Leatherback turtles stump scientists: 11-08-2008
A turtle species commonly found in the seas surrounding Indonesia has stumped scientists by performing rare and out of character dives.
Researchers from the University of Swansea have been tracking the location, temperature depth and duration of the dives of 13 leatherback turtles.
Their research found that of more than 26,000 dives, a fractional amount were to extreme depths; some up to a kilometre below sea level.
The reason for these deep sea dives has thrown up debate but Jonathan Houghton, who was involved with the study, believes that contrary to popular opinion, it is not to evade predators.
"Hanging out at the surface would be a daft strategy for avoiding predators, because that is where they can spot your silhouette," said Houghton.
Mr Houghton instead believes that the turtles are tracking food at depths of around 600 meters.
Turtles usually eat jellyfish but the Welsh team believes that, when migrating, they can dive to feed off of jelly-fish-like animals that form long colonies during the day.