Reporter: Bridget Bruchalski
•6/17/2026
SANIBEL, Fla. (WINK) — Scientists are tracking three loggerhead sea turtles in real time after attaching satellite tags to them following nesting season.
The Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation is monitoring female loggerheads to study how warming ocean temperatures might affect their behavior. Researchers want to see whether the turtles are diving deeper or for longer to find cooler pockets of water and avoid warmer, shallower areas.
"We really want to see if there is a difference with the warming ocean temperatures," said Savannah Weber, with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation. "We're thinking that they, the turtles, in an effort to mitigate those increasing temperatures, they might be diving deeper and might be diving longer, they might choose to kind of be swimming in little cold pockets in the water and avoiding maybe shallower waters that are a little bit warmer."
Before tracking can begin, researchers must attach the satellite tags to the turtles. The foundation ensures each turtle is large enough to carry the device, then uses strong epoxy to secure it to the shell and applies anti-fouling paint to prevent marine organisms from covering the sensors.
"It doesn't bother them, they don't really even know it's there, they can't see it, it's just on the back of their shell," Weber said.
Once tagged, the turtles return to the Gulf. The public can follow their journeys online, tracking Aiden, Lila, and Reina del Marisol as they swim.
"My favorite part is just seeing where they go," Weber said. "I feel like I'm refreshing the website every few hours—sometimes they do loops, they'll swim up for a little bit and then do a loop and go back down."
The tags transmit data to satellites each time a turtle surfaces to breathe, sending between 10 and 30 pings per day. Each ping provides information about the turtle's location, dive depth, speed, and the temperature of the surrounding water.
One tagged turtle migrated north of Sanibel to nest, while another is currently swimming just offshore. The constant stream of data helps researchers better understand how endangered sea turtles navigate their environment.
"The more that we can learn about different species, like endangered sea turtles, the more that we can protect them," Weber said.
