42 creatures tracked off coast of Australia lead to ‘world-first breakthrough’
Clarification: This story has been updated to specify the study was published in the journal Ecological Applications, one of several journals in the Ecological Society of America’s publishing portfolio.
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In the first study of its kind, researchers used high-tech trackers, video cameras and motion sensors “to uncover exactly where and when” Australia’s threatened flatback turtles go to rest and feed, according to officials.
Officials called the work a “world-first breakthrough” in behavior and habitat mapping that can have applications for the protection of other threatened species, according to a Sept. 17 news release from the Government of Western Australia’s Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions.
“This is the first time such detailed habitat suitability mapping has been done for a marine species,” officials said.
The team tracked 42 adult flatback turtles in Broome’s Yawuru Nagulagun Roebuck Bay Marine Park in northwestern Australia, continuously collecting data in dozens of different categories as they went about their lives, according to the study published Sept. 12 in the journal Ecological Applications.
With the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, they were able to precisely map features of their habitat including ocean currents, tides, depth, slope, terrain ruggedness and distance from the coast, according to the study.
What they found was that flatback turtles have dramatically different habitat needs depending on certain behaviors, like foraging in shallow waters closer to shore during high tide, while preferring to rest in deeper waters farther offshore, according to the study.
“More detailed understanding of habitat use will enable better cross-sector management across conservation agencies, industry and Indigenous groups of this vulnerable and uniquely Australian species,” study co-author and Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions scientist Sabrina Fossette said in the release.
The flatback turtle is listed as a vulnerable species in Australia and only nests on Australian beaches, according to wildlife experts.
The research team included Jenna L. Hounslow, Sabrina Fossette, Arnold van Rooijen, Anton D. Tucker, Scott D. Whiting and Adrian C. Gleiss.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 12:28 PM with the headline "42 creatures tracked off coast of Australia lead to ‘world-first breakthrough’."
