Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Green Sea Turtles Experiencing Abundant Nesting Season

A female green sea turtle nests at Shark Bay, Heron Island.
GretelW
/
Wikimedia Commons
A female green sea turtle nests at Shark Bay, Heron Island.

While nesting numbers of endangered green sea turtles in Florida can vary from year to year, the broader trend over the past few decades shows a marked increase in the animal’s population.  

 

So, what’s behind this positive population trend? That’s just one of the questions researchers with the University of Central Florida’s Marine Turtle Research Group are looking to shed light on through a new project intended to provide an update on green sea turtles’ genetic data through the use of new genomic-scale techniques.  

Joining Gulf Coast Live is Gustavo Stahelin, a graduate student working with the Marine Turtle Research Group and a doctoral candidate with the University of Central Florida’s Department of Biology, andDr. Eric Hoffman, aUCF biologist, genetics researcher and professor who is teaming up for this new genetics research project.

Copyright 2019 WGCU

John Davis has been a full-time Reporter/Producer for WGCU since 2009. He is the local host for NPRââââ
RachelIacovoneis a reporter and associate producer ofGulf Coast LiveforWGCU News. Rachel came toWGCU as an intern in 2016, during the presidential race. She went on to cover Florida Gulf Coast University students at President Donald Trump's inauguration on Capitol Hill and Southwest Floridians in attendance at the following day's Women's March on Washington.
Mike Kiniry is producer of Gulf Coast Live, and co-creator and host of the WGCU podcast Three Song Stories: Biography Through Music. He first joined the WGCU team in the summer of 2003 as an intern while studying Communication at Florida Gulf Coast University.