Run for the Turtles 2026
Mote’s highly anticipated, sanctioned 5K is an annual event which provides support for Mote’s Sea...
Trading shallow safety for deep sleep: juvenile green turtles select deeper resting sites as they grow
To better protect endangered green sea turtles Chelonia mydas, a more thorough understanding of the behaviors of each life stage is needed. Although dive profile analyses obtained using time-depth loggers have provided some insights...
Mote SEA — Florida’s Gulf Coast Gallery
Return to Mote SEA galleries Explore our Gulf Coast waters and enjoy some of the biggest...
Mote Marine Laboratory documents first local sea turtle nests of the 2025 season
Mote Marine Laboratory is excited to announce that its Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program (STCRP) documented the first local turtle activity of the 2025 season! On Saturday, April 26, STCRP’s Sea Turtle Patrol...
Mote Receives 22 Juvenile Green Turtles During Florida Cold-Stunning Event
As Atlantic temperatures drop into the 50s, hundreds of green sea turtles are being rescued from the frigid waters off Florida’s East Coast. This week alone, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation...
Reproductive strategies in loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta: polyandry and polygyny in a Southwest Atlantic rookery
Sea turtles are highly migratory and predominantly inhabit oceanic environments, which poses significant challenges to the study of their life cycles. Research has traditionally focused on nesting females, utilizing nest counts and...
Leatherback sea turtle
Unlike other turtles, leatherbacks' have soft shells that aren't directly visible because they're covered by a thick layer of black or brown leathery skin, hence their name. This physical adaptation allows leatherbacks to venture...
Mote Marine Laboratory releases rehabilitated sea turtle “Lil’ Dougie”
On Monday morning, August 12, Mote Marine Laboratory released a 154-pound, about 3-foot-long, subadult, female loggerhead sea turtle nicknamed "Lil' Dougie" off Siesta Key Beach. Lil' Dougie's journey began on Memorial Day, May...
Bacterial Dermatitis Affecting the Carapace of Nesting Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas)
The underlying cause(s) of the carapacial infections reported here remains unknown. Although the condition resolved during the course of our study and was not believed to jeopardize survival of affected females; skin infections can...
The Use of Bacteriophages and Immunological Monitoring for the Treatment of a Case of Chronic Septicemic Cutaneous Ulcerative Disease in a Loggerhead...
In this case study, phage therapy was applied to treat a multidrug-resistant case of septicemic cutaneous ulcerative disease (SCUD) caused by Citrobacter freundii in a loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta. Phages were applied topically,...
A systematic review of how multiple stressors from an extreme event drove ecosystem-wide loss of resilience in an iconic seagrass community
A central question in contemporary ecology is how climate change will alter ecosystem structure and function across scales of space and time. Climate change has been shown to alter ecological patterns from individuals to ecosystems,...
Sea Turtle Protection Zone (STPZ)
Boaters: Protect Sea Turtles Sea turtles are threatened...
Sea Turtle Conservation & Research URE
Sea Turtle Conservation & Research URE Internship Mentor: Dr. Jake Lasala The Sea...
Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Stranding Investigations URE
Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Stranding Investigations URE Internship Mentor: Gretchen Lovewell, Helen...
Run for the Turtles
Event details April 11, 2026 • 8:00 a.m. Siesta Key Beach Celebrate 40 years of...
Sea Turtle Conservation & Research REU
Sea Turtle Conservation & Research REU Internship Mentor: Dr. Jake Lasala The Sea...
Mote’s Sea Turtle Patrol finds first nest of the 2024 season
Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program (STCRP) documented the first local sea turtle nest of the 2024 season on Sunday, April 28, on Venice Beach! This marks the beginning of a crucial period for...
Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Stranding Investigations REU
Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Stranding Investigations REU Internship Mentor: Gretchen Lovewell Mote's Stranding...
Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Stranding Investigations Internship
Stranding Investigations Internship The Stranding Investigations Program provides response provides 24-hour response to sick, injured and deceased...
Sea Turtle Conservation & Research: Nighttime Tagging Internship
Sea Turtle Conservation & Research: Nighttime Tagging Internship Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program...
Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Sea Turtle Conservation & Research
Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Internship Applications will be accepted year-round for all internships starting the subsequent nesting season (April-October). Internship Period Sea turtle nesting season...
Research Library & Archives
The Arthur Vining Davis Library & Archives at Mote Marine Laboratory was founded in 1978 with the mission of providing access to scholarly materials that support world-class research and increase the understanding of marine and...
Sea Turtle Tracking
Mote’s Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Program has tagged sea turtles with satellite transmitters since 2005 to track their behavior and migrations. Nesting female green sea turtles
Sea Turtle Nest Numbers
Thousands of sea turtles nest (lay eggs) each year on southwest Florida beaches. Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium scientists study and tag these endangered and threatened species to help protect their future on our changing planet....
Loggerhead sea turtle
Loggerhead sea turtles are skilled swimmers and divers, thanks to their large, paddle-like flippers. Their big eyes help them see in deeper, darker ocean waters. With strong, bony jaws, they crush hard-shelled...
Mote’s 38th Annual Run for the Turtles a huge success
Today, Mote Marine Laboratory’s 38th Annual Run for the Turtles hosted nearly 1,000 runners, both on Siesta Key Beach for the 1-mile fun run and Manasota Track Club-sanctioned 5k, and across the globe with the virtual run. All three...
Mote 40-year study attests to the effectiveness of ongoing sea turtle conservation
A study by Mote Marine Laboratory, spanning over four decades investigating the nesting behaviors and productivity of marine turtles along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, confirms the effectiveness of Mote’s current conservation efforts....
Forty years of monitoring increasing sea turtle relative abundance in the Gulf of Mexico
Longitudinal data sets for population abundance are essential for studies of imperiled organisms with long life spans or migratory movements, such as marine turtles. Population status trends are crucial for conservation managers to...
Mote Marine Laboratory releases rehabilitated sea turtle “Clarice”
On Monday morning, March 18, Mote Marine Laboratory released a subadult, believed-female loggerhead sea turtle nicknamed "Clarice." She has been outfitted with a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) and flipper tags, which provide...