Sea turtle migration Studies of loggerhead and leatherback hatchlings have shown that moonlight reflected from the sea is an important visual cue in guiding movement from the beach to the sea. This navigational mechanism becomes a handicap if nesting sites are affected by artificial lighting since this can mean that hatchlings head towards the artificial lights rather than offshore towards the moonlit sea. Hence, the use of moonlight by turtle hatchings as a navigational cue can be considered an 'evolutionary trap'. Loggerhead and green turtles can detect the orbital movement of waves and use this information to swim perpendicular to the waves crests.
Loggerhead Key Loggerhead Key Loggerhead Key is an uninhabited tropical island within the Dry Tortugas group of islands inside the Gulf of Mexico. At approximately 49 acres (19.8 hectares) in size, it is the largest island of the Dry Tortugas. Despite being uninhabited, the island receives visitors, such as day visitors and campers. The island only has a few built structures, including the Dry Tortugas Light and a lightkeeper's house that was constructed in the 1920s. The island has drinking water derived using desalination technology and solar power. The Carnegie Marine Biological Laboratory operated on Loggerhead Key from 1904 to 1939. Loggerhead