GK-S39: Illuminating Conservation - A Beacon of Hope for Sea Turtles

The latest installment in the Bermuda Zoological Society lecture series will see a talk presented by Wayne Ledwell, Co-Director of Tangly Whales Inc., Newfoundland and Labrador, on the topic of “Helping Entangled and Stranded Whales & Sea Turtles.” The lecture will take place on Wednesday, February 13 at 7.00pm, with doors opening at 6.30pm. The […]

Bermuda College and the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce [BEST] have announced the return of their Eco Lunch & Learn series on Thursday, February 24. A spokesperson said, “The series begins its winter schedule with an illustrated presentation, ‘The Rise and Fall of Bermuda’s Sea Turtle.’ “Presenting will be Bermudian Jennifer Gray, Director of the Bermuda […]

The latest design in Bernews’ weekly Wallpaper Wednesday series features a sea turtle cartoon, with the colourful animal depicted amongst other sea life. The design is available in two sizes; a Facebook profile cover image and also in a vertical format, ideally sized for use as a mobile phone wallpaper, WhatsApp status image or Instagram […]

The Sargasso Sea Commission and Inter-American Sea Turtle Convention signed an MOU aimed at “more effective conservation of sea turtle species and the habitats that they utilize.” A spokesperson said, “During the Inter-American Sea Turtle Convention [IAC] 16th Consultative Committee of Experts Meeting, Dr. David Freestone, Executive Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission, and Verónica […]

The Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute [BUEI] iannounced that the topic for this month’s ‘Kids Hour Saturdays’ is Sea Turtles. A spokesperson said, “On Saturday, June 17th, at both 11am and 2pm, ‘Kids Hour’ will screen an episode of the TV series ‘Ocean Vet’ all about Bermuda’s Green Sea Turtles. This will be followed by a […]

After being discovered “disoriented and cold-stunned” in Canada last November, a green sea turtle named ‘Scotti’ has been successfully rehabilitated in Bermuda and released back into the wild. The Bermuda Zoological Society posted the video below on Instagram and said, “A disoriented and cold-stunned green sea turtle found in Canada last November was released back […]

When fishermen found the endangered loggerhead sea turtle off Vancouver Island in February, she was listlessly floating in a bed of kelp

As of last Wednesday, at least 3,500 sea turtles have been rescued from freezing waters in the midst record-breaking winter storm

This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore.

Sea turtles are remarkable creatures for a number of reasons, including the way they hear underwater—not through openings in the form of ears, but by detecting vibrations directly through the skin covering their auditory system. Inspired by this ability to detect sound through skin, researchers in China have created a heart-monitoring system, which initial tests in humans suggest may be a viable for monitoring heartbeats.

A key way in which doctors monitor heart health involves “listening” to the heartbeat, either using a stethoscope or more sophisticated technology, like echocardiograms. However, these approaches require a visit to a specialist, and so researchers have been keen to develop alternative, lower cost solutions that people can use at home, which could also allow for more frequent testing and monitoring.

Junbin Zang, a lecturer at the North University of China, and his colleagues specialize in creating heart-monitoring technologies. Their interest was piqued when they learned about the inner workings of the sea turtle’s auditory system, which is able to detect low-frequency signals, especially in the 300- to 400-hertz range.

“Heart sounds are also low-frequency signals, so the low-frequency characteristics of the sea turtle’s ear have provided us with great inspiration,” explains Zang.

At a glance, it looks like turtles don’t have ears. Their auditory system instead lies under a layer of skin and fat, through which it picks up vibrations. As with humans, a small bone in the ear vibrates as sounds hit it, and as it oscillates, those pulses are converted to electrical signals that are sent to the brain for processing and interpretation.

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But sea turtles have a unique, slender T-shaped conduit that encapsulates their ear bones, restricting the movement of the similarly T-shaped ear bones to only vibrate in a perpendicular manner. This design provides their auditory system with high sensitivity to vibrations.

Zang and his colleagues set out to create a heart monitoring system with similar features. They created a T-shaped heart-sound sensor that imitates the ear bones of sea turtles using a tiny MEMS cantilever beam sensor. As sound hits the sensor, the vibrations cause deformations in its beam, and the fluctuations in the voltage resistance are then translated into electrical signals.

The researchers first tested the sensor’s ability to detect sound in lab tests, and then tested the sensor’s ability to monitor heartbeats in two human volunteers in their early 20s. The results, described in a study published 1 April in IEEE Sensors Journal, show that the sensor can effectively detect the two phases of a heartbeat.

“The sensor exhibits excellent vibration characteristics,” Zang says, noting that it has a higher vibration sensitivity compared to other accelerometers on the market.

However, the sensor currently picks up a significant amount of background noise, which Zang says his team plans to address in future work. Ultimately, they are interested in integrating this novel bioinspired sensor into devices they have previously created—including portable handheld and wearable versions, and a relatively larger version for use in hospitals—for the simultaneous detection of electrocardiogram and phonocardiogram signals.

This article appears in the July 2024 print issue as “Sea Turtles Inspire Heart-Monitor Design.”

For three years—2001, 2002 and 2008—on Teopa Beach in Jalisco, Mexico, researchers examined the shell, neck and flippers of female turtles that had come out onto the beach to nest, collecting and carefully documenting all the organisms—known as epibionts—they found.

The post Sea turtle “hitchhikers” ID’d in survey appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fond of a range of marine and freshwater vegetation such as turtle grass and eelgrass, the Florida manatee spends most of its waking hours grazing […]

The post Algae bloom toxins may make Florida’s manatees and sea turtles susceptible to deadly accidents appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

According to a new study, eating sea turtle eggs increases the health risk of heavy metal exposure in local communities in Panama and may provide […]

The post Human health risks of eating sea turtle eggs could benefit species appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Every year many marine animals including seabirds, sea turtles and sharks are unintentionally caught as bycatch in commercial fishing gear. Recent research has demonstrated that illuminating fishing nets with ultraviolet (UV) lights can reduce sea turtle bycatch without significantly affecting the number of fish caught or their market value.

Nine areas in the Atlantic where leatherback turtles are at higher risk of bycatch have been identified in a recent study. To help protect this important species less damaging fishing practices could be used in these areas, the study concludes, and some could be candidates for marine protected status.

Five years after the 2010 BP oil spill, the endangered reptiles are one of several species still suffering from enigmatic declines.

Endangered loggerhead sea turtles are making a comeback in the Southeast thanks to protections put in place decades ago.

Rare endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles hatch on New York City beach, but they normally nest in the Gulf of Mexico.

Rescuers in Cape Cod are racing to save wave after wave of "cold-stunned" sea turtles.

2019 has been a record year for the threatened species, even after Hurricane Dorian destroyed sea turtle nests in the state.

Researchers are trying to better understand how light pollution affects the endangered animals.

The turtle survived, but a video of the ordeal demonstrates why recycling can be a matter of life and death.

Watch as a WWE observer releases beautiful olive ridley sea turtle from entrapment.

Hoping to better protect loggerheads, scientists get creative in finding a way to track the years that baby turtles spend in the ocean.

LEDs can stop sea turtles from dying in fishing nets, a new study finds, and without limiting how many fish are caught.

Scientists aren't sure yet just how widespread these beautiful, glowing hawksbill turtles are.

The density of turtles is so high that you could almost imagine crossing the sea by hopping from shell to shell.

Conservationists are reporting improved nesting conditions because conditions are right and there's less pressure from tourism.

After watching turtles overcome horrific injuries, five-year-old Queenslander, Owen Harris, is urging everyone not to litter and to do the "right thing" when fishing.

A sighting of a sea creature not usually found in Tasmanian waters has surprised onlookers, but could become more frequent, experts say.

As more people around the world stay inside, more animals are able to thrive in places that are typically crowded by humans. In the southeastern U.S., sea turtles are enjoying a peaceful nesting season without pesky sunbathers, fishermen or boats.[...]

Beaches in Florida and Thailand have tentatively reported increases in nests, due to decreased human presence. But the trend won’t necessarily persist

As the world gets warmer, animals whose sex is determined by temperature are finding cool ways to control their own fate. But can they adapt in time?

As the world gets warmer, animals whose sex is determined by temperature are finding cool ways to control their own fate. But can they adapt in time?

Over time, trash that has been floating in the ocean gets covered in algae and other micro-organisms

Federal authorities arrested eight people in the cities of Arroyo and Patillas, Puerto Rico, yesterday on felony and misdemeanor charges for the illegal take, possession and sale of endangered sea turtles and their parts for human consumption as well as aiding and abetting violations of the Endangered Species and Lacey Act, announced Robert G. Dreher, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Manuel Garcia-Figueroa, a resident of Playa Añasco, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty to a bill of information charging him with a felony violation of the Lacey Act for the illegal sale of sea turtle meat, the Justice Department announced today.

A young sea turtle found in the Netherlands will be released after a three-year recovery. We also have the search for the "extinct" Javan tiger, Sylvester Stallone's bat cave incident, and more.

The destinies of the people of Kolavipalam village in North Kerala and the endangered Olive Ridley turtles are bound together. M P Basheer explores.