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Aquatic Turning Performance in Juvenile Loggerhead and Green Sea Turtles.

M T Wileyto1, F E Fish1, S E Trail2

  • 1Department of Biology, West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383, USA.

Integrative Organismal Biology (Oxford, England)
|May 15, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Sea turtles exhibit distinct turning mechanics, with loggerhead and green sea turtles differing in rotational turns. Their rigid bodies constrain maneuverability, impacting turning performance.

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Area of Science:

  • Marine Biology
  • Biomechanics
  • Animal Locomotion

Background:

  • Sea turtles are expert long-distance swimmers, but their turning mechanics are poorly understood.
  • Maneuverability is crucial for marine predators, yet turning strategies in sea turtles remain undefined.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and define the turning mechanics of juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas).
  • To compare turning performance, including turn radius and rate, between the two species and analyze limb coordination during turns.

Main Methods:

  • Overhead video recording of juvenile loggerhead and green sea turtles performing yawing turns (rotational and translational) in a tank.
  • Digital tracking of body points (rostrum, shell) and analysis of coordinates using custom MatLab code to estimate center of mass, turn radius, and angular velocity.
  • Comparison of turning performance metrics, limb usage asymmetries, stroke frequencies, and flipper coordination between species and turn types.

Main Results:

  • Significant differences in turning performance between loggerhead and green sea turtles were observed during rotational turns, but not translational turns.
  • Limb usage asymmetries influenced angular velocity, and stroke frequencies differed significantly between turn types but not species.
  • Loggerhead turtles initiated turns with both forelimbs more frequently than green sea turtles, which often used one forelimb.

Conclusions:

  • Sea turtles' rigid body plan constrains their turning performance, similar to other rigid-bodied swimmers.
  • Species-specific differences in flipper coordination contribute to variations in turning mechanics, particularly during rotational maneuvers.