Loggerhead Sea Turtle

There are four main groups of reptiles, known as Crocodilians, Squamates, Tuataras, and Turtles. Crocodilians consists of large reptiles which includes alligators, crocodiles, gharials, and caimans. Squamates are lizards, snakes, and worm-lizards. A worm-lizard is a subterranean burrowing reptile that resembles an earthworm, a legless lizard. Tuataras are a group of reptiles that are lizard-like in appearance but are different from squamates because their skull isn’t jointed. Turtles are the most ancient reptiles alive today. They have changed very little since they first showed up 220 million years ago. The first turtle appeared 220 million years ago.(Laura Klappenbach)

The magnificent leatherback sea turtle is a precious species that exists in the world today. It has endured and evolved through the years, and it would be terrible if humans put an end to their amazing existence. By learning more and taking an active role in supporting conservation programs, hopefully the leatherback population can grow and

The green sea turtle occurs throughout tropical and subtropical oceans and is among the largest of the hard-shelled sea turtles growing to as much as 440 pounds and four feet in length. The breeding populations in Florida were listed as endangered in 1978 (43 FR 32800 32811, July 28, 1978) whereas all other populations were listed as threatened (NOAA 2015h). There is a proposal for identification of a North Atlantic green sea turtle distinct population that would be listed as threatened, continuing its current listing status near New York (80 FR 51763 51764, August 26, 2015). They are found in the shallow waters (except during migration) of shoals, bays, lagoons reefs, and inlets, often where submerged aquatic vegetation exists, from Maine south to Florida, and throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea (USFWS 2015n, 2015o; NOAA 2015e). Green sea turtles nests are not present in New York; however, they occasionally are found stranded on or near the shore (NYSDEC 2015ad). Breeding takes places in subtropical to tropical oceans every two, three, or four years between June and September, with peak nesting in June and July (NOAA 2015h; USFWS 2015u). Hatching usually occurs at night, and many green sea turtle hatchlings seek refuge and food in masses of floating sea plants (USFWS

The leatherback is an endangered species. It's also the largest sea turtle. Adults usually weigh about 800 to 1,000 pounds (363 to 454 kilograms). Some have been reported to weigh as much as 2,000 pounds (907 kilograms). The turtles get their name because their backs are covered with leathery, oily tissue instead of a shell.

Some species may see increases from declines of loggerhead sea turtles. Loggerhead turtles are species generalists and compete with other carnivorous predators whose diets overlap with theirs (Bjorndal 2003). Juvenile loggerheads and Kemp’s ridleys in waters around Long Island have substantial diet overlap and a decline in loggerhead sea turtles may reduce the amount of competition for prey, allowing the Kemps ridleys access to more

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

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists Tomo Eguchi and Jeff Seminoff made oceanic history by releasing the first juvenile loggerhead sea turtle into the West Coast of the United States, with a transmitter attacked to its body. This exploration is going to aid scientists in getting a better understanding of what type of habitats juvenile loggerheads live in prior to participating in the years prior to participation in migration. Scientists are hopping to gain a better understanding of where juvenile loggerheads live for the sake protecting their habitats from fisherman. As of now, scientists have predicted that juvenile loggerheads tend to inhabit the same environments as swordfish. This is extremely dangerous to the lives of sea turtles considering that swordfish are heavily hunted by many fishermen. Therefore, if scientist theories are correct, the loggerheads are living in very dangerous environments. This exploration was initiated when a Coast Guard vessel found the loggerhead and took it to the Aquarium of the Pacific, where it would receive medical attention.

Logger Head Turtles are primarily carnivores for most of their lives, meaning they mainly eat other animals (Marine Bio, 2015). Hatchlings mostly eat sponges, jellyfish, sargassum weed, small gastropods and crustaceans (Marine Bio, 2015). Juveniles, sub-adults and adults feed on conch, clams, horseshoe crabs, as well as other crustaceans (Marine Bio, 2015). As the turtles grow, their jaws get stronger (Harrison, 2005). This helps them to eat much firmer food such as Horseshoe crabs and clams (Harrison, 2005). The loggerhead turtle sexual maturity is reached between 22 to 27 years of age (Environment, 2001). While it is not clear how long a juvenile loggerhead turtle will stay in the open ocean, once it moves to its feeding

The Ocean is 70 percent of the earth’s surface, humans have explored less than five percent of the ocean, and is home to an innumerable amount of living organisms. One of its oldest inhabitants is the Cheloniidae dates back to the Triassic era, roughly 250 million years ago, (Wang et al., 2013). The Cheloniidae family has several subspecies the Eretmochelys imbricate, Caretta caretta, Dermochelys coriacea, Lepidochelys olivacea, and Chelonia mydas. While there are multiple endangered subspecies of the Cheloniidae; the endangered Chelonia mydas, commonly known as the green turtle, will be the focus of this paper. The paper will discuss the green turtle’s importance to its ecosystem, where they are most commonly found, importance to its ecosystem,

Loggerheads live in oceans all over the world, except in the coldest seas. There are more loggerheads in the waters of the United States than any other species of sea turtle. As mentioned by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1978), the National Marine Fisheries Service determined that the loggerhead sea turtle is composed of 9 distinct population segments and listed four Distinct

Natural selection has shaped the leatherback sea turtle in a myriad of ways, bringing it to its present form. Bolstering its ability to survive, the leatherback's flexible and rubbery shell texture give the species and more hydrodynamic structure, allowing them to dive to depths of 4,200 feet. Leatherbacks are also able to maintain warm body temperatures in cold water by using a unique set of adaptations that allow them to both generate and retain body heat.

The Blanding turtle are freshwater medium sized turtle usually found in The Great Lakes Regions in USA and in Canada. They are from the omnivorous species and usually eat crayfish, small animals, and plants. Their life histories traits occurs between April and November, as May and April tend to be more for mating and Early June for nesting. Less than half of these females will actually go on to reproducing. Many of these turtles can actually live up to sixty to a hundred years in age. Though these turtles spend a majority of time in the aquatics they also come on to the mainland. This is were the problem starts to occur and this is why the Blanding sea turtles are currently threatened and may soon be extinct. It is because of us humans that these species are currently facing habitat loss, have threatened nesting areas, and are unable to get from nesting areas to the lakes because of manmade roads. Why should we as humans care so much if these Blanding’s turtles go extinct? These turtles play an important

Sea turtles face a lot of life or death obstacles from the second they are born. Even

Sea turtles have been a big help in maintaining the health of the world's ocean for more than 100 million years. They help by keeping up coral reefs all the way to transporting nutrients to beaches. Major changes have occurred in oceans everywhere due to the decline of the sea turtle population. Oceans are unhealthy because of this. It is time for us to protect the sea turtles and rebuild their population to ensure healthy oceans in the future. According to oceana.org, there are seven species of sea turtles that roam the world, six of which inhabit U.S. waters, and have been listed as either endangered, or threatened. Up until now, all six of these species are not at a healthy level despite protection measures from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Some populations even continue to decline. Even at a diminished population, sea turtles play an important role in ecosystems. They are also extremely important to humans because they keep oceans healthy, and we use the ocean as a food source. They keep up the health of the ocean in many different ways, all of which, are very important.

The Hawksbill Sea Turtle is one of seven species of sea turtles that inhabit the ocean. Their scientific name is Eretmochelys imbricata and they belong to the cheloniidae family. The hawksbill sea turtles are named for their hawk like beak. They also have a carapace with an overlapping pattern of scales that form a jagged edge along the shell. They are found mainly throughout the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. According to the national geographic, they tend to avoid deep waters and prefer coastlines where they can feast on sponges and with sandy beaches close by for nesting. According to the U.S Fish & wildlife service of North Florida, the Hawksbill sea turtle also like to swim around rocky areas, coral reefs, lagoons, shallow