Photo: Shutterstock This was discovered by Fee Smulders, a PhD of Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management. The green sea turtle is already under threat from loss of habitat and climate change. Her research shows that tourists also contribute to the endangerment of the sea turtle.
The researchers attached cameras, so-called TurtleCams, to the shells of five turtles in the Bahamas and filmed their behaviour. In addition to changes in their diet, the scientists discovered behavioural changes resulting from the tourists feeding them. These naturally complacent animals exhibited aggressive behaviour towards each other and the tourists. ‘They probably confused fingers and hands with food’, Smulders thinks.
The researchers also calculated that the animals consume far less seagrass due to being fed by tourists. The animals become more domesticated and more dependent on food that is not readily available in the wild. Tourists feed them bits of squid, which is not part of the turtle’s regular diet. The green sea turtle subsists on seagrass. ‘The animals becoming this tame is a risk’, Smulders says. ‘It increases their chance to become injured by, for example, boat propellors, and makes them vulnerable to poachers.’
This is the first time researchers deploy cameras to record the interaction between animals and tourists.