Home / Data & Methods

How we study,
how we protect.

An overview of the monitoring and tagging methods used at Goldring-Gund Marine Biology Station — and how three decades of data translate into real conservation outcomes.

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BY THE NUMBERS

1993

Monitoring began at Playa Grande

30+

Years of unbroken field records

3

Species tracked: leatherback, green, olive ridley

24

Researchers accommodated on-site

CORE METHODS

Six Tools. One Mission.

Placeholder text about leatherback biology, diet (jellyfish), unique soft-shell anatomy, and diving capability. Unlike other sea turtles, leatherbacks lack a hard bony shell — their carapace is a mosaic of small bones covered by leathery skin.

Placeholder text on Eastern Pacific population as distinct from Atlantic. The Pacific leatherback is classified as Critically Endangered, with nesting numbers at Las Baulas declining dramatically since monitoring began.

Placeholder text about leatherback biology, diet (jellyfish), unique soft-shell anatomy, and diving capability. Unlike other sea turtles, leatherbacks lack a hard bony shell — their carapace is a mosaic of small bones covered by leathery skin.

Placeholder text on Eastern Pacific population as d

© Kip Evans Photography | Mission Blue

IDENTIFICATION

Pit Tagging
 
Passive Integrated Transponder tags are implanted in each nesting female, giving her a unique lifetime ID. Re-sighting tagged individuals across seasons lets us calculate population size, reproductive output, and annual survival rates.
 

lifespan

Satellite telemetry

PTT transmitters attached to select individuals relay GPS positions as turtles migrate between nesting beaches and foraging grounds — revealing migratory corridors, high-bycatch overlap zones, and critical habitat in need of protection.

 

NEST MANAGEMENT

Hatchery Protocols
 
Clutches at risk from poaching, flooding, or extreme heat are relocated to a managed hatchery. Each nest is monitored for emergence success and hatchling condition, building a picture of what incubation conditions produce the healthiest offspring.
 

Climate Response

Temperature Monitoring
Ibutton data loggers buried in nests record sand temperature every 30 minutes throughout incubation. Because sex is determined by temperature, this data allows us to estimate hatchling sex ratios and test shading and watering interventions against climate-driven feminization.
 

POPULATION GENETICS

Genetic Sampling
 
Tissue biopsies from flipper punches are analyzed to resolve population structure, mating patterns (polyandry and polygyny), and connectivity between beaches across ocean basins — determining whether different rookeries form one population or many.
 

Physiology

Metabolic & blood work

Blood draws, respiratory measurements, and hormonal assays document the physiological state of nesting females. This baseline reveals how stress, body condition, and ocean productivity in foraging areas affect a turtle’s capacity to reproduce.