any living reptile, performing long migrations between low latitude nesting areas and high latitude foraging grounds, where they consume large quantities of gelatinous prey, such as jellyfish. They are the most commonly seen sea turtle off central California including Monterey Bay. This is a region that is strongly influenced by coastal upwelling during early summer. When this phenomenon diminishes at the end of summer, sea surface temperatures along the coast may rise markedly, bringing an abundance of jellies close to our shores and influencing the abundance and distribution of leatherbacks.

Our speaker heads up current research involving aerial surveys to assess the turtles' abundance and distribution off California. His group is also attaching satellite tags to individuals captured in Monterey Bay and also in Papua New Guinea to document diving behavior and migration pathways between these widely separated areas. Scott received his Master's Degree from MLML on baleen whales and krill in Monterey Bay and was a recipient of one of our research grants. Please join us to learn more about one species of these fascinating creatures about which much is still unknown.

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