The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will sponsor studies on turtles by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to track the movement, migration and habitat of this marine species in the ocean. For the first time 10 turtles would be tracked through satellite telemetry. The Olive Ridley sea turtles have skipped mass nesting trip to Gahirmatha beach this year in Odisha, causing concern about changes in their behavioural patterns. “We know very little of their habitat and we need to learn more about their breeding and migratory pattern. Once we know which ecosystems they frequent, it will be easier for us to conserve them,” said Dr Subir Ghosh, project coordinator of the GOI-UNDP project. The project relates to mainstreaming coastal and marine biodiversity into production sectors in Sindhudurg off the coast in Maharashtra. Very little is known on the marine turtle hatchlings as to where they disappear after leaving the beaches. The mystery of little-known life cycle of these marine species will soon be known with the recent approval on the satellite tagging of marine turtles. The committee has approved a proposal worth Rs 30.45-lakh of the WII to track turtles in the ocean by attaching a Platform Terminal Transmitter (PTT). It is a special piece of tracking equipment which is attached to the carapace (shell) of the sea turtle. The PTT sends a message to a satellite each time the turtle comes to the surface to breathe. The messages received then via the satellite regarding the location of the turtle are then plotted onto a map. PTT will be attached to the backs of around 10 turtles. This study will provide insights into the migratory patterns and routes of the turtles, their behaviour at sea, where their marine habitats are located and how turtles use the different habitats. In addition to the above, a yet another study has been approved to learn the feeding strategies, group dynamics and overall health and survival of the dolphins using Passive Acoustic Monitoring devices. The devices will be placed on a large area of the sea bed and register the number of dolphins and porpoises crossing the area. Unlike the case of tagging, the process can enable us to tag large number of dolphins”, said species. The study area in Arabian Sea has largely finless porpoises and Indo Pacific humpback dolphins, he said.