Sea Turtles
By: Michelle Moran, Dominique Rodriguez, & Ray Roxas
How many species are there?
Green Turtle
Appearance: Head is small with a serrated jaw. Dark green and plain or sometimes yellow with brownish and green radiant stripes.
Food: During youth carnivorous, but as adults they are herbivores eating things like seaweed and algae.
Size: 3-4 ft (largest of Cheloniidae family)
Weight: 240-400 lbs
Nesting: 3-5x per season, lay 115 eggs which incubate for 60 days
Flatback Turtle
Appearance: Flattened back with an olive green color
Food: squid, sea cucumbers, soft coral, mollusk, prawns, sea weed, etc
Size: adult measure up to 3.25 feet
Weight: on average 198 lbs
Nesting: they nest about 4x per season, lay 50 eggs at a time, and eggs incubate for 55 days
Leatherback Turtle
Appearance: only sea turtle with a hard shell, has a rough rubbery skin, no claws on flippers, and usually dark grey with white or pale spots
Food: Jellyfish
Size: 4-6 ft
weight: 660-1,000lbs
Nesting: 4-7x per season, lays 80 fertilized and 30 unfertilized eggs with incubation period of 65 days
Hawksbill
Appearance:Hawk-like beak,narrow head, and their carapace is brown or yellow as adults, but as hatchlings brown with pale blotches.
Food: Sponges, anemones, squid, & shrimp
Size:2.5-3ft
Weight:101-154lbs
Nesting:3-6x per season, lay 160 eggs which incubate for 60 days
Kemp Ridley's Turtle
Appearance: Head is triangular size, bony carapace usually dark grey green with yellow, and hatchlings are jet black.
Food:Crabs, clams, mussels, shrimp, sea urchins, jellyfish
Size:2ft on average
Weight:70-108 lbs
Nesting:2-3x per season, 110 eggs and they incubate for 55 days
Loggerhead Turtle
Appearance: heavy strong jaws, front flipper short and thick, carapace is a reddish brown with yellow.
Food: shellfish from the bottom of the ocean such as clams, mussels, and horseshoe crabs
Size: 2.5-3.5 ft
Weight: 155-375 lbs
Nesting: 3-6x per season, lay 100-126 eggs which incubate for 60 days
Olive Ridley Turtle
Appearance:Small head, bony carapace without ridges, both front flippers have 1-2 claws and when young are charcoal and grey but as adults they are dark grey green.
Size:2-2.5ft
Weight:77-100 lbs
Food:mollusk, crabs, fish, shrimp
Nesting: 2x per season, lays about 110 eggs with an incubation period of 52-58 days
Nesting Behaviors
Locations
Some sea turtles return to the same beach to nest. There’s no proof as to how they find themselves nesting on the same beach but there are theories. One of the newest and most recent theory that researchers are currently investigating is that sea turtles can detect the angle and intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field. With these characteristics, the sea turtles are able recognize the longitudes and latitudes which means they can navigate almost anywhere. A reason as to why some return to the same beach a few yards away from where they last nested must be for survival purposes.
Stages of Nesting
Building The Nest - Female sea turtles find a dry spot and begin digging using their flippers to create an egg chamber.
Burying The Eggs - They then lay about 80 to 120 eggs (clutch) inside depending on the species. Once they’re done, they use their rear flippers to cover up the nest well so predators won’t recognize the nest.
Incubation - Takes about 60 days depending on the temperature. The warmer the nest, the higher probability for a female to hatch.
Hatchlings - To break their shells, they must use a caruncle. It is a sharp egg-tooth which is an extension of the upper jaw that falls off right after birth. They dig out in a group, which can take several days, in cooler temperatures. If they don’t make it to the sea on time, they either die of dehydration or get eaten by predators. Only about one in one thousand survive to adulthood.
Where Do Sea Turtles Live?
Loggerheads are found in tropical and subtropical waters
Hawksbill sea turtles reside within the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean
Kemp’s Ridley live around the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico
Olive Ridley found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans
Leatherbacks are found in all oceans
Green sea turtles are mostly found in warm waters
Flatbacks are only found in Northern Australia and up North to Indonesia
Sea Turtles are normally found in ocean waters and over over continental shelves but each species have their distinct homes
The Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle |
But what do they do throughout their lives?
Hatchlings: After coming out from the eggs they have the most difficult and emotional experience.
Juveniles: Hatchlings are usually not seen again until they are in their teens and then be reappear around coastal waters.
Male Adults: Usually when male hatchlings reach the sea, its uncommon for them to come back to shore throughout their lifespan.
Female Adults: The only time they leave the open ocean is to lay eggs about every 2 - 3 years.
On a daily Basis:
- Turtles spend almost their entire lives out on sea
- Migrate hundreds of miles to find nesting and feeding areas
Threats and Endangerments
Tangled
- Sea Turtles who are caught in fishing nets, gillnets, and other kinds of fishing gear can cause these turtles to drown.
- Each year, 250,000 sea turtles are accidentally caught and/or injured in the US alone.
Pollution
- Marine debris such as plastic and other non-biodegradable are mistaken as food and can block their intestines causing them to die
- Environmental contamination like oil spills, and toxic waste being dumped illegally can give turtles diseases.
(Diseases such as Fibropapillomatosis which is a tumor that can be grown on the inside and outside. It can effect a turtle’s eating as well as its vision.)
Disturbance
They will abandon their eggs if they are feeling harassed or in danger during their nesting process.
Beach Development
- Many times coastal development destroys their nesting sites and sometimes even coral reefs.
- The development also decreases the size of the beach which means that female sea turtles will not lay their eggs.
- Bright lights within the city will confuse the hatchlings and make them wander inland which causes them to die from dehydration
Impede Their Extinction
- LEAVE THEM ALONE IN THEIR NESTING LOCATIONS!
- STOP LITTERING!
-REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!
- DON’T TRY AND CATCH THEM!
THEY’RE TOO MAJESTIC TO BE GONE FROM THIS WORLD!
Other Ways People are helping
- An organization by the name of Sea Turtle Conservancy help preserve the existence of turtles.
-In the case of an oil spill, they work together with government organization to protect turtles and bring them and their babies to safety.
-If the eggs are not in a safe place they will sometimes relocate the eggs and take them to hatcheries where they keep these eggs at an appropriate temperature until they are hatched then they release them into the ocean.
-The organization also work to enact laws and establish refuges for the preservation of sea turtle habitats and the coastal environment.
For more information and to donate to save the turtles from extinction you can visit
www.conserveturtles.org