Tracking Endangered Sea Turtles in a Changing Seascape
New Publication
January 28, 2026
We are excited to share a newly published peer reviewed study led by NOAA and co authored by CFF Senior Research Biologist Samir Patel in Diversity and Distributions - “Distribution Models Reveal Important Coastal Habitats for Endangered Leatherback Sea Turtles”.
As offshore wind development expands along the U.S. East Coast, understanding where vulnerable species occur is essential. This study focuses on endangered leatherback sea turtles, which rely on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf for key stages of their life cycle.
Researchers tracked 74 leatherback sea turtles tagged off North Carolina and Massachusetts between 2017 and 2023. Satellite location data were combined with environmental variables to model leatherback distributions and identify core habitat.
The study also identified areas where predicted core habitat overlaps with active offshore wind energy leases. These findings highlight the importance of coastal habitats for leatherback sea turtles and the need to evaluate potential impacts of offshore wind construction and operation near key foraging areas.