JCU Turtle Health Research The Caraplace
The Caraplace
- Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders in Marine Science
- Courses
- Future Students
- Current Students
- Research and Teaching
- Partners and Community
- About JCU
- Reputation and Experience
- Celebrating 50 Years
- Academy
- Anthropological Laboratory for Tropical Audiovisual Research (ALTAR)
- Anton Breinl Research Centre
- Agriculture Technology and Adoption Centre (AgTAC)
- Living on Campus
- How to apply
- Advanced Analytical Centre
- Alumni
- AMHHEC
- JCU Aquaculture Solutions
- AusAsian Mental Health Research Group
- ARCSTA
- Area 61
- Association of Australian University Secretaries
- Australian Lions Stinger Research
- Australian Tropical Herbarium
- Australian Quantum & Classical Transport Physics Group
- Boating and Diving
- JCU-CSIRO Partnership
- Employability Edge
- Career Ready Plan
- Careers at JCU
- Careers and Employability
- Chancellery
- Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology
- CITBA
- CMT
- CASE
- College of Business, Law and Governance
- College of Healthcare Sciences
- College of Medicine and Dentistry
- College of Science and Engineering
- CPHMVS
- Centre for Disaster Solutions
- CSTFA
- Cyber Security Hub
- Cyclone Testing Station
- The Centre for Disaster Studies
- Daintree Rainforest Observatory
- Discover Nature at JCU
- Research Division
- Services and Resources Division
- Education Division
- Economic Geology Research Centre
- Elite Athletes
- eResearch
- Environmental Research Complex [ERC]
- Estate
- Fletcherview
- Foundation for Australian Literary Studies
- Gender Equity Action and Research
- General Practice and Rural Medicine
- JC 'U' Orientation
- Give to JCU
- Governance
- Information for JCU Cairns Graduates
- Art of Academic Writing
- Art of Academic Editing
- Graduate Research School
- Graduation
- Indigenous Education and Research Centre
- Indigenous Engagement
- Indigenous Legal Needs Project
- Inherent Requirements
- IsoTropics Geochemistry Lab
- IT Services
- International Schools
- International Students
- Research and Innovation Services
- JCU Eduquarium
- JCU Events
- JCU Global Experience
- JCU Ideas Lab
- JCU Job Ready
- JCU Motorsports
- JCU Prizes
- JCU Sport
- JCU Turtle Health Research
- Language and Culture Research Centre
- CEE
- LearnJCU
- Library
- Mabo Decision: 30 years on
- MARF
- Marine Geophysics Laboratory
- New students
- Off-Campus Students
- Office of the Vice Chancellor and President
- Virtual Open Day
- Orpheus
- Outstanding Alumni
- Parents and Partners
- Pathways to university
- Planning for your future
- Placements
- Policy
- PAHL
- Publications
- Professional Experience Placement
- Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease
- Rapid Assessment Unit
- RDIM
- Researcher Development Portal
- Safety and Wellbeing
- Scholarships
- Contextual Science for Tropical Coastal Ecosystems
- Staff
- State of the Tropics
- Strategic Procurement
- Student Equity and Wellbeing
- Student profiles
- SWIRLnet
- TARL
- TESS
- TREAD
- TropEco for Staff and Students
- TQ Maths Hub
- TUDLab
- Unicare Centre and Unicampus Kids
- UAV
- VAVS Home
- Work Health and Safety
- WHOCC for Vector-borne & NTDs
- Media
- Copyright and Terms of Use
- Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine
- Clinical Psychedelic Research Lab
The world’s first turtle health research facility at JCU provides an environment in which to study sea turtle health in great detail under suitable conditions.
In the indoor ‘Caraplace’ we can house 48 little green sea turtle hatchlings – each in their own tank – where they can freely eat, swim and rest on a sub-surface platform. The facility caters for the needs of the turtles under near natural conditions, but it also enables us to study them close up, which is impossible to do in the wild.
The ‘Outer Shell’
Opened in May 2018 after a lot of hard work and some very generous donations, the Outer Shell extension to the Caraplace research facility provides the young turtles with a secure outdoor nursery area in which they can swim about and bask in the sun throughout the day. The outdoor ‘Turtle Nursery’ protects hatchlings from predators while allowing them exposure to sunlight via retractable shade sails that will keep them cool in summer and warm in winter.
Taking care of the Caraplace
There is a lot of husbandry to get through every day in order to make sure all the needs of the residents are well catered for and along the way we have become experts in how to do this.
Of course it helps that the residents are ridiculously cute.
Keeping the Caraplace and its residents in the best possible condition requires a lot of constant time, effort and money. We welcome any donations to help keep our little hatchlings fed and housed.