When a hurricane rolled over 18 sea turtles, the response must have been to go deep and take a big long breath.
Hurricanes frequently track through the foraging grounds of turtles along the U.S. East Coast, as was the case with Hurricane Irene when scientists recovered satellite data transmitted from the backs of loggerheads.
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As Hurricane Irene churned up the Atlantic in August 2011, currents swept all but three of the turtles northward. After surviving the Category 1 hurricane, one went inshore, but almost all turned around and began their migration south earlier than normal.
Shallow and deep dives were observed throughout all phases of the hurricane passage, but at the hurricane’s closest approach, the animals made longer dives with less surface time compared to before the hurricane. Once the storm departed, there were still longer dives lasting more than an hour and a half underwater — a duration not recorded before the hurricane.
Animal behavior is impacted by the biggest storms on the planet in various ways.
Sea snakes in Taiwan sense low pressure preceding a tropical cyclone and hide in spaces between volcanic rocks, while blacktip sharks in Tampa Bay perceive dropping barometric pressures with an impulse to head to deeper water. And eastern brown pelicans in Savannah anchor down in barrier islands for shelter during the direct effects in Hurricane Irma.
The future may open up the possibility of using tagged turtles to record water temperature data to improve hurricane forecasting.