KempsRidleySeaTurtle_ArtificialImprinting_Owens_David_CharlestonSC_16April2021_Reel4052.mp3

David Owens [00:00:01] The governments of Mexico and the U.S. decided to do in the late 70s, was try this experiment with artificial imprinting. They called it a head-starting experiment. And they were moving baby turtles up to Padre Island and letting them, quote, "artificially imprint" on Padre Island, so with the hope that they would come back to Padre Island eventually and start a new nesting colony in addition to the major one that was already, which was still going on in Mexico, in Tamaulipas.

David Owens [00:00:28] So anyway, but what happened was the government sort of became impatient after 10 or so years and decided to reduce the funding. Now, they continued their collaboration between Mexico and the U.S. in the overall project in Mexico. But what they decided not to do is to stop bringing eggs from Mexico up to Padre Island for the artificial experiment, imprinting experiment.

David Owens [00:00:54] Anyway, so they gave up on that. But in the meantime, of course, Donna Shaver had been hired many years earlier and had started working with the Kemp's ridley, and following up on that project and looking out on the beach every year, looking for turtles. And lo and behold, after about 50 years, Kemp's ridleys started to nest again on Padre Island. I say again, because there's, historically had been some nesting apparently documented, but they started coming back in pretty good numbers and now there's quite a significant nesting beach.

David Owens [00:01:24] So, so what happened was we sort of gave up on the experiment, but we gave up too early. And interestingly, because the turtles take so long to reach sexual maturity, that was, it did actually work. And so, and the reason we're pretty sure about this is that they used various tagging methods. And one of the tagging methods that the little baby turtles, my old adviser, actually my adviser, Dr. John Hendrickson, worked with Donna Shaver and they did what they called a "living tag" experiment, where they take just a little bit of tissue off the bottom, or plastron, shell. And they implant that under the carapace, or the top shell, on a specific scute for each particular year.

David Owens [00:02:05] And so what happened? As the baby turtles grow, that living tag becomes a white mark on the top of the turtle, on the carapace of the turtle. And they become quite easily identified many, many, many years later.

David Owens [00:02:17] And that's exactly the kind of proof that they'd had that those turtles originally from Mexico, now, brought to Texas, artificially imprinted in Texas, raised for about a year in Galveston after they had imprinted in Padre Island, and then eventually, 10, 15, 20 years later, came back to Padre Island.

David Owens [00:02:37] So it's a cool story, cool scientific story, which really, a lot of people think, proves this idea of imprinting, in fact, of artificial imprinting, could actually work.