~`~`~`~`SeA TuRtLEs`~`~`~`~
Beach towns, such as Tortuguero, Costa Rica, have transitioned from a tourism industry that made profits from selling sea turtle meat and shells to an ecotourism-based economy. Tortuguero is considered to be the founding location of sea turtle conservation. In the 1960s the cultural demand for sea turtle meat, shells, and eggs was quickly killing the once abundant sea turtle populations that nested on the beach. The Caribbean Conservation Corporation began working with villagers to promote ecotourism as a permanent substitute to sea turtle hunting. Sea turtle nesting grounds became sustainable. Since the creation of a sea turtle, ecotourism-based economy, Tortugero annually houses thousands of tourists who visit the protected 22-mile beach that hosts sea turtle walks and nesting grounds.
Nest relocation may not be a useful conservation technique for sea turtles. In one study on the freshwater Arrau turtle (Podocnemis expansa) researchers examined the effects of nest relocation. They discovered that clutches of this freshwater turtle that were transplanted to a new location had higher mortality rates and more morphological abnormalities compared to non transplanted clutches. The results clearly demonstrate that humans should not manipulate or relocate clutches of that turtle, and impart strong evidence of the detrimental effects that human activity can cause.
Sea turtle shells are an ideal habitat for adult barnacles for three reasons. Turtles tend to live long lives, around 50 years, so barnacles do not have to worry about host death. Secondly, barnacles are suspension feeders. Sea turtles spend most of their lives swimming and following ocean currents and as water runs along the back of the turtle’s shell it passes over the barnacles, providing an almost constant water flow and influx of food particles. Lastly, the long distances and inter ocean travel these sea turtles swim throughout their lifetime, offers the perfect mechanism for dispersal of barnacle larvae. Allowing the barnacle species to distribute themselves throughout global waters is a high fitness advantage of this commensalism.
Since hatchlings find their way to the ocean by crawling towards the brightest horizon, they can become disoriented on developed stretches of coastline. Lighting restrictions can prevent lights from shining on the beach and confusing hatchlings. Sea turtle-safe lighting uses red or amber LED light, invisible to sea turtles, in place of white light.
Beach development is another area which threatens sea turtles. Since many sea turtles return to the same beach each time to nest, development can disrupt the cycle. There has been a movement to protect these areas, in some cases by special police. In some areas, such as the east coast ofFlorida, conservationists dig up sea turtle eggs and relocate them to fenced nurseries to protect them from beach traffic.
Adult sea turtles have few predators. Large aquatic carnivores such as sharks and crocodiles are the biggest threat. Reports of terrestrial predators attacking nesting females are not uncommon. Jaguars have been reported to smash into the turtle's shell with its paw, and scoop out the flesh.
Most sea turtle mortality happens early in life. Sea turtles usually lay around one hundred eggs at a time, on average only one of the eggs from the nest will survive to adulthood. Nests may be raided by raccoons and foxes. Within minutes of hatching, hatchlings may be eaten by raccoons, foxes, seabirds, as they make their initial run for the ocean. Once in the water they are susceptible to seabirds, large fish and even other turtles.
In the oceans, sea turtles, especially green sea turtles, are one of very few creatures (manatees are another) that eat sea grass. Sea grass needs to be constantly cut short to help it grow across the sea floor. Sea turtle grazing helps maintain the health of the sea grass beds. Sea grass beds provide breeding and developmental grounds for numerous marine animals. Without sea grass beds, many marine species humans harvest would be lost, as would the lower levels of the food chain. The reactions could result in many more marine species eventually becoming endangered or extinct.
Injured sea turtles are sometimes rescued and rehabilitated by professional organizations, such as Sea Turtles 911 in Hainan, China; The Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, FL; The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida, the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida; the Marine Mammal Center in Northern California; the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, Florida; and Sea Turtle Inc. in South Padre Island, Texas. One such sea turtle, named Nickel for the coin that was found lodged in her throat, lives at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
Sea turtles maintain an internal environment that is hypotonic to the ocean. To maintain hypotonicity they must excrete excess salt ions.Like other marine reptiles, sea turtles rely on a specialized gland to rid the body of excess salt ions, because reptilian kidneys can not produce urine with a higher ion concentration than sea water.All species of sea turtles have a lachrymal salt gland in the orbital cavity, capable of producing tears with a higher salt concentration than sea water.
Sea turtles are air breathing reptiles that have lungs, so they regularly surface to breathe. Sea turtles spend a majority of their time underwater, so they must be able to hold their breath for long periods.Dive duration largely depends on activity. A foraging turtle may typically spend 5 - 40 min under water while a sleeping sea turtle can remain under water for 4–7 hours.Remarkably, sea turtle respiration remains aerobic for the vast majority of voluntary dive time. When a sea turtle is forcibly submerged (e.g. entangled in a trawl net) its diving endurance is substantially reduced, so it is more susceptible to drowning.
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