...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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...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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...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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...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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...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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...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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...will find the Green Turtle living where ever they can find tropical or cool water. The Green Turtle will live out in the ocean. They will come on shore to the sandy beaches where they will dig holes in which to lay their eggs. The Green Turtle is 80 to 100cm long and weighs 70 to 230kg. The Green Turtle is not green as their name suggests. Their fat is green. The Green Turtle does not eat meat like most turtles They prefer to eat seaweed. The Baby Green Turtles will however eat crabs and jellyfish. The Green Turtles numbers are dropping all over the world There are many caught for food. Their eggs are also taken. They are losing some of their sandy beaches, so they have fewer places to lay their eggs. They are now endangered. The snake-necked turtle is found in...
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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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...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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...Traditionally, humans and green sea turtles were not made to interact with each other. Both live in extremely different environments and they are not traditionally supposed to hunt each other for prey. However, humans have upset the natural balance and caused the two vastly different species to interact. Human influence has created a drastic impact on the population of Green Sea Turtles, and have played the biggest role in the endangerment of these marine creatures. The turtles are often harvested for consumption across many continents such as Asia and South/Central America, where the decade long practises have significantly diminished the population. There are many alternatives to sea turtle meat, such as meat from animals not suffering extinction,...
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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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...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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...Sea turtles are fascinating sea creatures that use the Earth’s magnetic field to migrate and navigate the Earth. Turtles breathe air and are classified as reptiles, they have been on Earth for millions of years. Sea turtles also classified as marine turtles have seven different sub-species they're known as Loggerhead, Olive Ridley, Flatback, Leatherback, Green turtle, Kemp’s Ridley and Flatback. Turtles live in practically every ocean all over the world, they don’t have a specific habitat where they're located. Turtles are born on beaches and make their way to the sea, they spend most of their lives at sea. The female turtles after mating at sea return to the same beach they were born on to lay her eggs. Female turtles can mate in maturity...
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...Sea turtles Introduction: Sea turtles have been around for a very long time and are one of the earth's most ancient creatures since the time of dinosaurs which goes back to many millions of years. In general, the estimate for the lifespan of sea turtles is 70-80 years. There are seven species of sea turtles in two families. The family Cheloniidae includes six hard shell turtles: flatback sea turtle (Natator depressus), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate), Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii), loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) and olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea). The seventh species of leathery skin turtle, leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) belongs to the...
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...Snorkeling with Sea Turtles Sea Turtles, over 100 million years swimming in their oceans. Even predating many dinosaurs. “The turtle is an important symbol in the mythologies of many indigenous cultures, usually representing creation, longevity and wisdom in these belief systems. Turtles are thus truly ancient beings-both in geological and mythological terms. As integral parts of the marine ecosystems, turtles are also useful indicators of the vitality of the overall marine environment (Travel-Hawaii .com 2017).” The spectacular Green Turtle inhabits the warm salt waters off the coast of Oahu, and allowed me to visit their home reef. This majestic sea creature’s life span is relatively unknown. Sea turtles reach a peak maturity age...
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