WEBVTT - From the Vault: Sea Turtles with Christine Figgener 0:00:05.680 --> 0:00:07.880 Hey, welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind. My name 0:00:07.920 --> 0:00:10.800 is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick, and it's Saturday. 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:13.080 Time for an older episode of the show. This one 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:18.759 originally aired June. It's the interview that we did with 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:23.239 the marine researcher and conservationist Christine Figner. A lot of 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:26.560 it's about sea turtles. Yeah, just a fair warning though 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.880 that there is some some graphic content in here concerning 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:34.159 sea turtle conservation and some bad things happening to sea turtles, 0:00:34.240 --> 0:00:37.760 So just a heads up that that's coming. But still 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:43.640 great episode and not highly recommend it. Welcome to Stuff 0:00:43.680 --> 0:00:52.880 to Blow Your Mind, production of My Heart Radio. Hey 0:00:52.960 --> 0:00:55.040 you welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind. My name 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.440 is Robert Lamb and I'm Joe McCormick, and we've got 0:00:57.440 --> 0:00:59.760 a really great interview to share with you today. This 0:00:59.840 --> 0:01:04.520 is with Dr Christine Figner. Uh So, as a way 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:09.400 of introduction, Dr Christine Figner is a marine conservation biologist 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:13.319 and science communicator who has been really successful on social media. 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:17.360 Sometimes known as the Sea Turtle straw Lady, she has 0:01:17.480 --> 0:01:20.920 raised global awareness of the issue of ocean plastic pollution 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.920 and has been studying sea turtles for over fifteen years. 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:27.520 You might have seen her in a viral video moment 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:30.760 where she was she and her research team were removing 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:34.160 a plastic straw that was lodged in a sea turtles nose, 0:01:34.600 --> 0:01:37.120 and of course that video triggered a lot of thought 0:01:37.240 --> 0:01:40.520 about what is what is the effect of, say, single 0:01:40.640 --> 0:01:44.639 use plastics such as plastic straws in on marine life. 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:48.520 Christine Today is a is a science communicator who uh 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:52.320 speaks at events about her sea turtle conservation work, fighting 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:56.760 plastic pollution, and empowering women in science. In eighteen, Time 0:01:56.760 --> 0:02:00.000 Magazine honored her outreach and advocacy efforts by naming her 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:04.400 a Next Generation Leader. As Director of Science and Education 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.919 for the US based Footprint Foundation, she travels the globe 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:10.840 educating people about the effects of plastic pollution on our 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:14.320 environment and human health, and inspiring people to reduce their 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:17.640 use of plastic. She's also the co founder and scientific 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:21.600 lead of a community centered, grassroots conservation organization in Costa 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:26.000 Rica that is researching and protecting sea turtles. Christine's overall 0:02:26.000 --> 0:02:28.240 goal is to reach as many people as possible with 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:31.600 her message to eliminate plastic from our environment, save sea 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:34.760 turtles from extinction, empower women in science, and make our 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.680 planets safer and healthier for wildlife and people alike. So 0:02:38.720 --> 0:02:41.040 that's just a really fun chat. Let's go ahead and 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:44.320 dive into it. Let's get into some gnarly uh facts 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:50.320 and stories about sea turtles. We have all sea turtle 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:53.840 questions for you here today that we may ask you 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:56.320 whale stuff too, because you were you were also originally 0:02:56.320 --> 0:03:01.239 interested in cetations, right, Yeah, somebody did the homework on me. Yeah, 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:04.920 I became a marine biologist because I love humpbag whales. 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:10.079 Oh did you happen to read the story of supposedly 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:12.440 a man off the coast province town It was a 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.880 lobster diver reported that he was temporarily swallowed by a 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:19.280 humpback whale. Do you believe it's true? Creepy and funny? 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:22.560 Is that allegedly it's the same guy that like a 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:27.280 few years ago, survived airplane crash in Costa Rica, one 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:30.760 of the few survivors. Wow you about having more than 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:34.079 one life? Yeah? Well wait, so do you have any 0:03:34.080 --> 0:03:35.880 reason to be skeptical of the story or do you 0:03:35.880 --> 0:03:37.960 think it's plausible that he did go into the humpback 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:41.360 whales mouth and then was spit out. I think that's possible. 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:43.360 I don't think it was swallowed. I just think I 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:46.000 mean not swallowed all the way right, So I think probably. 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:48.400 I mean, if you've ever seen humpbag whales feeding, right, 0:03:48.440 --> 0:03:50.960 so they kind of have those bubble curtains and then 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:53.560 they just go in and just like open their mouths 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:57.920 wide just to like, you know, swallow the largest quantity possible. 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:00.480 And if you happen to just be there. But I'm 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:02.360 sure that w I was like, oh my god, what's 0:04:02.400 --> 0:04:09.320 that in my mouth? Is just like wrong place, wrong time. Huh. Well, 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:10.920 we just we just jumped right into it. Maybe we 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:14.040 should back up and uh and actually get officially started. Um. 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:16.520 So one place we do like to start here is Christine. 0:04:16.560 --> 0:04:20.040 Can you just introduce yourself to the audience, stating your name, 0:04:20.400 --> 0:04:23.760 your title, as well as any key affiliations or employers 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:26.160 organizations that you want right up there at the top 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:29.240 with your ID. Yeah, my name is Christine figure. I 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:32.800 am I Trade the marine biologist, and I have been 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:36.919 working on the interface between conservation and applied signs for 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:40.920 about more than fifteen years now, mainly with sea turtles, 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:44.560 but also with cetaceans a wells and dolphins. And right 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:49.480 now I am running a small community based grassroots organization 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:53.159 in Constrica that is protecting sea turtles. And I'm also 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:56.599 the director of science and Education for the US based 0:04:56.600 --> 0:05:00.160 Footprint Foundation, which is we're trying to convince peop well 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.200 to reduce their use of plastics. So that's pretty much 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:05.839 me and I'm nutshell. I guess. So you mentioned that 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:10.080 you were originally interested in cetations before you got into 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:12.680 sea turtles as a research area. What how did you 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:14.599 How did you make that leap? And I guess you 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:17.200 can back all the way up to cetations if you want. Yeah, 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:21.040 I mean, I in my teens. You know, we're usually 0:05:21.080 --> 0:05:24.800 people are obsessing about boy bands. I guess I'm not 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:28.120 going to say which one was popular during my times 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:32.080 because that would review my age, I guess um. But 0:05:32.480 --> 0:05:36.279 instead of that, I was actually collecting, you know, posters 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.480 and articles and other stuff about whales and dolphins. And 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:44.599 I particularly loved hum big whales. So I I played music. 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:47.120 I played the guitar, and I sing and I always thought, 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.240 you know, it would be so cool to study the 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:51.400 songs of humping whales. You know, it's kind of a 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.320 cultural thing, and it would have combined a lot of 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:59.080 my interest into like this one thing. But then I 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:01.920 happened to have the chance to go to Constrica on 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:05.560 a sea turtle or into a sea turtle project when 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:09.480 I did my master's into a leather back project, very specific, 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:13.280 and I totally fell in love with that type of 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:16.960 work because it's super hands on. I don't think there's 0:06:17.200 --> 0:06:20.080 that many you know jobs as a wildlife biologist where 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:23.680 you can be with such a large animal, you know, 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:27.719 for extended times in the natural environment without having to 0:06:28.560 --> 0:06:31.600 you know, tranquilize them or restrain them even in any 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.280 shape or form. And it was so impressive, just like 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:38.240 the environment. Right, So, you're on these tropical beaches, have 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:42.159 this incredible you know, biodiversity all around you. You have 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:44.560 the jungle right next to you on one side, and 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:46.480 you have you know, the vast ocean on the other. 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:50.760 You have this incredible night sky over your head, and 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:54.440 then you just you know, walk, you know, kilometers and 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.720 hours without end on the beach just to find this 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.400 like one track that leads up to the verm, up 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:04.200 to the vegetation and you hope that the turtle is 0:07:04.240 --> 0:07:07.160 still there. And then once you see the turtle, it's 0:07:07.240 --> 0:07:10.360 just you know, they're real life dinosaurs if you think 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:13.440 about it, right, they have been around for hundred on 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:15.800 a hundreds, but definitely more than a hundred million years, 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:19.000 especially leather bags, which are like the oldest lineage of 0:07:19.040 --> 0:07:21.720 sea turtles that we still have. And when you just 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:26.119 sit next to them, they're massive. I mean, they're absolutely gigdentists. 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:29.520 And you can see them, you know, using their real 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:33.840 flippers just like hands, digging their acts chamberers squeezing out 0:07:33.880 --> 0:07:38.040 the eggs, creating a new generation. And yeah, I totally 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:40.200 I was totally in awe and I just thought, Okay, 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:42.040 this is like the coolest thing I've ever done in 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:44.800 my life. And that is just how I fell in 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:48.840 love and just stayed with it. Wow, you know, speaking 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:52.920 of just how long sea turtles have been around, Um, well, 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:55.480 what is it about the sea turtle that has enabled 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:58.120 it to survive while so many other marine reptiles have 0:07:58.200 --> 0:07:59.960 gone extinct? Like what is what do you think is 0:08:00.000 --> 0:08:02.160 a winning design of the sea turtle? You know, that's 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:04.000 that's a really good question. And I don't think we 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:08.240 have like a definite answer. I think, especially in evolutionary biology, 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:12.680 we always make very many intelligent guesses. But of course, 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:15.720 at one point there were a lot more sea turtle 0:08:15.800 --> 0:08:18.640 species than there are nowadays. As so we are down 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:23.080 to seven, seven extent species. And if you look at 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:26.400 the seven species right now, it's really interesting because they 0:08:26.400 --> 0:08:30.440 all have similar ecologies to certain degree because you know, 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:33.760 you can find them in usually warmer waters because the 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:36.600 active therm, so that means they cannot regulate their own 0:08:36.640 --> 0:08:39.320 body temperature, so that means they have to get an 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:42.600 outside source to really you know, get their metabolism going. 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:46.720 So that means you find them in tropical waters subtropical waters, 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:50.920 and they're all coming onto the beach to nest. But 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:52.960 then if you look at that diet, and I think 0:08:53.000 --> 0:08:56.000 that is really the key is you know, how they diversified. 0:08:56.200 --> 0:08:59.360 It's really over the over the access of the diet. 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:02.480 So we have very specialized species such as the hawks 0:09:02.480 --> 0:09:04.959 bill or the leather bags. Of the hawks bill feeds 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:09.040 mainly on sponges. The leather bag feeds mainly on jellyfish. 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:10.959 I mean, that's another really cool thing if you think 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:13.560 about how large that animal is that feeds on an 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:18.240 animal that's just barely you know, anything other than water. Um. 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:21.319 Then we have green turtles that are as adults that 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:24.520 these mainly herbivorous, so they're very different in their you know, 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:27.320 trophic niche as we would say scientists. So that means, 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:29.640 you know, they have very different diet and that is 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:33.760 probably the the secret to their you know, coexistence, that 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:37.080 they're not competing with each other for resources. And the 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:41.760 other thing is, see, turtles are incredible resilience. So I've 0:09:41.880 --> 0:09:45.280 never met um animals that are so resilient. I mean, 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:49.240 I've seen so many turtles that have suffered incredible injuries 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:53.560 literally you know, amputations of limbs or really crazy damage 0:09:53.640 --> 0:09:57.480 to their to their shell, and they still able to survive, 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.360 and not just survive, but you know, still kind of 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.800 go with their biological program go and nates come up 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:06.000 to the beach and lay their eggs even though they 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:10.000 might have literally no real flippers anymore, or massive slashes 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.160 in their carapace. I mean, I've seen really really sad things. 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:15.319 But it also makes me think, wow, yeah, I mean 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:18.840 you're really resilient, so that means things might not face 0:10:18.920 --> 0:10:23.040 you as much as others. And they're also pretty widespread, right, 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:26.200 So that means we have really settled and almost all 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:31.319 tropical waters. So um, even if maybe one population might 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:34.640 go extinct, they are probably able to repopulate, you know, 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:37.920 into in from that population into other areas again. And 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:40.240 that might have been you know, the secret of why 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:42.880 they were able to survive so long, because they were 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:46.080 probably able to first of all, migrate into into other 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:50.320 places if if things became inhabitable or were able to 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:54.840 you know, diversify that diet over the course of millions 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:58.720 of years. And it seems also be the body plan 0:10:58.840 --> 0:11:01.319 that they have seems to be really successful. Right. So 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:04.000 I don't know if everybody knows that, but turtles, not 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:07.960 just sea turtles. Um. Their shell is actually made from 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:11.240 their rip catche that merged together. So the single rips 0:11:11.600 --> 0:11:14.520 it's kind of you know, became bony and just like yeah, 0:11:14.600 --> 0:11:18.480 became the shell. So the shell is actually the vertebra 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:22.120 and the rips and everything else like your shoulder blades 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:26.800 and everything moved inside. So they have created this incredible armor. 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:30.880 I mean, in German, if you translate like turtle, it 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:37.000 actually means shielded toad because they habits like shield and protected, right, um. 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:39.560 And that means, of course that once sea turtles have 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:43.400 reached a certain body size, there's not that many natural 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:47.079 predators that are actually able to eat a turtle, right 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:50.000 So right now, I mean, we're taking like humans aside 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:52.720 at this point, but if you're talking about natural predators, 0:11:53.120 --> 0:11:56.400 it's really only about you know, the animals really strong 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:59.319 mandibles that can crack that shell. So that's the tiger shark, 0:12:00.200 --> 0:12:03.000 the j jack wires, and it's crocodiles that might be 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.560 able to really eat an entire turtle. I mean, they 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:07.280 might be able otherwise to take like a bite out 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.280 of flipper, but that's not the less just pipe with 0:12:10.320 --> 0:12:12.800 all the fat and all the all the meats, it's 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:15.480 all inside of the shell, right, So correct me if 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.439 I'm wrong. But I believe there's still some mystery about 0:12:18.600 --> 0:12:21.400 the sort of step wise evolutionary process that led to 0:12:21.440 --> 0:12:23.480 the turtle having a shell? Isn't there? Because I think 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:26.960 I was reading that um, it's sort of hypothesized that 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:29.559 maybe a middle stage was first you had some kind 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:32.760 of lizard like creature that had a wide, large rib cage, 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:35.560 and then maybe in between it had a body plan 0:12:35.640 --> 0:12:37.640 that was sort of like you would see with models 0:12:37.640 --> 0:12:40.800 of the Ankleosaurus where they're sort of plates all over 0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:43.439 the back and then over time those plates fused. Is 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:45.679 that sort of in the right direction. Yeah. I mean 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:49.040 I'm not an expert on like you know, the paleontology 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:52.960 I think, or like the actual um evolution of of 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.640 like the body plan. But what's interesting if you just 0:12:55.679 --> 0:12:57.680 look back, for example, or even just look at the 0:12:57.720 --> 0:13:00.280 lad back. So we have seven species as I set, 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:03.480 and six of them all belong to the height shell 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:06.320 turtles um, so it's kind of the same group. And 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:08.280 then we have the leather back turtles, which are their 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:11.960 own lineage, and leather bags actually look a lot more 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:15.600 like the you know, the the older lineages as well, 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:18.440 because they have a reduced carapace. So leather bags are 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:21.480 pretty much named because they have a soft shell, so 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:24.320 they do not have those bony plates. Um. If you 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:26.000 look at it at a skeleton of the leather bag, 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:27.840 you will not exactly see what I just said where 0:13:27.840 --> 0:13:29.920 the grips have grown together, so it's it's more like 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:34.000 cartilage um um. And parts of it is it's just 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:37.000 like a reduced shell. And our colon, for example, which 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:40.360 is one of the you know, first sea turtles that 0:13:40.679 --> 0:13:43.440 that we've known of from the fossil finds looks a 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:45.600 lot like leather bags, so they have you know, they 0:13:45.640 --> 0:13:48.200 have some type of shell, but it's more a reduced shell. 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:52.079 And also I think and other fossil finds, you can 0:13:52.120 --> 0:13:55.400 see that certain sea turtles, for example, had a like 0:13:55.440 --> 0:13:59.080 a stronger plastron which is like the belly part of 0:13:59.080 --> 0:14:02.480 the shell, so as you know, um, like kind of 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:06.240 a reinforced carapace which is the upper part of the shell, 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:09.360 and vice versa. So it might have been like different 0:14:09.400 --> 0:14:12.280 pressures for example, of where your natural predators came from. 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:15.160 So if you were mainly you know, attacked from the bottom, 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:17.800 maybe it was you know, advantageous to have you know, 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:21.440 a kind of reinforced shield on your belly rather than 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:24.520 on your back or vice versa. So you don't know. 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:26.920 But that's, like I said, that's the intelligent guesses that 0:14:27.000 --> 0:14:29.760 you have may have to make about evolution and why 0:14:30.360 --> 0:14:34.760 certain things developed or weren't successful in the end. Excellent. 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:37.440 So I'm not going to ask basically three questions at 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:39.480 the same time, but they're very they're very simple and sudden. 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:42.680 They all kind of float together. So, um, how many 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:46.240 of the seven extant sea turtle species, have you observed 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:48.280 in the wild, which ones do you work with the 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:51.000 most and do you have a favorite. So from the 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:55.760 seven I have seen in the wild six and missing 0:14:55.840 --> 0:15:00.000 the flatback turtle. So we have two species which are 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:05.280 considered endemic, which means they're only found in a very specific, 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:08.920 very limited geo geographic range, which is first of all, 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:11.880 the chemp stradily turtle, which can be mainly found or 0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:16.240 solely found in the Gulf of Mexico. And then there's 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:18.920 the flat back turtle, which is pretty much found in 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:24.400 the waters around northern Australia or between Papa Papua New 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:27.080 Guinea and and in Australia they but they nest mainly 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:29.680 on the north shore of Australia, so I haven't seen 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.320 that one yet. That is really um my last one 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:37.200 that I'm missing. I do work mainly with the species 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:41.440 that we have in Costrica where I'm based. So the 0:15:41.480 --> 0:15:44.960 species I started with is the leather back turtle, but 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:47.760 we're also getting you know, a lower number of green 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:51.800 turtles nesting in the Caribbean as well as on the 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:54.920 leather back beaches. I've worked on in the Pacific and 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:58.440 then for my PhD, I really extensively studied olive red lace, 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:02.080 which is one of the smallest ecs. And then right now, 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:06.920 since last year, I just initiated a larger hospital project, 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:08.880 which is also the same beach where the leather bags 0:16:08.920 --> 0:16:11.320 are nesting. So always got some but now we're really 0:16:11.360 --> 0:16:15.240 focusing on, you know, monitoring the hospital population which is 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:19.120 not nesting exactly at the same time than the leather backs. 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:24.080 And well, my favorite one, heads down leather bags. I mean, 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:26.920 I hate to say it, and everybody that disagrees with me, 0:16:26.960 --> 0:16:33.000 they're just wrong. Um, just because leather bags are just incredible. 0:16:33.040 --> 0:16:38.680 I mean they really they they just constitute so many 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.640 or like they have so many superlatives about them. I mean, 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.880 they are the species that are distributed the widest. So 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:47.600 we're still talking about an active them animal, right, an 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.560 animal that is in fear, not able to regulate their 0:16:50.600 --> 0:16:54.440 body temperature. But you will find or you can't find 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:59.120 leather blacks in waters that are substantially colder than what's 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:01.200 the perfect temple there would be for them. Right, So, 0:17:01.240 --> 0:17:04.480 our populations in Costa Rica, depending which side of the 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:07.200 coast on they feed, either in front of Nova Scotia, 0:17:07.560 --> 0:17:11.600 in Canada, Wales, England, also in the North Sea, so 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:15.080 recently there was actually stranding in Denmark um and then 0:17:15.119 --> 0:17:18.320 the ones that have nesting on the Pacific side, they 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:20.840 are usually going down to Peru, which are also pretty 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:24.119 cold waters. And how they can do it is, you know, 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:26.480 they have really found a way of first of all, 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:30.760 maintaining their body temperature, the core temperature steady. So they 0:17:30.840 --> 0:17:34.000 have this like incredible fatty layers. It's almost like a 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:37.600 winter coat that keeps them warm and insulated. But then 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:39.639 of course they don't have it on their flippers, but 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:42.000 they do have it around the eas aphagus, so that's 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:44.639 really cool, right. So that means even when they like 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:48.600 swallow their prey, which might be colder than their core temperature, 0:17:49.119 --> 0:17:54.840 it prevents their core body temperature from dropping. And then 0:17:55.600 --> 0:17:57.879 it is you know, first of course it's a large animal, 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:00.800 so they have a better surface to volume ratio. It's 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:03.400 it's it's a term, it's called the gun to thermi um. 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:05.520 You know that it's just like you don't lose as 0:18:05.600 --> 0:18:08.560 much heat over your surface just because you're large. And 0:18:08.600 --> 0:18:11.440 then also because your flippers of course are exposed, they're 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:13.679 not having this fetty tissue. And in theory, you know 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:16.280 all that blood that circulates, the warm blood goes out, 0:18:16.320 --> 0:18:19.119 would cool down, go back, but no, they have this 0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:22.480 countercurrent system where you know, the warm blood that comes 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:25.359 from the body is actually warming up the cold blood 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:28.800 that comes back from the flipper without losing the heat 0:18:28.920 --> 0:18:31.080 roster there pretty much just like pass it on to 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.840 the blood that goes back into the body. And then 0:18:34.880 --> 0:18:36.720 the last thing that is actually a little bit more 0:18:36.760 --> 0:18:40.200 recent is that some scientists just discovered that leather bags 0:18:40.240 --> 0:18:42.680 are able to produce a certain amount of body heat 0:18:42.720 --> 0:18:47.200 through digestion, So they made them swallow temperature pills, um, 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.960 you know, little devices that can literally measure the different 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:52.760 temperature while they were going through the digestive truck and 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:56.280 they're like, wow, okay, you're digesting and you're actually producing here. 0:18:56.359 --> 0:19:00.480 That's pretty amazing. So you know the limits nations and 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:03.440 what we know about active therms, and it's pretty it's 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:06.919 pretty incredible. I mean, other bags are just wow, mind blown. 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:11.160 Would that last fact mean that it's not actually such 0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:14.280 a strict dividing line between warm blooded animals and cold 0:19:14.280 --> 0:19:17.560 blooded animals, but more question of degree. This is this 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:20.080 is a good question. Some people have argued that leather 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:23.639 bags might be not as you know, strictly active therm 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:27.480 as we would have categorized them. But then, of course 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:29.560 where do you draw the line? Right? Scientists like to 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:31.960 have drawers where you can like stuff things into and 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:34.040 it's just like, okay, you have this, but not that. 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:37.200 And I think sometimes, you know, especially when you think 0:19:37.240 --> 0:19:40.160 about how evolution happens, it's just not that clean cut. 0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:45.040 So in talking about the leather back you were mentioning 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:47.760 that it has a self warming throat. When you look 0:19:47.760 --> 0:19:50.280 inside their mouth, it does really look like a horror show. 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:53.239 They have these, uh, these spikes. So what's going on 0:19:53.320 --> 0:19:55.280 with all that? What does what does that tell us 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.840 about the lifestyle of the leather act sea turtle? Well, 0:19:58.880 --> 0:20:00.600 I mean you just have to think about it. Right, 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:04.360 you are a leather back turtle, You're swimming underwater and 0:20:04.520 --> 0:20:10.639 you are trying to eat this very glibbery thing, what 0:20:10.880 --> 0:20:13.680 is a jellyfish. But you also don't want to swallow 0:20:13.720 --> 0:20:15.679 the sea water, right, So it's not like you're wanting 0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:18.440 to eat seawater all the time, you know. So you're 0:20:18.480 --> 0:20:21.600 taking a bite and you swallow the jellyfish. You swallow 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:24.200 the sea water. But before you or maybe we shouldn't 0:20:24.200 --> 0:20:26.280 say swallow, so you kind of take it into your mouth, 0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:28.720 but before you actually swallow it, you want to get 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:31.119 rid of the sea water, and so that means you 0:20:31.200 --> 0:20:33.440 also do not want to get rid of the jellyfish though, 0:20:33.440 --> 0:20:36.240 But it's so you know, sliming glibbery that there's a 0:20:36.240 --> 0:20:38.480 good chance it would go out if it wouldn't be 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.720 for those spines that are covering the entire mouth down 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:43.800 all the way down to the aesephagus. Actually, other sea 0:20:43.800 --> 0:20:46.600 turtle species have those spines as well, they're just not 0:20:47.160 --> 0:20:49.640 so like in the mouth cavity already, so it's usually 0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:53.320 just like the aesephagus that is having those um But yeah, 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:55.600 and in the ladder back it's right behind the mandibles, 0:20:55.640 --> 0:20:57.760 it's where it starts. So it looks at one of 0:20:57.760 --> 0:21:00.840 those alien mouth that you know, with that that are 0:21:00.880 --> 0:21:04.880 pretty typical, I feel in science fiction movies. But it's 0:21:04.880 --> 0:21:09.040 really about and they're all pointing towards the stomach, and 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:11.000 that means it's really kind of meant to, you know, 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:13.960 for the jellyfish to get stuck in it and they 0:21:13.960 --> 0:21:16.639 are able to extract the water. Usually through their nostrils, 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:19.240 so there's a connection between the mouth cavity and the 0:21:19.320 --> 0:21:22.000 nose um, so they don't even have to open the 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:24.480 mouth and then they just collect the jellyfish and then 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:27.520 they just swallow it without all the sea water. That's amazing. 0:21:28.200 --> 0:21:31.680 So what does it mean to specialize in eating jellyfish? 0:21:31.800 --> 0:21:33.760 Like what kind of niche is that? Is that the 0:21:33.840 --> 0:21:37.080 kind of niche where you're getting more prey and it's 0:21:37.119 --> 0:21:39.320 easier to get or is it the other way around? 0:21:39.560 --> 0:21:42.399 What does that mean to you? Well, I mean, we 0:21:42.440 --> 0:21:45.760 don't know of how it started right to just see 0:21:45.800 --> 0:21:49.000 what it is right now. But the thing is sort 0:21:49.000 --> 0:21:51.840 of leather backs feed in areas where there's a high 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:55.879 density of of of jellyfish. So that means the energy 0:21:55.960 --> 0:21:58.320 that it takes for them to get to those jellyfish 0:21:58.400 --> 0:22:00.840