FAU Researchers Release Sea Turtles on the ‘TODAY’ Show

Last week, Florida Atlantic University’s Dr. Jeanette Wyneken, a professor in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, made a special appearance on NBC’s “TODAY” to release a bale of baby sea turtles into the Atlantic Ocean. The release, which streamed live on Sept. 22, provided a detailed look into the critical marine research taking place at FAU.

During the live segment which lasted more than eight minutes, Dr. Wyneken and her team placed the young sea turtles into their new, conducive environment while discussing key findings of their research. They explained how sand temperature has been shown to impact the gender of sea turtle eggs, producing male hatchlings in cooler temperatures and female hatchlings in warmer temperatures. Global warming has contributed to nests full of female hatchlings—threatening the future of the species.

It was an exciting moment to see our FAU faculty featured in a national news story, and we are very proud of Dr. Wyneken’s valuable marine research. To watch the “TODAY” segment and learn more about FAU’s sea turtle studies, click here.