Researchers from UNC explain how baby loggerhead turtles navigate the open ocean in an online report published Feb. 24 in Current Biology — answering a question that has puzzled scientists for years.

Graduate student Nathan Putman was lead author of the study, which found that turtles pick up on distinctive magnetic signatures to determine their geographic position and steer themselves. Previously, researchers were unsure whether such signals could aid the animals in east-west positioning.

But the study found that loggerheads rely on both the angle of the field and the strength, enabling them to determine their position.
The findings could have implications for navigational technology and for sea turtle protection.