Milton - Gumbo Limbo Nature Center Sea Turtle Tracking
A project of Gumbo Limbo Nature Center Sea Turtle Research.
Static Map | Zoom Map |
Milton's tracks
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| Adoption Program |
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 Felicia Flatback Turtle |
 Kerrypace Flatback Turtle |
 Shelby Loggerhead |
 Jill II Loggerhead |
Background
Milton's nest was laid in front of a large beachfront condominium in Boca Raton, FL on May 19, 2002. Milton was among 102 other turtles (of 118) that hatched from his nest on July 14, 2002. Since the day he hatched, Milton has called Gumbo Limbo home, first at the FAU marine lab as part of a gender ratio study. At three months of age, he moved just 50 feet away from the lab to spend quality time with Nature Center visitors and Dr. Kirt Rusenko, the marine conservationist at the Nature Center. Milton's 6-plus year stay at Gumbo Limbo has been eventful and educating. Good luck Milton!
**UPDATE: Well, it looks like Milton's tag has cease transmitting. It is unfortunate that the tag would stop sending signals after only a few months, but it is not unheard-of. Many things can contribute to a tag's failure including biofouling (e.g. excessive growth of barnacles, algae or other organisms on the tag's critical components); antenna damage, battery problems, predation, human interaction, etc.. In Milton's case, his signal degraded steadily over time and Milton spent a considerable amount of time at the sea surface, so we suspect that biofouling may have contributed to the loss of his signal. Best wishes to Milton on his journey!
- The presentation of data here does not constitute publication. All data remain copyright of the project partners. Maps or data on this website may not be used or referenced without the explicit written consent of the data owners.
- For more information please visit the project website.
- This map connects positions generated by the ARGOS system designated as location class (lc) '3', '2', '1', '0', 'A'. Locations that have been "filtered" are displayed as small red dots.
- This maps also shows locations of class 'B', 'Z', 'X' as small black dots which are not connected by a route line.
- Bathymetry layers are derived from the GEBCO One Minute Grid.
- Sea surface temperature and chlorophyll are derived from NASA's Ocean Color data.
- Ocean currents and sea surface heights are derived from AVISO's Ssalto/Duacs Gridded Absolute Dynamic Topography & absolute geostrophic velocities data.