Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Abstract

Posthatchling green (Chelonia mydas) and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) turtles overlap ecologically but differ morphologically. This study compared hydrodynamic stability between the two species during swimming to test for functional differences in body shape. Flipper movement paths, four stability measures (yaw, pitch, heave, and sideslip), and the relative positions of the centers of buoyancy and gravity were compared between species. Both centers of buoyancy and gravity lie in the anterior body; their positions relative to one another differed with species, but showed no functional consequences. Neither species demonstrated substantial yaw, sideslip, or pitch. Both experienced upward heave with the flippers' downstroke and downward heave with the upstroke; however phase relationships differed between these limb and body motions. No differences were found between the two species. Despite obvious morphological differences, loggerheads and green turtles were similarly stable during swimming, suggesting that the species use different mechanisms to achieve stability.

Extent

ix, 49 p. : ill. (some col.).

Comments

by Erin Dougherty.|Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009.|Includes bibliography.|Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.|by Erin Dougherty.

Identifier

FADT186689

Format

pdf

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