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Christine Figgener

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Christine Figgener
Dr. Christine Figgener with leatherback sea turtle baby in 2022.
BornOctober 30, 1983
NationalityGerman
Education
  • German Vordiplom (Bachelor of Science) in biology
  • Diplom (Master of Science) in biology
  • PhD in marine biology
Alma mater
  • University of Tübingen
  • University of Würzburg
  • Texas A&M University
OccupationMarine biologist
Known forResearch on sea turtles; environmental activism; fight against plastic pollution; sea turtle conservation
Awards
  • Next Generation Leader (Time magazine);
  • Ocean Hero Award (Footprint);
  • Inspire to Influence Award (Texas Sea Grant);
Websitewww.seaturtlebiologist.com

Christine Figgener (born October 30, 1983) is a German marine conservation biologist, author, science communicator, and ocean advocate recognized for her work in sea turtle conservation, the fight against plastic pollution, and the empowerment of women in STEM. She is best known for documenting the removal of a plastic straw from a sea turtle's nose[1] in a YouTube video[2] that went viral in 2015. This video, which was featured in popular media outlets such as National Geographic,[3] HuffPost,[4] The New York Times,[5] ABC News,[6] and CNN,[7] highlighted the dangers of plastic pollution on marine wildlife and was a catalyst for the global anti-straw movement that led to several straw bans by businesses such as Starbucks,[8] Disney,[9] and Alaska Airlines.[10]

She was named a Next Generation Leader by Time magazine in 2018[11] and has been the director of Science & Education for Footprint Foundation since 2020.[12]

Early years

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Figgener grew up in the small, land-locked town of Marl in West Germany where she attended kindergarten, primary school, and high school.[13][14][15][16] In the 11th grade, Figgener did a high school exchange to California where she went to Lindsay High School.[13][14][15]

From a young age, Figgener was interested in ocean exploration, likely due to her parents' love for the ocean and frequent vacations close to the ocean.[13][14][15][16] She had the desire to leave Germany and travel the world early in her life. Childhood friends say she already talked in primary school about becoming a marine biologist.[13][14][15]

As a child, Figgener liked watching documentaries by Hans Hass and Jacques Yves Costeau and found a role model in Hans Hass' wife Lotte Hass, who was frequently featured in his films.[13][14] Another big role model of hers was Jane Goodall, after she found the German translation of the book In the Shadow of Man at a public library sale.[13][14] When Figgener was 13 she started volunteering at the dolphinarium in the Allwetter Zoo in Münster, Germany.[13][17][16]

Education

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Figgener earned her German Vordiplom (Bachelor of Science) in biology in November 2005 from Eberhard-Karls-University, in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.[17] In March 2010 she was awarded her German Diplom (Masters of Science) in biology from Julius-Maximilian-University, in Würzburg, Germany, majoring in behavioral physiology and animal ecology.[17] Her thesis focused on a genetic paternity assay and general population genetics of the Caribbean leatherback sea turtle population in Costa Rica.[18] In fall 2019, she earned her PhD in marine biology from Texas A&M University[19] in the southern United States. Her dissertation focused on trophic and movement ecology of sea turtles using stable isotope analysis[20] and satellite tracking to gain new insights into the behavioral ecology of olive ridley sea turtles.

Work

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Figgener has been working with sea turtles[21] in Central America since 2007, focusing on applying her research findings to the conservation of these animals.[17] Her work highlights the threats to our oceans and its inhabitants due to human impact. Figgener fosters awareness of these issues by speaking out about the difference everyone can make by changing daily habits, such as limiting the use of single-use plastic products.[11]

Since 2020, Figgener has served as the director of Science & Education for Footprint Foundation,[12] the non-profit arm of Footprint. She is still actively involved in sea turtle research and conservation in Costa Rica through her Costa Rican non-profit COASTS[22] and her social enterprise Nāmaka Conservation Science.

Public moments

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In 2013, Figgener's good friend and colleague Jairo "Foca" Mora Sandoval was murdered[23] while protecting leatherback turtle nests in Moín, Costa Rica. The news made it around the world and a photo she had taken of Jairo at a project in Ostional, Costa Rica was used for many of the headlines.[23] She was later quoted that this tragic event changed the trajectory of her life and increased her yearning "to have more impact and to do more".[13][15]

In 2015, Figgener was thrust into the international spotlight when she filmed the removal of a plastic straw stuck in a sea turtle's nostril[1][2][24] while on a research expedition for her doctoral dissertation in Costa Rica. Her research team was capturing turtles off the Pacific coast when they found a turtle with something encrusted in its nose that turned out to be a plastic drinking straw. Visiting researcher Dr. Nathan Robinson, who studied ectobionts on sea turtles at that time, successfully removed the plastic straw and Figgener uploaded the video to YouTube.[2] The video was watched and shared millions of times on different platforms and has been officially named as a catalyst for the global anti-straw movement and a turning point for the anti-plastic movement.[25][26][27]

In 2016, she filmed another viral video of a sea turtle entangled in fishing gear[28] that also gained millions of views on YouTube, raising awareness about the danger of the discarded fishing gear, aka ghost nets.

Activism and science communication

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Over the past years, Figgener has collaborated with several organizations to raise awareness of the dangers of marine plastic pollution, including the Plastic Pollution Coalition (The Last Plastic Straw),[29] the Lonely Whale Foundation (Strawless Ocean),[30] Sin Pajilla Porfavor, and Turtles against Plastic.

She has been an invited speaker for events held globally, including the annual Ocean Heroes Bootcamp organized by Captain Planet Foundation, the Lonely Whale Foundation, and Point Break Foundation. Figgener's work and advocacy efforts have already been featured in several documentary films, TV series, radio interviews, and podcast appearances, such as in the 2017 documentary film Straws,[31] the 2019 BBC documentary Nature's Turtle Nursery: Secrets from the Nest,[32] a 2015 National Geographic article "How Did A Sea Turtle Get a Straw Up Its Nose?",[3] the Science Vs podcast episode "Plastics: The Final Straw?",[33] and the 2020 PBS Frontline documentary "Plastic Wars".[34] Figgener dedicates part of her time to mentoring other young scientists and ocean advocates through programs such as Girl Scouts, Skype a Scientist, and Letters to a Pre-Scientist.[35]

In 2018, Figgener was named a Next Generation Leader by Time magazine[11] and a Texan of the Year finalist by The Dallas Morning News.[36][37] In 2019, she was also awarded the Inspire to Influence Award by Texas Sea Grant and the Ocean Hero Award by Footprint.[38]

Publications

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Figgener is the author of several scientific publications, conference papers, and reports.[39]

Her first popular science book about sea turtles "Meine Reise mit den Meereschildkröten" will be published in March 2023 by Malik, part of the German publishing house Piper,[40] and in 2024 by Greystone Books for the English-speaking audience.

References

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  1. ^ a b Figgener, Christine (November 6, 2018). "What I learnt pulling a straw out of a turtle's nose". Nature. 563 (7730): 157. Bibcode:2018Natur.563..157F. doi:10.1038/d41586-018-07287-z. PMID 30401858. S2CID 53234031.
  2. ^ a b c Sea Turtle with Straw up its Nostril - "No" to Plastic Straws, retrieved October 6, 2021
  3. ^ a b "How Did Sea Turtle Get a Straw Up Its Nose?". Animals. August 17, 2015. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  4. ^ "This Heartbreaking (And Graphic) Video Will Make You Rethink That Plastic Straw". HuffPost. August 18, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  5. ^ Krueger, Alyson (October 7, 2019). "Do You Really Need a Straw With That?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  6. ^ KGO (May 2, 2017). "Viral sea turtle video fuels campaign against plastic straws". ABC7 San Francisco. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  7. ^ Jacopo Prisco (January 15, 2018). "The last straw: Is time up for this plastic relic?". CNN. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  8. ^ "Starbucks". stories.starbucks.com. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  9. ^ "Disney becomes latest major company to ban plastic straws". NBC News. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "Alaska Airlines goes strawless in partnership with nonprofit Lonely Whale, continues commitment to sustainability". Newsroom | Alaska Airlines. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c "Christine Figgener is Ending the Age of Plastic Straws". Time. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Christine Figgener". Footprint Foundation. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h "Blue Awareness Podcast | Helden der Meere". Blue Awareness (in German). Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Chris Figgener, PhD: Sea Turtles, Plastics, and Pivotal Moments (#55) - MarineBio.Life". June 2, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Ep. 61 | To Spend One Day in Her Shoes: Stories from a Marine Biologist with Christine Figgener, PhD". Rewildology. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  16. ^ a b c Jund, Marie (September 18, 2021). "Life of a Marine Biologist: Saving Sea Turtles and Fighting Plastic". MOOI—Inspiring women. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d "LinkedIn Profile - Christine Figgener, PhD".[self-published]
  18. ^ Figgener, Christine; Chacón-Chaverri, Didiher; Jensen, Michael P.; Feldhaar, Heike (February 1, 2016). "Paternity re-visited in a recovering population of Caribbean leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea)". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 475: 114–123. doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2015.11.014. ISSN 0022-0981.
  19. ^ "Aggie Made Famous On Viral Video Graduates With Ph.D." Texas A&M Today. December 13, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  20. ^ Figgener, Christine; Bernardo, Joseph; Plotkin, Pamela T. (2019). "Beyond trophic morphology: stable isotopes reveal ubiquitous versatility in marine turtle trophic ecology". Biological Reviews. 94 (6): 1947–1973. doi:10.1111/brv.12543. ISSN 1469-185X. PMC 6899600. PMID 31338959.
  21. ^ "CEIC - Centro de Investigación de Cetáceos de Costa Rica: Equipo". CEIC - Centro de Investigación de Cetáceos de Costa Rica. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  22. ^ "Board of Directors". COASTS. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  23. ^ a b "Who Killed Costa Rica's Turtle Advocate?". Outside Online. January 31, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  24. ^ "MTN 147: Plastic Straw Found Inside the Nostril of an Olive Ridley Sea Turtle". www.seaturtle.org. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  25. ^ "Thesis: The Sea Turtle as a Marketing Symbol for the AntiPlastics Movement".
  26. ^ "The Turtle That Became the Anti-Plastic Straw Poster Child". Plastic Pollution Coalition. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  27. ^ "National Skip the Straw Day - How to Reduce Straw Use and Plastic Pollution". Adventure. February 23, 2018. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  28. ^ Sea Turtle Entangled in Ghost Net Rescued, retrieved October 6, 2021
  29. ^ "The Last Plastic Straw". Plastic Pollution Coalition. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  30. ^ "For A Strawless Ocean". For A Strawless Ocean. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  31. ^ "Home". Straws - a film by linda booker. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  32. ^ "BBC Four - Nature's Turtle Nursery: Secrets from the Nest". BBC. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  33. ^ "Plastics: The Final Straw?". Science Vs. Gimlet. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  34. ^ "Plastic Wars". Frontline. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  35. ^ "Letters to a Pre-Scientist – discover possibilities, build connections, plant seeds". Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  36. ^ "Texan of the Year finalist Christine Figgener: Her video of a sea turtle launched an anti-straw movement". Dallas News. December 28, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  37. ^ "How a Texas A&M scientist's video of a sea turtle soured Americans on drinking straws". Dallas News. July 19, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  38. ^ Footprint. "Footprint Recognizes Marine Conservation Biologist Christine Figgener With 'Footprint Ocean Hero' Award". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  39. ^ "Christine Figgener". scholar.google.com. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  40. ^ "Meine Reise mit den Meeresschildkröten". www.piper.de (in German). Retrieved October 22, 2022.
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