Multi Disciplinary Project: Sea Turtles in Costa Rica
A group of four students traveled to Playa Grande, Costa Rica to research morphodynamics in a changing climate and effects on the nesting habitat of olive ridley and leatherback sea turtles
The beach of Ostional is very famous for its arribadas. Arribadas are mass-nesting events of sea turtles. In a period of a few days, thousands of turtles come to the beach to lay their eggs. This natural phenomenon happens approximately each month. Although researches found some indicators for the timing and size of arribadas, still a lot is unknown.
For the student team their main goal was to identify the variability of the beach profile and composition by doing fieldwork and by constructing a model that is able to predict the chances of an arribada on a specific day.
"This project was a really valuable experience in many ways. First of all, we learned how to collect data and to represent it in a meaningful way. Second of all, this project showed us how disciplines are not self-contained; biological and hydrodynamical factors play together in defining nature. Lastly, it was great to collaborate with researchers from Costa Rica as a way of learning both on the scientific and the cultural level.
“ All in all, our trip can be concluded with just two words: ‘Pura Vida’ “
