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New research suggests that green turtle hatchlings 'swim' to the surface of the sand, rather than 'dig,' in the period between hatching and emergence. The findings have important implications for conserving a declining turtle population globally.

In a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, scientists from UNSW's School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences used a small device, known as an accelerometer, to uncover novel findings into the behaviors of hatchlings as they emerge from their nests.

Sea turtle eggs are buried in nests 30–80cm deep. Once hatched, the newborn turtles make their way to the surface of the sand over three to seven days. But because this all happens underground, we have very little understanding of the first few days of a hatchling's life.

The results provided through this novel method revealed that buried hatchlings maintained a head-up orientation and unexpectedly, moved vertically through the sand by rocking forwards and backwards rather than tipping side-to-side as expected with digging.

"When I visualize a hatchling that has just come out of its egg, it is completely in the dark in its surroundings. There's no sign to point which way is up toward the surface—yet, they will orientate themselves and move upwards regardless," says Mr. Davey Dor, who led the study as part of his Ph.D. "Our initial findings and 'proof' of this new methodology opens the door for so many new questions in sea turtle ecology."

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