Scientists Tag First Nesting Leatherback Turtle in Ecuador
Affiliate Disclosure
Hey fellow impactful ninja ?
You may have noticed that Impactful Ninja is all about providing helpful information to make a positive impact on the world and society. And that we love to link back to where we found all the information for each of our posts.
Most of these links are informational-based for you to check out their primary sources with one click.
But some of these links are so-called "affiliate links" to products that we recommend.
Why do we add these product links?
First and foremost, because we believe that they add value to you. For example, when we wrote a post about the environmental impact of long showers, we came across an EPA recommendation to use WaterSense showerheads. So we linked to where you can find them. Or, for many of our posts, we also link to our favorite books on that topic so that you can get a much more holistic overview than one single blog post could provide.
And when there is an affiliate program for these products, we sign up for it. For example, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.
What do these affiliate links mean for you?
First, and most importantly, we still only recommend products that we believe add value for you.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission - but at no additional costs to you.
And when you buy something through a link that is not an affiliate link, we won’t receive any commission but we’ll still be happy to have helped you.
What do these affiliate links mean for us?
When we find products that we believe add value to you and the seller has an affiliate program, we sign up for it.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission (at no extra costs to you).
And at this point in time, all money is reinvested in sharing the most helpful content with you. This includes all operating costs for running this site and the content creation itself.
What does this mean for me personally?
You may have noticed by the way Impactful Ninja is operated that money is not the driving factor behind it. It is a passion project of mine and I love to share helpful information with you to make a positive impact on the world and society. However, it's a project in that I invest a lot of time and also quite some money.
Eventually, my dream is to one day turn this passion project into my full-time job and provide even more helpful information. But that's still a long time to go.
Stay impactful,
At Impactful Ninja, we curate positive and impactful news for you. Add Impactful Ninja as a preferred source on Google or sign up for our free newsletter to get these delivered straight to your inbox—just like our expert roundup below!
📰 The quick summary: Scientists in Ecuador tagged the first nesting leatherback sea turtle in the country, naming her Lucero, to track her migration and feeding patterns and better protect one of the world’s most critically endangered marine populations.
📈 One key stat: The Eastern Pacific leatherback sea turtle subpopulation has declined by roughly 98% over the last several decades, leaving fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining.
💬 One key quote: “They can eat their weight in jellyfish every single day, and jellyfish consume juvenile fish and fish larvae. So when you have a healthy leatherback population, [it] supports healthy fish stocks and fishing communities in turn,” said Callie Veelenturf, marine conservation biologist and founder of the Leatherback Project.
1️⃣ The big picture: Leatherback sea turtles are among the most endangered marine animals in the world, with the Eastern Pacific subpopulation having declined by about 98% over recent decades, leaving fewer than 1,000 individuals. These turtles nest along a coastal stretch running from Mexico to Ecuador, and Ecuador marks the southern limit of their nesting range. For the first time, scientists have tagged a nesting leatherback on Ecuadorian shores, a turtle they named Lucero, meaning “morning star” in Spanish. A team from the Ecuador-based Fundacion Reina Laud and the US-based Leatherback Project spent multiple nights on a remote beach before successfully attaching a satellite tag to her shell. Since then, Lucero has migrated south to coastal Peru, giving researchers their first real-time look at the movements of a nesting leatherback from this critical location.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: Tagging Lucero opens a window into the migration and foraging behavior of one of the rarest marine turtle populations on Earth, giving scientists data they have never had before from this part of the species’ range. Researchers can use this tracking information to advise local fishing communities on which areas to avoid, directly reducing the bycatch that poses one of the greatest threats to leatherback survival. Leatherbacks also play a vital ecological role by consuming enormous amounts of jellyfish each day, which in turn supports healthier fish populations and the fishing communities that depend on them. Each new data point from Lucero’s tag helps build a stronger scientific case for targeted conservation policies that can protect both the turtles and the livelihoods of people who share the ocean with them.
3️⃣ What’s next: Lucero’s satellite tag is expected to remain active for one to two years, during which researchers hope to map her full migration route and key foraging grounds. That data will feed directly into conservation policy recommendations for the critically endangered Eastern Pacific subpopulation. Scientists also aim to use the findings to work more closely with local fishing communities to reduce deadly bycatch encounters.
Read the full story here: Mongabay – Tracking Lucero: Scientists follow a rare Eastern Pacific leatherback sea turtle
