Stanford University
The Sea Turtle Directory
Country: United States (contiguous)
Organization / Project Name: Loggerhead STRETCH
Website: https://www.loggerheadstretch.org
Email: loggerheadstretch@gmail.com
Description: Loggerhead STRETCH (Sea Turtle Research Experiment on the Thermal Corridor Hypothesis) is a new research project focused on understanding the movements of North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles. These turtles move across the entire ocean basin from the beaches of Japan to critical foraging grounds in North America, yet the mechanisms that connect these distant habitats have remained poorly understood. Our team recently analyzed a 15-year dataset from satellite tagged loggerheads released in the Western North Pacific, producing the “thermal corridor” hypothesis — which we will test by experimentally releasing cohorts of 25 satellite-tagged loggerheads over the next four years in both warm and cold environmental conditions. This experimental oceanography approach will directly test the thermal corridor hypothesis and improve our understanding of how these endangered species may respond and adapt to climate variability.
Species of focus: Loggerheads (Caretta caretta)
Volunteer program: No
Tourist activities (Y/N): No
Primary Areas of Work: Satellite telemetry, In water research
Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094582752515
Instagram Profile: https://www.instagram.com/loggerheadstretch/
Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/ProjectSTRETCH