Karen A. Bjorndal
This post is part of our Living Legends series that spotlights key people in sea turtle conservation.
Shown here in April 2022 accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed posthumously upon her husband (and legend in his own right), Dr. Alan Bolten, Karen (left) was joined by a dozen students, including Dr. Blair Witherington (right), and Hannah Vander Zanden (photographer).
Biography
Karen Bjorndal received her PhD in 1979 under the direction of Archie Carr. She is director of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research and is a distinguished professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on nutritional ecology and demography of sea turtles, with an emphasis on the roles of sea turtles in marine ecosystems and how these ecosystems have changed in response to major shifts in abundance of sea turtle populations. She has authored more than 260 scientific papers. She served as chair of the Marine Turtle Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature for 12 years and is active in international sea turtle conservation. Karen has been blessed to have her husband, Alan Bolten, as her partner in sea turtle research around the world, Archie Carr as her mentor, her graduate students as continual sources of inspiration, and a network of wonderful international collaborators.
First Sea Turtle Moment
When I was an undergraduate student at Occidental College, I was granted an International Fellowship for Independent Studies. I went to Galápagos for 6 months and spent 2 of those months as the only human inhabitant of Santa Fé island to study behavior of land iguanas. I spent many hours staring out to sea and often watched green turtles surface to breathe. I was intrigued by their “life in two worlds” and was hooked. After graduation, I joined Archie Carr at the University of Florida and have worked to conserve sea turtles ever since.
Proudest Accomplishment
My graduate students. I have served or now serve as chair for 25 PhD students and 12 MS students. They continue our work and will educate future generations of sea turtle conservationists.
What is different now than when you started?
So much! Increased public recognition of the importance and vulnerability of marine ecosystems. Greater political will to protect marine ecosystems. Rapid and extensive communication systems. Vast increase in the people and funds for sea turtle conservation and research. Increased knowledge of many aspects of sea turtle biology. Increased proportion of upward sea turtle population trajectories. Increased emphasis on in-water studies. Increased sophistication of technological and analytical tools
What are you most hopeful (and worried) about?
I am optimistic for the short-term and pessimistic for the long-term; hopeful for all the above, and worried about burgeoning human overpopulation, which is the direct or indirect cause of almost all threats to sea turtles. Also worried about humanity’s ignorance of the shifting baseline syndrome that has major negative implications for how recovery goals are set, and conservation and management programs are developed. And I am also worried about climate change.
What is your advice to people new to this field?
Find mentors who will inspire you. Learn languages other than your native language. Read deeply and widely—remember to read the classic studies! Nurture productive collaborations. Find a life partner who will support you in all you do.