Endangered Sea Turtles

Now, as most may know sea turtles are both marine and land animals depending on what stage of life they are in. Which means that they need to be able to go on land during certain stages of their lives. One of the main reasons why a sea turtle will go on to land is to lay their eggs. Within the last few years this has become harder and harder for the already endangered species. It

Attention Getter: According to Tilley, K. (2013, August 26) More endangered sea turtles ingesting plastic, there are almost twice as many endangered green sea

This litter that ends up in the ocean is consumed by many animals. There are about seven different kinds of sea turtles and the world wild life organization is working on conservation on five of them. What’s happening to all of these turtles? Due to debris in the ocean the turtle are getting tangled in the six ring bottle or can holders and getting them stuck around the middle so

Humans have heavily affected sea turtle mortality rates, but one may ask what the benefit of having a stable and healthy population of sea turtles is. Sea turtles hold many important roles in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems where they are found. Along coasts where sea turtles are found nesting, beaches have been seen to have an increase in organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen, and lipids (Bouchard 2000). This matter left by the sea turtle is in the forms of unhatched eggs and eggshells, which are then brought into the food chain through decomposers, such as beetles, or sea turtle predators, such as crabs (Bouchard 2000).

The Loggerhead is an endangered species. Between 1997 and 2007, around 70% of their east coast yearly nesting population was lost as a result of shrimp trawling and development in nesting areas. The Loggerhead Turtles habitat in Gnaraloo is vital for their survival. The female loggerhead usually digs her nest at night. She digs her nest with her back flippers, about 18 inches beneath the surface. When she lays her eggs they fall to the bottom of the nest and pack together after she lays the eggs she tops off the nest with sand. The hatchlings will incubate for 60- 80 days. Loggerheads nest on ocean beaches, they lay their eggs, immediately after hatchlings emerge from the nest, they begin a period of frenzied activity. Hatchlings are primarily

The Red-bellied Cooter is being threatened by both man-made and natural causes. Do to economic growth, areas that used to be a good habitat for these turtles are now being turned into new, buildings like apartments, houses, and stores. In areas where the turtles can live, they are threatened before they have even hatched from their eggs by other predators like raccoons, skunks, or even snapping turtles. Almost all of the eggs in a nest are harmed before they have a chance to hatch. So while humans taking up land takes the Red-bellied Cooters’ homes, their predators take their lives.

Endangered Species Act and also appear on the list composed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Human Predation-Though most countries find harvesting sea turtles for food illegal however, these laws are not enforced. U.S. shrimpers are required to put Turtle Excluder Device on their trawl nets since in the past shrimping nets have killed fifty thousand turtles annually. Nothing endangers them the most then plastic bags or helium balloons floating in the water. Effects of consumption include interference in metabolism or gut function. Temperature, which may affect embryo development, in the last hundred years the temperature, has changed six degrees Celsius. The temperature causes the change in the distribution of species in the ocean due to the change in prey and food.

The lighting causes many turtles to die by leading them away from the moon which can cause dehydration, getting run over, Etc. There are turtles being born each year and 100-300 turtles are dying each year due to the lighting on beaches. If the turtles are being affected by lighting on the beaches many things could happen. A few examples are that the turtles will soon be extinct and we soon will not be able to see their beauty. The other animal rates could go down also because some of the animals need to eat the turtles to survive. People should stop putting the lights near the beach now. It kills the loggerhead turtles each year and soon they will become extinct.

Basically everything that is caused by humans has impacted these turtles. How can we help? First we need to protect the wetlands that are slowly being killed. “The greatest threats to the bog turtle are the loss and fragmentation of its habitat” as stated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service so, by slowing down the destruction of the wetlands we might create a better and bigger environment for the bog turtles. Next we need to identify the sources that are harming the turtles and the wetland habitats. This means we need to find the exact problem and fix it. Finally we need to restore the environment where the turtle used to live, and by doing this we can restore the turtle population back to non-endangered

Loggerhead eggs and hatchlings are a large food source for a variety of terrestrial animals, nearshore predatory fish, and seabirds, providing substantial amounts of energy and nutrients for these species (Wilson et al. 2010). A five or ten year period of loggerhead turtle declines may cause sublethal effects such as decreased growth rates or reproductive output for these predator species and a fifty year period of loggerhead turtle decline may potentially have more severe impacts such as significant declines for local populations that rely on eggs and hatchlings as a food source.

The Chelonia mydas also known as the green turtle is currently classified as an endangered species and is one of the oldest living marine vertebrates. The aim of this paper is to examine the Chelonia mydas the chain of events that has caused the decline of its population primarily through human activity, diet, and relationship to its ecosystem. The paper will conclude with a discussion of current conservation efforts implemented to save the Chelonia mydas population. Such efforts include restrictions on human hunting and Identification of marine areas for conservation via satellite tracking.

Unfortunately, the total population of the Cagle’s Map Turtle decreased by ⅔ since 1974 in 1997 and is only continuing to decrease due to major disturbances in habitat, including water diversions, degradation, and being subjected to living only along the Guadalupe River Basin(Ernst, C.H., et al., 1997). Since the Cagle’s Map Turtle only survive in freshwater environments, their population decreases in increased levels of salinity caused by the water

In 1986, scientist figured out that the temperature of the turtle’s eggs determined the sex of the baby turtles. This was when they pronounced endangered. Still to this day, the green sea turtles are still endangered (“Green Sea Turtle”).

After approximately two months of a female mother green sea turtle giving birth, the eggs hatch and the hatchlings make their way to the water. The newly hatched green sea turtles are very susceptible to predators, exposure and losing their way. Birds, mammals and other predators love feasting on the young turtles. One of the greatest threats to hatchlings is light pollution near beach nesting sites. The light from buildings and homes confuses the young turtles so that they crawl towards the light and not the ocean.Threats to Green Sea Turtles: Direct and Indirect Overexploitation, Green sea turtles and their food are over hunted; Disease Fibropapilloma, Development; light pollution near beach nesting sites confuses hatchling sea turtles to travel to the light instead of the ocean, Habitat Loss, and Global Warming.” According to the article “Green Sea

Turtles are known for their hard shells that protect their body from predators. They are classified in the kingdom of Animalia, which are multicellular eukaryotes. There are 17 different turtle species in Missouri, however, some of the different species are endangered. (Brighton and Johnson 2) For example, the yellow mud turtle is endangered in Missouri.