Research

=Summary of Everything:= toc

Reproduction:
Male sea turtles will never come ashore, females, however will come ashore to nest and lay their eggs. Nesting seasons occur at different times throughout the year in different countries. A female will generally nest about twice a nesting season, and will never nest in consecutive years. They dig a hole with their front flippers to put their eggs in and then leave there eggs to themselves.

Growth:
Researchers think that baby turtles spend their earliest and most vulnerable years floating aimlessly in the sea, covered in Sargasso weeds doing little but growing and eating. When they are the size of a dinner plate they go closer to the shore by feeding grounds. It takes turtles 15 - 50 years to be fully grown. You can not determine the age of a turtle by their appearance. Some turtles can become over 100 years old.

Habitat:
Green turtles are generally found in fairly shallow waters (except when migrating) inside reefs, bays, and inlets. The turtles are attracted to lagoons and shoals with an abundance of marine grass and algae. Open beaches with a sloping platform and minimal disturbance are required for nesting. Green turtles apparently have a strong nesting site fidelity and often make long distance migrations between feeding grounds and nesting beaches. Hatchlings have been observed to seek refuge and food in Sargassum rafts.

**Status of the Species:**
Destruction of feeding and nesting habitats and pollution of the world oceans are all taking taking a part in killing these creatures. Many breeding populations have already become extinct, and entire species are being and about to be wiped out. There could be a time in the near future when sea turtles are just an oddity found only in aquariums and natural history museums, unless action is taken today.

**How You Can Help:** There are many things each of us can do to help sea turtles survive. First, we must remember that we share the oceans and the beaches with many other species. Second, become informed about the things that are killing sea turtles or destroying their habitat. There are many things each of us can do to help sea turtles survive. First, we must remember that we share the oceans and the beaches with many other species. Second, become informed about the things that are killing sea turtles or destroying their habitat.


 * Habitat:** Mainly stay near the coastline and around islands and live in bays and protected shores, especially in areas with seagrass beds. Rarely are they observed in the open ocean.


 * Nesting:** Green turtles nest at intervals of about every 2 years, with wide year-to-year fluctuations in numbers of nesting females. Nests between 3 to 5 times per season. Lays an average of 115 eggs in each nest, with the eggs incubating for about 60 days.


 * Important Info:**

**The Green sea turtle is endangered because of man. Man comes and builds around the beach were the female Green turtle nests. When man is building a house or hotel the debris can pollute the water in which the turtle live. This pollution can kill the Green turtle.** **When that building is done, it also brings other people. The people go to the beach. Sometimes, kids and adults start digging to make sand castles and disturb the turtle eggs. They also go out walking, and they walk on the nest with out knowing it. Those same people may pollute the water as much as the debris. Other human activities also can kill the Green turtle. For example, a shrimp trawl can drown the Green sea turtles.**

HABITAT: Green turtles are generally found in fairly shallow waters (except when migrating) inside reefs, bays, and inlets. The turtles are attracted to lagoons and shoals with an abundance of marine grass and algae. Open beaches with a sloping platform and minimal disturbance are required for nesting. Green turtles apparently have a strong nesting site fidelity and often make long distance migrations between feeding grounds and nesting beaches. Hatchlings have bee n observed to seek refuge and food in Sargassum rafts. CRITICAL HABITAT: 50 CFR 226.208 Culebra Island, Puerto Rico – Waters surrounding the island of Culebra from the mean high water line seaward to 3 nautical miles (5.6 km). These waters include Culebra’s outlying Keys including Cayo Norte, Cayo Ballena, Cayos Geniquí, Isla Culebrita, Arrecife Culebrita, Cayo de Luis PeZa, Las Hermanas, El Mono, Cayo Lobo, Cayo Lobito, Cayo Botijuela, Alcarraza, Los Gemelos, and Piedra Steven.

Reproduction Only females come ashore to nest; males rarely return to land after crawling into the sea as hatchlings. Most females return to nest on the beach where they were born (natal beach). Nesting seasons occur at different times around the world. In the U.S., nesting occurs from April through October. Most females nest at least twice during each mating season; some may nest up to ten times in a season. A female will not nest in consecutive years, typically skipping one or two years before returning.

Growth & Development

Researchers do not yet know how long baby turtles spend in the open sea, or exactly where they go. It is theorized that they spend their earliest, most vulnerable years floating around the sea in giant beds of sargasso weeds, where they do little more than eat and grow. Once turtles reach dinner-plate size, they appear at feeding grounds in nearshore waters. They grow slowly and take between 15 and 50 years to reach reproductive maturity, depending on the species. There is no way to determine the age of a sea turtle from its physical appearance. It is theorized that some species can live over 100 years.

How You Can Help There are many things each of us can do to help sea turtles survive. First, we must remember that we share the oceans and the beaches with many other species. Second, become informed about the things that are killing sea turtles or destroying their habitat. Elected officials and other leaders are making decisions on issues that affect sea turtles almost every day. As an informed citizen, you have the power to influence the outcome of these issues by making your voice h eard. One way to keep informed about important issues is to join and support groups like the Sea Turtle Conservancy, which monitor issues and encourage their members to get involved.

The adults commonly inhabit shallow lagoons, feeding mostly on various species of seagrass.[3[|]] Pollution indirectly harms turtles at both population and individual scales. Many turtles die caught in fishing nets. Also, real estate development often causes habitat loss by eliminating nesting beaches.

They live all over the world with some preferring the tropical waters and others prefer to be where it is cooler. They are found in oceans, lagoons, and bays where they generally stick very close to the shore line.

You will generally find sea turtles living a solitary life. They aren’t territorial so it is common for them to overlap a piece of habitat with others. The only time they are generally found in a group is during migration and mating. Even the new hatchlings that make their way to the water are going to live alone until they are mature enough for the mating process.

Protection of their natural habitat both in the water and on land is vital to being successful with such efforts. Many sea turtles that live in captivity are able to thrive. Others are only in captivity long enough for injuries to heal and then they can be successfully released back into the wild. Almost all of the species of sea turtles are listed as Endangered Species. This is due to the constant destruction of their natural habitat as well as the waters they live in being polluted. They often face other dangers too including being hunted, their eggs being harvested as a source of food, and getting caught up in fishing nets. There are plenty of conservation efforts in place so hopefully they will help to get the number of them to increase.

Green Sea Turtles inhabit tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide, including the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are sensitive to temperature and prefer to live in coastal waters that don’t fall below 20ºC. Green turtles migrate vast distances between their preferred feeding sites and the beaches from where they hatched, sometimes as much as 2,600 kms.

The high winds and surf caused by Hurricane Floyd’s brush with Florida’s east coast in September washed out thousands of sea turtle nests in and around the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, resulting in the deaths of as many as 50,000 to 100,000 hatchling sea turtles, according to state sea turtle specialists.

=**QUICK FACTS**=

The breeding season of the green sea turtle is during September through to October.

The only predators of green sea turtles are humans and larger sharks.

Female green sea turtles will mate every 2-4 years.

The green sea turtle can be found throughout the entire Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

It takes decades for them to become fully grown.

They originally breathed air, but after having remained submerged under water for long periods of time have evolved to use anaerobic respiration.

Sea turtles have a general life-span of 80 years.

To lay her eggs during the night the female turtle will pull herself up onto the sand and dig a circular hole with her front flippers about 40-50 centimeters wide In this hole she will lay 50-100 eggs.

Sea Turtles are usually found in shallow inlets and bays, but occasionally they venture out into the open seas.

Adult green sea turtles in the wild eat grass and algae.

Green sea turtles have serrated jaws to help them eat grass and algae.

Green sea turtles are usually solitary animals, but will congregate where there is an abundant source of food and to mate.

**Volunteer Work / Information :**

Visit: @http://www.noah.co.uk/ @http://gysd.org/?gclid=COe816iLhagCFUpHHAodBjpqpQ @http://www.seaturtle.org/jobs/ @http://www.seaturtle.org/links/Jobs/Volunteer/

Carla's Information

They are sensitive to heat and cold and prefer the warmer parts of the oceans.

Males never leave the water, but females swim to the shore to lay their eggs.

Habitat: Mainly stay near the coastline and around islands and live in bays and protected shores

Green turtles are generally found in fairly shallow waters

Green turtles apparently have a strong nesting site fidelity and often make long distance migrations between feeding grounds and nesting beaches.

A major factor contributing to the green turtle's decline worldwide is commercial harvest for eggs and meat.

Other threats include loss or degradation of nesting habitat from coastal development and beach armoring; disorientation of hatchlings by beachfront lighting; excessive nest predation by native and non-native predators; degradation of foraging habitat; marine pollution and debris; watercraft strikes; and incidental take from channel dredging and commercial fishing operations.

1. What different types of human activity destroy the habitats of green sea turtles?

Answer: **The Green sea turtle is endangered because of man. Man comes and builds around the beach were the female Green turtle nests. When man is building a house or hotel the debris can pollute the water in which the turtle live. This pollution can kill the Green turtle.** **When that building is done, it also brings other people. The people go to the beach. Sometimes, kids and adults start digging to make sand castles and disturb the turtle eggs. They also go out walking, and they walk on the nest with out knowing it. Those same people may pollute the water as much as the debris. Other human activities also can kill the Green turtle. For example, a shrimp trawl can drown the Green sea turtles.**

Other threats include loss or degradation of nesting habitat from coastal development and beach armoring; disorientation of hatchlings by beachfront lighting; excessive nest predation by native and non-native predators; degradation of foraging habitat; marine pollution and debris; watercraft strikes; and incidental take from channel dredging and commercial fishing operations.

= = = = = More Amazing Facts = Females use the same beaches to nest as their mothers and grandmothers. Green Sea Turtles are fast and powerful swimmers, reaching speeds of 60 km/h.