The EOMAR Group of the ULPGC institute is carrying out this work together with the ADS Biodiversity Association, by obtaining crucial data for the conservation of this endangered species that will allow us to broaden our knowledge of its distribution and migratory habits, facilitating the identification and oceanographic characterisation of key habitats for the species
The Institute for Research in Sustainable Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems (ECOAQUA) of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), through the Ecophysiology of Marine Organisms group (EOMAR), is participating in a loggerhead turtle conservation project in Macaronesia.
The EOMAR group, coordinated by the researcher Borja Aguiar González, forms part, together with other institutions and companies, of the ANIMAL MOCA-UP team (Animal telemetry to monitor the CAnary current and the UPwelling system), a working group that brings together researchers from different disciplines with the aim of using animal telemetry to monitor the oceans (in this case the Canary current and the Saharan upwelling system). To this end, it combines telemetry with in situ measurements (devices equipped with temperature and depth sensors), very relevant data to study in detail both the behaviour of individuals and the oceanographic characteristics of the habitats used by them.
The ANIMAL MOCA-UP team is monitoring a total of 12 loggerhead turtles located and released in the Canary Islands, and the satellite devices have been financed by both the Loro Parque Foundation (within the framework of the Oceanographic Turtle Project) and the Fuerteventura Island Council (within the Programme for the Expansion of the loggerhead turtle breeding habitat in Macaronesia), in an initiative that unites science and technology to guarantee a sustainable future for marine species.
The members of ECOAQUA focus on the oceanographic characterisation of the areas travelled by the released specimens while the ADS Biodiversidad association carries out the ecological and biological interpretation of the data obtained for the species, offering an enormously relevant tool that will allow us to broaden our knowledge of the loggerhead turtle, which will help to improve the effectiveness of its conservation strategies, as well as obtaining oceanographic data in real time, which will improve the simulation of the ocean-atmosphere interaction in models for the study of climate change in this region of the North Atlantic.
The Island Councils of Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura are collaborating by providing the loggerhead turtle specimens found on these islands and recovered in their respective wildlife recovery centres.
The Environment Department of the Island Council of Fuerteventura, which has a prominent role in this project, has recently reported on the evolution of some of the loggerhead turtles from Fuerteventura, the protagonists of this study. This is the case of Pintá and Willy who, according to the institution from Fuerteventura in a statement, 'have found a paradise in the waters of the Saharan upwelling, a region known for its high marine biodiversity and the abundance of nutrients that sustains numerous species'. For his part, Simón, another of the monitored turtles, 'has shown an adventurous character, travelling an extensive route through the Atlantic and generating essential data for scientific research and the protection of the loggerhead turtle'.
Anyone interested in taking part in this experience can follow the journey of these turtles on the website https://animalmoca-up.godaddysites.com/, specifically on the ‘Sentinels of Clim. Change’ tab.
Using this tool, users will be able to observe first-hand the impact of the work carried out by the multidisciplinary team at ANIMAL MOCA-UP, following the adventure of these turtles, sentinels of climate change in Macaronesia, and at the same time, learning about their contribution to global scientific knowledge.