Despite its name, the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is no longer all that common, and the species is in fact at risk of extinction. Over the past two years, however, a positive reversal has been recorded, and the number of eggs laid on Italian shores has grown exponentially. While monitoring nesting sites and hatchlings remains difficult, what turtles do once they return to the water — which areas they favour, what movements they make — remains largely a mystery, at least until now.

Where turtles swim in the Mediterranean

A study conducted by a group of ethologists at the University of Pisa analysed, over eight years from 2008 to 2016, the movements in the Mediterranean of eight young specimens of Caretta caretta. The aim of the research, published in the scientific journal Marine Biology, is to deepen our understanding of the biology of these marine reptiles, in order to learn more about their habits and preferred habitats.

In the shadow of Vesuvius

To track the turtles' movements, the researchers attached small transmitters to the carapace of each specimen and used satellite telemetry techniques. The data obtained revealed that the turtles particularly love swimming in the Gulf of Naples, and also showed a marked preference for underwater mountains, which can serve as useful resting and feeding spots. The eight specimens nonetheless recorded movements across the area between Campania, Calabria and Sicily.

The goal: conservation

The primary aim of the research, funded by the University of Pisa, the Regione Toscana and the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn di Napoli and conducted in collaboration with the Centro per la conservazione delle tartarughe marine di Grosseto, is to improve the conservation of this threatened species. "The identification of a marine area preferentially used by young loggerhead turtles provides useful information not only for improving scientific knowledge of little-known phases of this species' life cycle," explained Professor Paolo Luschi of the University of Pisa, "but also for suggesting possible conservation and protection measures in that same area — for example by raising awareness among fishermen about the types of nets and hooks to use."

The stories of the turtles at the heart of the research

The eight turtles followed by the researchers — some of them named Crudelia, Obelix, Olivia and Honolulu — had all been accidentally caught as juveniles, mainly by fishermen. After rehabilitation at dedicated rescue centres in Tuscany and Campania, the animals were released near their respective capture sites, becoming the subjects of one of the most in-depth studies ever conducted on the movements of loggerhead turtles in the seas to the west of the Italian peninsula.