Hurricane season has arrived with intensity this year, and residents across the Caribbean are closely monitoring NOAA’s Tropical Weather Outlook, but what do marine animals do during storms? Understanding marine life behavior during a hurricane can provide valuable insights into the resilience of our ocean ecosystems.
For a long time, this question was challenging to answer due to the difficulty of observing marine wildlife, even under favorable conditions. In areas equipped with remote sensing technology, the equipment is often removed before a storm to prevent loss due to its high cost.
Some serendipitous research led by Dr. Michelle Heupel and her team answered this question for sharks in the early 2000s. Dr. Heupel’s team had acoustically tagged juvenile blacktip sharks in a coastal nursery area off the west coast of Florida, and their receivers were left in place during the approach of Tropical Storm Gabrielle. Examination of the data revealed that all of the juvenile blacktips left the shallow bay area and moved to deeper waters just before the storm’s arrival, returning after it passed. The researchers concluded that the sharks responded to the drop in barometric pressure as the storm approached. Further research indicated that this fleeing response varies across species and sizes of sharks but is an innate, not learned, behavior.
What about other marine species? More recently, in Florida again, observations showed that manatees are not necessarily quick to leave the danger zone. During Hurricane Irma, dozens were stranded inland when the waters receded. This seems to happen to the slow-moving sea cows on a fairly regular basis, though it is unclear if it is because they are unaware of the coming storm or if they cannot escape due to other factors.
Research indicates that nesting turtles temporarily move offshore during active storms and return to nest, even if the beach is degraded. However, nests laid before the storm face a significant threat. Storm surges from hurricanes significantly erode beaches, resulting in the loss of both sand and entire nests. Foraging loggerhead turtles in the mid-Atlantic tend to avoid major hurricanes by moving out of the way of the storm and displaying deeper diving behavior. Hawksbill turtles in the Caribbean show short-term movement changes, but no long-term effects were detected. Turtles handle storms as a natural occurrence and resume their routines promptly, echoing the resilience of coastal residents.
Over the years, MarAlliance has tagged dozens of animals to study their movements and critical habitats, informing conservation efforts. One advantage is the ability to monitor their real-time responses to severe weather events such as tropical storms and hurricanes. Stay tuned and check our Tracking page to observe how turtles and sharks react to Hurricane Beryl.
For residents in hurricane-prone areas, bookmarking the NOAA hurricane page is highly recommended.
