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About Us - History
Species Research - Aquatic:
Sea turtles
By fitting sea turtles with satellite tracking devices, scientists from Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and SeaWorld wanted to gain a greater understanding of turtle navigation and biology in the face of threats to the species from fishing, pollution and habitat destruction. After living 20 years at SeaWorld San Diego, three mature Pacific loggerhead sea turtles were released off the California coast in October 2000. Thus far, the satellite data have allowed researchers to track the turtles' amazing trek:
- As of April 18, 2002, Mihali was making a run for a nesting beach about 200 km from Yakushima, which would put her right on schedule for mid-summer nesting this year.
- As of Sept. 25, 2001 (as indicated on the map below), Crackers was currently 430 km from Japan.
- Bubba, a male Pacific Loggerhead sea turtle, was the first of the three turtles attached with satellite tracking devices to reach Japanese waters August 2001. He was traveling an average of 18 to 24 miles/30 to 40 kilometers per day since his release.
How the turtles behave once they reach Japan is something of a mystery because scientists have never had the opportunity to study the transition from an open ocean life to a coastal life for this species. Dr. Scott Eckert, the senior research biologist spearheading the project stresses that most of these migration observations have never been made before so no one really knows what these turtles do once they return home. Because the turtles are near shore, Japanese fishermen have been urged to contact either Dr. Eckert at H-SWRI or the Sea Turtle Association of Japan if they come across one of these turtles with a satellite tracking device. Finding these turtles will allow Dr. Eckert to continue his research and to conduct a health assessment on the animals.
Information garnered from this study will help close an important gap in past research because it has been difficult to study the reptiles away from their nesting colonies, where they spend 90 percent of their time. Pacific loggerhead turtles are a threatened species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
Penguins & other sea birds
SeaWorld supported a penguin census initiative at the Charles Darwin Research Station on the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Galapagos penguins have been counted only periodically during the past several decades. This project laid the foundation for regular counts of penguins on the Galapagos Islands. The project allows scientists to estimate population size, distribution and abundance, nesting locations and nesting success. SeaWorld also supported the work of the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group in La Serena, Chile. The parks' support helped underwrite professional workshops to address the similarities among all four Spheniscus species (Humboldt, African, Galapagos and Magellanic) and developed a collaborative management strategy for the group. SeaWorld parks have provided funding and much needed staffing to the National Audubon Society's "Project Puffin," a sea bird restoration/conservation program on islands off the coast of Maine.
Right whales
SeaWorld supported the Marine Resources Council (MRC) of East Central Florida and its citizen right whale monitoring project. Residents along the Florida coast report right whale sightings to the MRC which, in turn, compiles the data and forwards it to the right whale recovery team. The western North Atlantic stock of right whales is critically endangered (about 350 animals) and is likely declining as a result of human interactions such as ship collisions and fishing gear entanglements.
Dolphins
For many dolphin and whale species, fishing gear continues to pose serious risk. A continuation of a long-term study initiated in 1979 by the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, SeaWorld and the University of Central Florida monitor various aspects of the biology of bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon. The studies document habitat use patterns and assess how dolphins interact with boats and crab traps. Components of the study include photo identification of individual animals, movement patterns of individuals, social relationships, affects of human activities on dolphin behavior and habitat use patterns. SeaWorld and H-SWRI conduct studies on both living and dead stranded cetaceans. Studies include feeding ecology, parasitology, age estimation, mortality rates, tracking of released animals and various aspects of cetacean life history. The database for the Southeastern United States Marine Mammal Stranding Network is housed at SeaWorld Orlando and is maintained by SeaWorld and H-SWRI staff. SeaWorld also supports the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute's "novel objects" study, which applies bio-acoustics expertise and scientific innovation to find ways to keep marine mammals from becoming entangled in fishing gear.
Sharks
SeaWorld and the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute collaborate with investigators from several academic institutions and government agencies in the study of a variety of species of sharks in both the Atlantic and Pacific.
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