Physiological Effects of Sargassum Beach Coverage on Three Species of Sea Turtle Hatchlings.

Appelt, A.M. and Milton, S.L., 2025. Physiological effects of Sargassum beach coverage on three species of sea turtle hatchlings. Sea turtle hatchlings face a variety of obstacles as they crawl down the beach to the ocean after emergence. One of these obstacles is Sargassum, a floating brown macroalgae that may wash up in large quantities on beaches from Florida to South America. This study examined the physiological response and physical performance of three species of sea turtle hatchlings (Dermochelys coriacea, Caretta caretta, and Chelonia mydas) after crawling over a 13 m sand pathway and then 2 m of two different depths of Sargassum. In all three species, the addition of Sargassum significantly increased the amount of time it took to crawl the length of the pathway vs. a 15 m control with no Sargassum. After the crawl, righting response and blood glucose levels were tested. No significant differences were found in righting response times or blood glucose levels between different crawling treatments within species. During periods of high Sargassum accumulation, hatchlings will spend more time on the beach trying to navigate through the algae, leaving them vulnerable to predation for longer periods of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]