Green Sea Turtle
From Freepedia
| Green Sea Turtle Conservation status: Endangered | ||||||||||||||
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| Image:Chelonia mydas (Hawaiian variety).jpg | ||||||||||||||
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| Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is a large sea turtle, the only member of the genus Chelonia (Brongniart, 1800). This turtle grows to 1-1.5 m in length, and can weigh 200 kg, making it the largest of the hard-shelled turtles. Its distribution extends throughout tropical, subtropical and some warmer temperate waters. Females lay their eggs on traditional nesting beaches, and the turtles often bask in the sand to warm their ectothermic bodies, but otherwise this species is entirely marine.
The green sea turtle was so named because of the green color of its body fat. The adult turtle's algae diet is responsible for the color in its tissues.
Several populations of this species exist, and all are in a vulnerable state. The Hawaii and Southern California green sea turtles are designated threatened, and the Florida and Mexico populations are endangered. They have long been used as a meat source by many different peoples, reducing their numbers. This species is used in turtle soup. They are also caught for their shells, leathery skin, and fat.
Other threats to the species' survival include habitat destruction on their beaches, being caught as by-catch by fishermen, egg poaching, trash pollution in the oceans, collisions with watercraft, and artificial lighting on nesting beaches, which confuses the hatchlings and lures them toward roads instead of toward the sea where they should go. A disease called fibropapillomatosis is also a problem in some green sea turtle populations.
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Florida and the Caribbean
Important feeding grounds for the green sea turtle in Florida include Indian River Lagoon, the Florida Keys, Florida Bay, Homosassa, Crystal River and Cedar Key.
The primary nesting sites in U.S. Atlantic waters are along the east coast of Florida, particularly Hutchinson Island, with additional sites in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Sites in Surinam and in Tortuguero, Costa Rica are also reported. This western Atlantic population reaches sexual maturity at anywhere from 20-50 years.
Hawaii
The turtle is found throughout the Hawaiian Islands, all the way to Midway The native Hawaiian word honu is often used. Ninety percent of the Hawaiian population breed and nest at French Frigate Shoals, from April to November. Males apparently make the journey every year, while females make it at two to four year invervals. Sexual maturity comes at about 25 years.
The honu has made a remarkable comeback and is now the subject of eco-tourism and has become something of a state mascot. Students of the Hawaiian Prepatory Academy (a high school) on the Big Island have tagged thousands of specimens over the past two decades.
Borneo
Conservation efforts have been boosted by eco-tourism in Sabah, Borneo. The island of Pulau Selingaan (also known as 'Turtle Island') is home to a Turtle hatchery. Staff on the island collect some of the eggs laid each night and place them in a hatchery to protect them from predators. Incubation is approximately 60 days. Once hatched, tourists are permitted to assist in the release of the baby Turtles into the sea.
Sources
- US Fish and Wildlife Service sites:
- Audubon Observes Florida Sea-Turtles The great naturalist James Audubon observes the nesting behavior of Florida Sea-Turtles including the Green Sea-Turtle (1832).
- Daniel Glick, "Back From the Brink", Smithsonian, September, 2005, pp. 54-55.
