May 19, 2016
Research carried out by The
University of Western Australia, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and
the Department of Parks and Wildlife has found new evidence that there is an
impact from artificial light on the survival of wild sea turtle hatchlings.
Using the latest
micro-technology, the scientists tracked the movements of green turtle hatchlings (Chelonia mydas) for the first time, as
they moved through the water near the shore of the Ningaloo Reef in Western
Australia.
The research found that 90 per
cent of the tracked hatchlings swam towards the artificial light thinking it
was the moon and becoming disorientated in their journey offshore.
UWA Professor of Coastal
Oceanography Charitha Pattiaratchi said the scientists measured oceanographic
parameters during the experiments that enabled them to isolate the effects of
the artificial light on the hatchlings by looking at the effects of ocean
currents.
"It is widely known that artificial lighting near
turtle nesting beaches attracts turtle hatchlings as they emerge from nests and
can cause them to have trouble finding the sea," Professor Pattiaratchi
said.
"But understanding what
happens once they reach the sea and how lights on water from sources such as
boats, ports and wharves affect them has been unknown up until now because we
lacked a simple means to track them."
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