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Sun compass orientation in juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas)

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Date Issued:
2010
Summary:
Recent studies show that sea turtles use both magnetic and visual cues to successfully orient. Juvenile green sea turtles from the near shore reefs of Palm Beach County, Florida were brought to the lab to determine whether the sun could serve as a visual orientation cue. When tethered during the day in a large outdoor tank west of the ocean, the turtles oriented east to northeast. To determine whether the sun's position was used to maintain their heading, I altered the turtles' perception of time by entraining them to a light cycle advanced by 7 h relative to the natural cycle. When tested afterward in the same outdoor tank the turtles oriented northwest, the predicted direction after compensating for the sun's movement over 7 h across the sky. Orientation was unchanged when the turtles bore magnets that negated the use of magnetic cues. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the turtles used the sun for orientation.
Title: Sun compass orientation in juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas).
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Name(s): Mott, Cody Robert.
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Department of Biological Sciences
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Issued: 2010
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Physical Form: electronic
Extent: x, 37 p. : ill.
Language(s): English
Summary: Recent studies show that sea turtles use both magnetic and visual cues to successfully orient. Juvenile green sea turtles from the near shore reefs of Palm Beach County, Florida were brought to the lab to determine whether the sun could serve as a visual orientation cue. When tethered during the day in a large outdoor tank west of the ocean, the turtles oriented east to northeast. To determine whether the sun's position was used to maintain their heading, I altered the turtles' perception of time by entraining them to a light cycle advanced by 7 h relative to the natural cycle. When tested afterward in the same outdoor tank the turtles oriented northwest, the predicted direction after compensating for the sun's movement over 7 h across the sky. Orientation was unchanged when the turtles bore magnets that negated the use of magnetic cues. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the turtles used the sun for orientation.
Identifier: 654815216 (oclc), 2705073 (digitool), FADT2705073 (IID), fau:3527 (fedora)
Note(s): by Cody Robert Mott.
Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010.
Includes bibliography.
Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Subject(s): Animal orientation
Adaptation (Biology)
Animal navigation
Sea turtles -- Migration
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2705073
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU