Researchers Seek New Insights into Sea Turtle Foraging During Nesting Season

by · July 24, 2026

Nesting leatherback sea turtle. Photo by Joel Cohen.

Do Female Sea Turtles Fast During Nesting Season?

Depending on the species, it takes two to three years for a female sea turtle to replenish her fat stores after she has nested. She’ll forgo breeding until her body has enough reserves, and only then will she migrate, sometimes hundreds of miles, to her nesting grounds near where she was born. (1)

For many years, sea turtle researchers thought that female sea turtles relied solely on their body’s stored energy reserves during breeding and nesting. However, doctoral student Ariadna Arnau at the University of Florida wants to find out if they are feeding during nesting season. (2) She’s collaborating with researchers at Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) and joined their night-time leatherback surveys to collect blood and skin samples from nesting females. She uses isotope analysis (4) to study their diet and discover if they are fasting or not. If a female lays multiple clutches, she takes samples each time the leatherback nests and compares them to see if the sea turtle has been foraging. In addition, Ariadna is also putting satellite tags on the leatherbacks to track their movements during and after nesting season. If she discovers that the leatherback females are feeding near their nesting grounds, Ariadna hopes that it will result in additional protections for the sea turtles in that area.

To learn more, see “UF Doctoral Student Studies Sea Turtle Feeding During Nesting Season” (2) and watch this video “How Scientists Collect Leatherback Sea Turtle Samples During Nesting Season.” (5)

More About LMC’s Sea Turtle Research

Jen Reilly, Senior Biologist at LMC, was our guest speaker at the STPS August 6th meeting. We learned all about LMC’s morning nest survey program which Jen oversees. Each year, they monitor nesting sea turtles from March through October on 8½-miles of beach north of John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. Recently, on May 18th, their team documented the first olive ridley nest in Florida! (6)

In addition to nest surveys, LMC researchers have placed satellite tags on over 2,200 sea turtles since 2001. Use this link to see their sea turtle tracking map.

To learn more about LMC’s research, events, tours, and experiences, please visit their website: Loggerhead Marinelife Center.

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