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LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE INFORM ATION PACK w w w .travelpod.com
ADULTLOGGERHEAD SEATURTLEGENERAL FACTS -
The scient ific nam e for t he Loggerhead Sea Turt le is " Caretta Caretta".
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The shell is called a " carapace".
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Loggerhead sea t urt les are found in t he At lant ic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
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Adult s are t ypically 2.5 t o 3.5 ft in t heir carapace
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Adult s w eigh bet w een 70-170kg
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They feed on shellfish as t heir pow erful jaw m uscles help t hem crush t hem w it h ease. How ever t hey do also eat jellyfish as t hey have specially adapt ed beaks and t hroat s, w hich m eans t heir able t o feast on jellyfish w it hout being st ung as t hey're able t o neut ralise t he t ox ins jellyfish release.
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Fem ales nest in int ervals of t w o t o four years and lay t hree t o six nest s per nest ing season, usually 12 t o 14 days apart . Fem ales lay 100 t o 130 eggs per nest and t hey t ake around 60 days t o hat ch.
LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLES HAVINGBEENLISTENASANENDANGEREDSPECIES,WHATHASCAUSEDTHETHREATOF EXTINCTION?
N at ural t hreat s can m ake a
irreversible dam age.
feat ure in t he decline and endangerm ent of sea t urt les, but not t he largest .
Threat s also include sea pollut ion as sea t urt les oft en m ist ake plast ic bags for jellyfish and eat t he plast ic, causing clogged int est ines or suffocat ion. Ot her t hreat s involve problem s such as incident al capt ure in longline fishing, w hich is t hought t o have played a significant role in t he decline of t he Loggerhead sea t urt le.
How ever, adult Loggerhead Sea Turt les are fairly im m une t o predat ion, aside from t he occasional shark at t ack. Nat ural t hreat s usually affect nest s and hat chlings as opposed t o adult s. Threat s by m an are by far t he largest cause of deat h in adult sea t urt les, in m any count ries t urt les are poached and harvest ed for t heir eggs or m eat and eat en as it 's seen as a delicacy. Ot her t hreat s involve aquat ic vehicles such as speed boat s, jet ski's and ot her vehicles used for hum an am usem ent . In m any cases t he engine has run over an adult or young Loggerhead inst ant ly killing, or causing
HATCHLING LOGGERHEADSEA TURTLEGENERAL FACTS -
Only one in a thousand hatchlings will make it to adulthood.
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The first two years of a hatchlings life is the hardest as their size means most other animals are predators, animals such as dogs, cats and birds will eat hatchlings on their way to the sea and once in the sea more birds and larger fish will often prey on them.
LOGGERHEAD HATCHLINGS
Hatchlings eat a variety of prey such as crustaceans, sea weed, fish eggs and jellyfish. However hatchlings often mistake sea trash for food and ingest dangerous items such as tar balls.
ONLYONEINATHOUSANDHATCHLINGSMAKEITTOADULTHOOD,WHATNATURALAND MANMADETHREATSHASCAUSEDTHIS?
M an m ade t hreat s are t he largest cause of t he low survival rat e of hat chlings in t his day and age. Threat s caused by urbanisat ion add ont o nat ural t hreat s w hich m akes t he journey int o adult hood for a hat chling even harder. M an m ade t hreat s have m ade nest ing behaviours m ore difficult for adult sea t urt les as beach furnit ure or hum ans on beaches can fright en or prevent nest ing alt oget her, if an adult sea t urt le doesn't m ake her nest w it hin four days of being ready t o birt h, she w ill em pt y t he eggs int o t he sea w hich kills t he unborn hat chlings. Furt herm ore, as t ourism has grow n in m any count ries, act ivit y and light s at t he back of beaches. Hat chlings rely on t he light of t he m oon t o find t he sea, light s at t he back of t he beach can cause t hem t o go t ow ards roads, or get
st uck/ lost w hich m eans t hey can becom e dehydrat ed and die. Ot her fact ors such as beach vehicles can cause nest s t o be dest royed from t he w eight of t he vehicle, or poison a nest from t he gases t hey release. The t racks can cause hat chlings t o flip on t heir backs and becom e vulnerable also. Rubbish is anot her fact or as it can t rap hat chlings or suffocat e t hem . By eradicat ing t hese t hings from nest ing beaches it w ould great ly save t he Loggerhead Sea Turt le populat ion. Nat ural t hreat s are st ill a prom inent feat ure, especially w it h eggs and hat chlings. Wit h nest s t aking 45-60 days t o hat ch, w ind, rain and t em perat ures below 14°C can t ake a t oll on t he hat chlings, and high t ides can cause severe dam age or even inundat ion; w here t he nest is drow ned.
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Hathclings follow the natural light horizon which is usually the moon over the ocean to find their way to sea, but other forms of light, artificial or firelight can cause disorientation which can lead to death. Female hatchlings will return to the same beach they were born on to lay their own nest.
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Hatchlings are only 2 inches long.
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Nesting season occus from May to August, however some nests still hatch in October. -
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WHY SHOULD WE SAVE SEA TURTLES? SEATURTLESHOLDVITALIMPORTANCEINTHEWORLDSBEACHANDMARINEECOSYSTEMS,IFSEA TURTLESGOEXTINCT,THESEECOSYSTEMSWILLWEAKENWHICHWILLAFFECTHUMANSALSO,AS WEUSEBEACHESFORVARIOUSACTIVITIES,ANDTHESEAASANIMPORTANTSOURCEFORFOOD. Beaches and sand dunes don't receive m uch nut rient s t hroughout t he year as lit t le veget at ion grow n on beaches. Sea t urt les lay around 100-130 eggs in a nest on t he beach or in sand dunes 3-7 in a nest ing season w hich m eans any unhat ched nest s leave a great source of nut rient s for dune veget at ion. Even nest s t hat do hat ch t he broken egg shells st ill provide nut rient s. Dune plant s becom e bigger and st ronger from nut rient s in t urt le eggs, and a healt hier dune veget at ion prot ect s t he beach from erosion, but as few er eggs are being laid on beaches, t here is less source for nut rient s. If sea t urt les w ere t o go ex t inct , t he general healt h of a beach w ouldn't be st rong
enough t o m aint ain any dunes w hich could cause t he erosion of a beach alt oget her. Sea t urt les also eat jellyfish w hich helps cull t he num bers of jellyfish in t he sea, prevent ing large bloom s of jellyfish -- including st inging jellyfish. St inging jellyfish can causes m asses of dam age t o fisheries, m arine recreat ion and ot her m arit im e act ivit ies w it hin t he oceans. Sea t urt les also graze sea grass beds w hich creat es m ore act ivit y and product ivit y com pared t o sea grass beds t hat aren't grazed. Cert ain species of sea t urt le also eat sea sponges, w hich m eans t hey don't dom inat e over slow er grow ing corals.
These act ivit ies from sea t urt les ensure safe ecosyst em s on not only t he beach, but m aint ains diversit y and t he nat ural balance of fragile m arine syst em s. The ex t inct ion of sea t urt les w ould cause decline in beaches w hich could cause m assive t ourism loss, but also decline in cert ain species w ho act ually rely on t he sea t urt le t o graze sea grass beds and coral reefs. The species w hich w ould decline are oft en harvest ed for hum an consum pt ion w hich w ould be anot her loss.
Disorientationfromlightsat theback of thebeachcanleadturtlesthewrong waymakingthemsuffer from exhaustion,dehydrationandoften causesthemtodie.
FemaleLoggerheadSeaTurtleswill alwaysreturntothesamebeachthey werebornontolaytheir ownnest so theconservationof nestingbeachesis massivelyimportant.
Only1in1000hatchlingswill makeit to adulthoodsoensuringthesafetyof nestsandhatchingswill helpthese odds.
A r el ocat i on don e by a m em ber of ARCH ELON , Th e Sea Tur t l e Pr ot ect i on Soci et y of Gr eece t o sav e un bor n h at ch l i n gs f r om bei n g i n un dat ed f r om h i gh t i de.