...The endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle is found in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Oceans (World Wildlife, 2018). Not too keen on deep water, found mostly near the coast line. Not being as large as other seat turtles they still grow up to be big to us. Known to eat sponges, sea anemones, and jellyfish (World Wildlife, 2018). Weighing in at 90-150 lbs, Length of 30-35 inches. Feeding on mostly sponges there pointed beaks to get them from tight spots (World Wildlife, 2018). Their benefit is they help maintain the health of coral reefs and seagrass beds (World Wildlife, 2018). Hawksbills Maintain the health of coral reefs. Removing sponges and providing better access for reef fish to eat (World Wildlife, 2018). Their colored and patterned shells...
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...First, I decided to do some research on the conservation status of Sea Turtles. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the global statuses are classified as followed: • Leatherbacks: Vulnerable • Greens: Endangered • Loggerheads: Endangered • Hawksbills: Critically Endangered • Olive Ridleys: Vulnerable • Kemp’s Ridleys: Critically Endangered Sea Turtles are among the list of top endangered species. Of the seven species, six are considered endangered. Among those six species are the Green Sea Turtles. Several factors have contributed to their rate of extinction. These factors include: climate change, oil spills, unmanaged coastal development, illegal trade, human consumption, and predators. According to the WorldWildlife webpage, “Incidental capture by fishing gear is the greatest threat to most sea turtles, especially endangered loggerheads, greens and leatherbacks. This threat is increasing as fishing activity expands” (wwf.org). Upon my research, I found another surprising factor that is currently contributing to sea turtle extinction. I discovered the article, “Invasive algae, pollution cause lethal tumors on sea turtles”. The lethal tumors have been most prevalent in Hawaii’s Green Sea Turtle Species. The tumors are linked to the invasive algae, “Superweed”. The algae grow along an area, where nutrient pollution is not managed regularly. When the sea turtles consume the invasive algae, the amino acids from the algae stimulate...
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...Salvador due to the lack of detail about both reptiles and San Salvador.) There are many kind of reptiles live in San Salvador or the larger Bahamas Area. The three major groups are the Lizards/Iguanas, Snakes and the Turtles. Lizards native to The Bahamas including Bahamian Rock Iguanas, Curly-tailed Lizards, Blue-tailed Lizards, Anoles, Geckos. Snakes including Bahamian boas, Brown racer, Pygmy boa, Blind snakes and Thread snakes. Turtles including a wide variety of marine turtles and freshwater turtles. Here are some examples of the reptiles. San Salvador iguana/Cyclura rileyi San Salvador iguana live in the island of San Salvador, Acklins and Exuma. The length is about millimeter and weight about 1.25 kilogram. Male are generally bigger than female and male has leg hole to release pheromones and hormones. 95% of their food are vegetables, flowers, leaves. The other 5% are eggs or dead crabs and bugs. Male San Salvador iguana are extremely territorial and would fight very hard over territory. Northern Bahamian rock iguana/Cyclura cychlura Cyclura cychluras are large in size. The total length could reach 150 centimeter for male ones. As the name suggests, it live in the north islands of the Bahamas. Majorly in the bushes and low forests near the sea. It mostly eat flowers, fruits and leaves, sometimes the body or bugs and crabs. The life span could reach 40 years. They lay eggs between May and July. Each time 4 to 19 eggs. It takes around 75 days for the eggs to hatch...
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...Organisms found in the Everglades Plants The Everglades is home to a wide diversity of plants. The two million acre wetland ecosystem is inhibited by wetland plants that include sawgrass, bladderwort, cypress, mangrove trees, and others that serve as primary food sources and shelters for many consumers of this habitat (National Wildlife Federation, 2012). Animals The Everglades is home to numerous species of animals including those native to the lands, threatened, and considered endangered. Wildlife populaces include over 350 bird species including the Great Blue heron, great egret, and wood stork. Land dwellers that inhibit the Everglades include Alligator and crocodile reptiles, Florida panther, Burmese python, West-Indian Manatee, sea turtles, and raccoon just to name a few. The Everglades most endangered animal is the Florida panther, of which approximately only 80 now survive (National Wildlife Federation, 2012). Organisms in the Everglades Producers Consumers Decomposers Monocotyledons Manatee Bacteria Saw grass Alligator Gar Fungi Pond apple tree...
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...The biology of the sea turtle and facors affecting its population Upon first sight of the great sea turtle it might just think that it is like any other turtle. The truth is that marine turtles are beautiful creatures spending a majority of their lives wandering endlessly through our massive ocean. These reptiles have the ability to do amazing things. Some of these things include evolving to a range of purely innate responses to the demands of a changing suite of environments and having remarkable navigations skills for their excursions that may last up to several years. Sea turtles have been in existence for more than 100 million years and researchers have been studying them for great deal of time. During the past 20 years however, the natural history of marine turtles has received growing attention and much has been learned (Bjorndal 19). Instantly you will fall in love with their beauty and majestic way of life. The biology behind these amazing animals causes them stand out from much of the ocean life. There are seven different species of sea turtles. These species include Kemps Ridley, Flatback, Loggerhead, Olive Ridley, Leatherback, Hawksbill, and the Hawaiian Green Turtle (Gardner 2004). Unlike many animals the female sea turtle is generally larger than the males. The main distinction between the two is that the male tends to have a longer tail. The core part of the sea turtle and the part that helps protect them from predators is the shell. The shell grows around the...
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...maintain the health of ecosystems while human activity is able to have adverse impacts on both organisms and ecosystems. Sea turtle also plays key role in the sea ecosystem. This essay will indicate the important roles of sea turtles on two sea ecosystem, beaches and marine systems, and negative effects of human activity on the turtle and sea ecosystem. Sea turtles have played vital roles in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans for more than 100 million years. According to Ruckdeschel and Shoop (2006, p.2), there are seven species of sea turtles in the world’s oceans, including flatback, green, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, leatherback, loggerhea and olive ridley. The roles of those species consist of maintaining healthy seagrass beds and coralreefs, providing habitat for other marine life, helping to balance marine food webs and facilitating nutrient cycling from water to land. To more specific, there is an influence of sea turtles on seagrass beds. Sea turtles, especially green sea turtles, is an animal eating seagrass. This action of the turtles assist in maintaining the health of the sea grass beds because sea grass needs to be constantly cut short to be healthy and help it grow across the sea floor. Wilson, Miller, Allison & Magliocca. (n.d.). Sea turtles also bring some benefits to Beach Dunes. Sea Turtle Conservancy (2014) has claimed that turtle eggs provide dune plants with the nutrients, which makes dune planes grow up and become stronger. These vital nutrients...
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...Rising Temperatures Put Sea Turtles at Risk Sea turtles are said to be one of Earth’s most ancient creatures and the seven species that can be found today have been around for roughly 110 million years, which dates back to when dinosaurs ruled the planet. Their unique shell allows for easy movement through the water and unlike other turtles, sea turtles cannot retract their legs and head into their shells (“Sea Turtle Migration”, 2013). Depending on the species of sea turtle, their diet tends to consist of smaller sea life such as jellyfish, seaweed, crabs, shrimp, sponges, snails and algae. It is also interesting to note that green sea turtles can stay under water for as long as five hours even though the length of a feeding is usually five minutes or less. Their heart rate slows to conserve oxygen and nine minutes may elapse between heartbeats (“Sea Turtle Migration”, 2013). It is often quite difficult to gauge the total population count for sea turtles because both male and juvenile sea turtles do not return to shore once they hatch and reach the ocean, which makes it extremely difficult to keep track of numbers (“Sea Turtle Migration”, 2013). Most of the behavioral information that has been gathered on sea turtles is based off of females and their hatchlings. When females come to shore to lay their eggs they dig out a hole, bury their clutch of eggs and then return to the ocean. The eggs are left unattended to hatch and make their way back to the ocean, which is where...
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...Hey there do you know anything about leatherback sea turtle? They are very cool animals. Let’s get started. Overall Leatherbacks are sea turtles and the only turtle with no shell. Also, the leatherback sea turtle is the heaviest turtle out there. It can weigh up to 2,000 lb. and grow up to 11 ft. They can swim up to 5km to 8km. Although, they can swim fast, they cannot swim backwards. This is why many of them get caught in fishing nets. Turtles breath oxygen, but they spend most of their time in water. There main adaptations are there flippers, shell, and jaw. Food Leatherback's eat mainly jellyfish because they don't have teeth. Eating hard animals could break their jaw. Also, they are immune to jellyfish's sting which means they eat jellyfish. They also eat small crustaceans too. They are mainly predators unless there is a tiger shark in the area. The relationship would be leatherbacks to jellyfish. If there is a tiger shark it would be tiger shark to leatherback. Their food chain would go from seaweed (producers), small fish (primary consumer), jelly fish (secondary consumer), leatherback sea turtle (territory consumers) and hermit crab (decomposer). There are no...
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...The green turtle is one of the largest sea turtles and the only herbivore among the different species. Green turtles are in fact named for the greenish color of their cartilage and fat, not their shells. In the Eastern Pacific, a group of green turtles that have darker shells are called black turtles by the local community. Green turtles are found mainly in tropical and subtropical waters. Like other sea turtles, they migrate long distances between feeding grounds and the beaches from where they hatched. Classified as endangered, green turtles are threatened by overharvesting of their eggs, hunting of adults, being caught in fishing gear and loss of nesting beach sites. Body Temperature- All reptiles are ectotherms. They are cold blooded and their bodies cannot create heat, so they must get it from another source, the sun. Body Covering- have a body covering of scaly skin. All reptiles have scaly skin. This tough, scaly skin is called scute or osteoderms Habitat-They both live in Land and Water How they Reproduce-The reproduction process of sea turtles is important as it is what keeps the various species alive. The age for maturity significantly varies from one species to the next. For some, it is when they are 3-5 years of age. For others though it is as late as 20-50 years of age. It will depend on the type of sea turtle species you are talking about. The mating process takes place in the water so there isn’t too much known about it. This has been confirmed due...
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...the sense of the Congress taken from the 106th congress 1st session. Is this any better than what early frontiersmen did? Skinning the buffalo and just leaving the skinned carcass to rot and be wasted? Hundreds of millions of sharks are killed each year only for their fins. Not using the rest of the shark carcass to its fullest potential is unsportsmanlike and wasteful. Shark fin soup, shark fin stew, these are delicacies. They are not a necessity to live and yet the demand is high. They are eaten primarily for the taste of the dish. Must we wait till they become and endangered species before we do something about it? The green sea turtles were killed for their shells and flesh nearly to extinction before we even started to try to stop the killing. Foods like this are not necessarily bad, but we must do it in moderation. Don’t have another green sea turtle event. If there is something good, do you use it up till it’s all gone? Once it’s gone no one will be able to use that good thing again. In this case it’s shark fining. Will we fin them until there is no more? Future generations will neither see the sharks nor taste dishes like this again. Maybe if we use more of the shark’s body and kill less then we will be able to have the best of both worlds. SHARK FINNING 2 We do not necessarily have to stop killing the sharks altogether, but if we keep on...
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...gov/pr/species/turtles/green.htm website, government website so will be reliable [2] http://www.iotn.org/iotn-15-6.php [3] http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2013/10/29/Human-impact-on-sea-turtles-shows-up-in-studies-of-genetic-diversity/UPI-16391383084837/#ixzz2jFew9cIu Biological solutions The Indian Ocean - South-East Asian (IOSEA) Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) protects 6 marine turtles including the green sea turtle. It is a non-binding intergovernmental agreement that aims to protect, conserve, and recover sea turtles and their habitats in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia region. [1] This includes the turtles on the coast of Nellore. Graph showing total number of nests protected in Nellore district from 2008 to 2012 February [2] The number of green sea turtles is particularly important for creating a diverse ecosystem since they are the only herbivorous marine turtle and so they transfer nutrients from nutrient-rich areas like sea grass beds to nutrient-poor ecosystems like nesting beaches. This is why many organisations, such as the Inter-American Convention (IAC) for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, trys to increase their numbers and diversity, so they prevent the sea turtle’s extinction and they can continue to play their beneficial role to their ecosystem. The IAC is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the legal framework for countries in the Americas and the Caribbean to take actions for the benefit of sea turtles. [1] Between...
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...Alena Aviles There are many organisms that have survived throughout the history of the earth by adapting to ever-changing environments. One of these, dating back over 220 million years, is the turtle. With over 250 different species still around, this reptile has established a legacy of perseverance and resiliency. They have overcome numerous adversities such as earthquakes, floods, fire, droughts, predators, disease, and urban sprawl. Turtles can be found in every ecosystem spanning the globe from the tropics, the desert, to the ocean. While turtles have been known to predominantly live in the water, they have adapted to conditions on land. Their species have evolved over the years through breeding and acclimation to their environment. This evolution includes changes to their physical characteristics such as shells, shapes, and color, but also incorporates psychological changes such as breeding habits, defensive tactics and migration patterns. My favorite of these would be the majestic sea turtle. Sea turtles can be found in just about every sea throughout the world regardless of fresh water, salt water, light water, or brackish water. As seaworthy as they are, sea turtles still have a strong tie to land and coastal habitats. As seen in the diagram below, the sea turtle has many of the same organs and functions of other mammals however; their bodies are shaped hydrodynamic, meaning that they can move swiftly through the water with minimal drag or resistance. Contributing...
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...Abstract The topic of this paper is Sea turtles endangered by Global warming. It argues that global warming have a bad effect on the environment and threatens some species in the world. In the specially, sea turtles which is the oldest species in live in the world so we need to find solutions to protect this specie. There are three reasons for this argument. The first is that we need to find solutions to decrease global warming. The second is that we need to decrease the pollution due to human. Finally, protect the sea turtle of human and predators. Sea Turtles threatened with extinction A lot of species are endangered because of global warming and more specifically the Sea turtle, which is the oldest species known in the world (Velaquez-Manoff 2007); it lived during the dinosaurs. Now the change of the climate threatens these species, and if we don’t do something in a hurry, this species will disappear. The increasing temperature (more than 2 degrees these last years) have an impact directly on the turtle’s eggs (Velaquez-Manoff 2007, Brahic 2007). The problem is that more females than males are born; that means the future will be difficult for reproduction. According to WWF (2007), it’s not only the future population which is in peril, because there is also habitat loss and degradation, pollution, disease because of human and marine pollution, and natural predators. As Bhattacharya (2007) said, we need to do something and we can already...
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...SCI 204: Week 7: Lab 1: Independent Field Trip Name: Al Llereza Independent Field Trip The place that I chose to go for the Independent field trip was the John G. Shedd Aquarium but this was not my first choice. Instead, I was planning to go to the Linkin Park Zoo because it was free admission but the weather conditions were not favorable as it was raining. Nevertheless, I paid for a general admission ticket that cost a whole $5 because I am a Chicago resident. This only gave me access to the Caribbean Reef, Waters of the World and Amazon Rising exhibits. The atmosphere inside this building was amazing due to curiosity of the wide age group. People were interested in the different types of reptiles and aquatic life and wanted to know more, so did I. The first stop I came across was the Amazon Rising exhibits. The first aquarium that caught my eye was the green anaconda because it is believed to be the largest snake in South America and possibly in the world. Green anacondas reside in the sluggish waters of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. Because liquid supports their weight, they can outgrow such tree-dwelling snakes as the large pythons. People are not on the menu, but caimans (similar to alligators), capybaras (100-pound South American rodents) and deer are. After downing just one of these animals, the green anaconda can survive for months before eating again. Also, in this exhibit, I saw a really long fish that spike my interest. It is called the Arapaima...
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...THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME KATRINA HAMRICK SOUTH UNIVERSITY MY FIRST HATCHLING EXPERIENCE “Beep! Beep! Beep!” went the alarm clock in a fury to wake me up. For the first time in my life, I barrel out of my bed and immediately into the next bedroom. Almost falling on the cold, hard-wood floor I pounce on Mollie’s bed, somewhat like a cheetah. She rises up out of her cozy bed and says “Really? Is it already 6:00 am?” “Yes!” I screech like a thirteen-year old cheerleader when her team is scoring points. “Get up! It’s almost time to leave!” I say. The day has finally come for us to go to Oak Island, NC and aid in the hatching of baby sea turtles. “Alright, give me ten minutes” Mollie replies. I run quickly down the stairs, bursting open the refrigerator. “Hmm…what should we eat?” Anxiously scanning the refrigerator and freezer, my eyes stop at Pillsbury toaster strudels. Not just any toaster strudels, but with strawberry and blueberry flavoring. “Sounds good to me!”, so I pop a few in the toaster to let them cook. After a minute and a half, I hear “Ping!” and the food is ready. I yell at Mollie to come downstairs and eat before we head out. Mollie, like a snail, slowly maneuvers her way down the stairs. “Good morning sunshine!” I yell, she smirks at me and sits down. We both decide to get one of each flavor of toaster strudels. They are so yummy! Delicious and sweet, berry-flavor explosions. “So what’s the schedule for today?” asks Mollie...
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