Video Winner: Space Hatchling

Videography by Alexis Moyle, graduate student, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

This video was taken during the swim performance trial of a loggerhead (Carretta caretta) sea turtle hatchling. Hatchlings are placed in a vest that is connected to a force transducer that measures their swim strength as they powerstroke. My project aims to understand the impacts of global warming on hatchling morphology and locomotion. As sea turtle nest incubation temperatures are becoming hotter on average, this could impact the physiology and thus swimming ability of the sea turtles. This, in turn, could affect the survival of individuals. The video was shot on an iPhone at the front end of the tank for an anterior view of the locomotion.