Sea Turtles

By: Maddie, Jake, Chris, and Heston

Green Sea Turtle

Status- Endangered
Scientific Name- Chelonia Mydas
Class- Reptilia
Sea Turtles

● Been alive for around 110 million years

● Live around 80 years
● Found in all warm waters around the globe
● Spend most of their lives in the water
● Migrate up to 1400 miles each year
● Can remain submerged for many hours at a time
Sea Turtles Eggs

● Bury their eggs in the sand on the same beach where they were born
● Baby turtles have to dig themselves out and make their way to the ocean
● They have between 70 and 190 eggs but very few survive
Interdependence
● Mutualism- Surgeonfish clean the turtles, making it easier for
them to swim and the fish get a good nutritious meal
● Mutualism- Turtles rely on seagrass for food and the turtles don’t
take advantage of this. They only eat the leaves and leave the
roots to allow the plant to regrow.
● Predation- Tiger sharks and other large sharks prey on sea turtles
● Predation- Dogs, racoons, seabirds, some species of crab and fish
prey on sea turtle eggs
What they eat

● Adult green sea turtles are herbivores that eat mainly

seagrasses and algae.
● Juvenile green sea turtles are omnivores. They eat a
wide variety of plant and animal life, including insects,
crustaceans, seagrasses, and worms.
What eats them

● Adult sea turtles have a few predators, mostly large

sharks
● Fishes, dogs, seabirds, raccoons, ghost crabs, and other
predators prey on eggs and hatchlings
● More than 90% of hatchlings are eaten by predators
● Sea turtles get their energy from the grass that they
eat, and that energy gets passed to their predators
Threats to Sea Turtles

● Scared away by artificial lights

● Trash is dangerous to them
● Approaching mothers causes them to leave
Trash

Although sea turtles have many threats, the biggest one is trash. Plastic
can harm sea turtles in many ways. If it becomes tangled around them it can
injure the turtle. Turtles often mistake plastic for food and eat it. Ingesting
large amounts of plastic can be fatal for turtles. Some turtles have been found
dead with their stomachs full of plastic.
Solutions to these Problems

● Control artificial lights on beaches

● Clean up trash
● Educate public
● Reduce plastic use
Our Action Plan

For our action plan we decided to attack the main problem facing sea
turtles- trash. Along with another group, we went to Ocean Beach in San
Francisco and picked up all the trash we could find. This prevents the trash
from getting into the ocean, where it would then be a threat to turtles. By
cleaning up the beach we also set an example for others, and encouraged
others to help clean up as well.
Bibliography
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www.natgeokids.com/za/discover/animals/sea-life/green-sea-turtle-facts/.
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Citations

● “Basic Facts About Sea Turtles.” Defenders of Wildlife, 10 Jan. 2019, defenders.org/sea-turtles/basic-facts.
● “Information About Sea Turtles: Threats to Sea Turtles – Sea Turtle Conservancy.” Sea Turtle Conservancy,
conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-sea-turtles/.
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● Information About Sea Turtles: Why Care? – Sea Turtle Conservancy.” Sea Turtle Conservancy,
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Citations

● www..amnh.org/explore/ology/earth/ask-a-scientist-about-our-environment/how-old-can-sea-turtles-live-to-be.
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● .“Greens.” SEE Turtles, www.seeturtles.org/green-turtles.
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