Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

S
ea turtles, who are among the oldest
creatures on earth, have remained
essentially unchanged for 110 million SEA relatives, they cannot retract their heads
very far into their shells. In most sea
turtles, the top shell, or carapace, is

TURTLES
years; however, they face an uncertain composed of many bones covered with
future. The many threats to sea turtles horny scales or “scutes.” Turtles are
include encroachment of coastal toothless but have powerful jaws to
development on their nesting beaches, crush, bite, and tear their food.
encounters with pollutants and marine The smallest of the sea turtles are
debris, accidental drownings in fishing Nomads of the Deep the ridleys, weighing 85 to 100 pounds
gear, and international trade in turtle as adults. Leatherbacks are behemoths
meat and products. that can grow to 2,000 pounds. Most sea turtles grow
Information about these ancient nomads of the slowly and have life-spans of many decades. Although
deep has, until recently, focused on nesting females and sea turtles can remain submerged for hours at a time
hatchlings because they are the easiest to find and while resting or sleeping, they typically surface several
study. The advent of new research techniques, such as times each hour to breathe.
satellite tracking technology, has allowed scientists to In summer, an ancient reproductive ritual begins.
peer into other phases of their lives. Florida, a leader The female, who usually nests every two to three years,
in sea turtle research and conservation, is home to the leaves the sea and crawls ashore to dig a nest in the
nation’s only refuge designated specifically for sea sand. She uses her rear flippers to dig the nest hole,
turtles. On Florida’s east coast, the Archie Carr National where she deposits about 100 eggs the size of ping-pong
Wildlife Refuge, named after the pioneering researcher balls. When egg-laying is complete, the turtle covers
whose work first called attention to the plight of the sea the eggs, camouflages the nest site, and returns to the
turtles, serves as a nursery for approximately one- ocean. Nesting turtles may return to the beach several
quarter of all loggerhead turtle nests in the Western times in a nesting season to repeat the process.
Hemisphere.

Description Female sea turtles often appear to be weeping as they

Sea turtles are air-breathing reptiles remarkably suited nest; the main purpose of these tears is to
to life in the sea. Their hydrodynamic shape, large remove salt from the turtle’s body.
size, and powerful front flippers allow them to dive to
great depths and swim long distances. After their first As is true for some other reptiles, the temperature
frantic crawl from the nest to the ocean, male sea of the sea turtle nest determines the sex of the
turtles never return to the shore, and females come back hatchlings. Warmer temperatures produce more
only long enough to lay eggs. females, whereas cooler temperatures result in more
There are seven species of sea turtle: green turtle, males. Consequently, conservationists prefer to leave
hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, olive ridley, Kemp’s turtle eggs in their original location whenever possible
ridley, and flatback. All but the olive ridley and flatback so that sex ratios are determined naturally.
are found in Florida. Sea turtles have long, narrow, After incubating for about two months, the eggs
wing-like flippers in place of forelimbs and have shorter, begin to hatch. A few days later, 2-inch hatchlings
webbed flippers as hind limbs. Unlike their terrestrial emerge as a group. This mass exodus usually occurs
 lower shell, that formed the basis of the popular green
turtle soup). Merchants learned that the turtles could
The contiguous beaches of Brevard, Indian River, St. be kept alive by turning them on their backs in a shaded
Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach counties are the most
area. This discovery made it possible to ship fresh
important loggerhead nursery areas in the Western
Hemisphere, attracting more than 15,000 female turtles to overseas markets. By 1878, 15,000 green tur-
loggerheads each May through August. tles each year were shipped from Florida and the
Caribbean to England. In Key West, formerly a major
processing center for the trade, the turtles were kept in
at night. Under natural conditions, the hatchlings use water-filled pens known as “kraals,” or corrals. These
the bright, open view of the night sky over the water corrals now serve a benign role as a tourist attraction.
to find their way to the sea. However, artificial lights on A more streamlined-looking turtle than the bulky
beachfront buildings and roadways distract hatchlings, loggerhead, the green turtle weighs an average of 350
causing them to travel away from the ocean and toward pounds and has a small head for its body size. Its
the brighter lights located inland. Because of this dan- oval-shaped upper shell averages 3.3 feet in length and
ger, many beachfront communities in Florida have is olive-brown with darker streaks running through it;
adopted lighting ordinances requiring lights to be shut its lower shell, called the plastron, is yellow.
off or shielded during the nesting and hatching season.

A Sea Turtle Sampler: Many of Florida’s green turtles have numerous warts on
their bodies called fibropapillomas. Researchers believe
Florida’s Five Species of Sea Turtles these growths are caused by a virus but have not yet
Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) isolated a specific pathogen. The number of green
turtles with these tumors appears to be increasing.
The most common sea turtle in Florida, the loggerhead
is named for its massive, block-like head. It is among
the larger of the sea turtles; an adult weighs an average Green turtles are found during the day in shallow
of 275 pounds. Its carapace, which is about three feet flats and seagrass meadows. Every evening, they return
long, is reddish-brown on top and creamy yellow to their usual sleeping quarters—scattered rock ledges,
underneath; it is very broad near the front of the turtle oyster bars, and coral reefs. Adult green turtles are
and tapers toward the rear. Each of its flippers has two unique among sea turtles in that they are largely
claws. As is true for all sea turtles, the adult male has vegetarians, consuming principally seagrasses and
a long tail, whereas the female’s tail is short; however, algae. Each year, from June through late September,
a juvenile’s sex cannot be determined externally. approximately 100 to 1,000 green turtles nest on
The powerful jaws of the loggerhead allow it to Florida’s beaches.
easily crush the clams, crabs, and other armored
animals it eats. A slow swimmer compared to other sea Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
turtles, the loggerhead occasionally falls prey to sharks, The leatherback is a fascinating and unique animal,
and it is not uncommon to see an individual that is even among sea turtles. It is larger, dives deeper, travels
missing flippers or chunks of its shell. However, the farther, and tolerates colder waters than any other sea
loggerhead compensates for its lack of speed with turtle. Most leatherbacks average 6 feet in length and
stamina; for example, a loggerhead that had been weigh from 500 to 1,500 pounds, but the largest
tagged at Melbourne Beach was captured off the coast leatherback on record was nearly 10 feet long and
of Cuba 11 days later. weighed more than 2,000 pounds.
The leatherback looks distinctively different from
Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) other sea turtles. Instead of a shell covered with scutes,
Green turtles, named for their green body fat, were the leatherback is covered with a firm, leathery skin and
valued by European settlers in the New World for their has seven ridges running lengthwise down its back. The
meat, hide, eggs, and “calipee” (the fat, attached to the turtle is black with white, pink, and cobalt-blue

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highlights and has no claws on its flippers. It eats soft- Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempi)
bodied animals such as jellyfish, and its throat cavity
The Kemp’s ridley is the rarest, most endangered sea
and scissor-like jaws are lined with stiff spines that aid
turtle in the world. It has only one major nesting beach,
in swallowing this soft, slippery prey. A young
an area called Rancho Nuevo on the Gulf coast of
leatherback in captivity, with a plentiful food supply,
Mexico. The location of this nesting beach was a
can consume twice its weight in jellyfish daily.
mystery to scientists until the discovery of a 1947 film
showing 40,000 Kemp’s ridleys crawling ashore in
broad daylight to lay eggs. Sadly, an “arribada” (from
Leatherback turtles can dive deeper than any other air- the Spanish word for arrival) of such awe-inspiring
breathing animal except perhaps sperm whales splendor can now be seen only on film. Fewer than
and elephant seals. 1,000 nesting females remain in the world.
The Kemp’s ridley is small, weighing only 85 to 100
True denizens of the deep, leatherbacks are capable pounds and measuring from 2 to 2.5 feet in carapace
of descending more than 3,000 feet and of traveling length, but it has a tough and tenacious nature. Its
more than 3,000 miles from their nesting beaches. principal diet is crabs and other crustaceans.
They are found throughout the Atlantic, Pacific, and During the 1980s, many eggs were removed from
Indian oceans, as far north as Alaska and Labrador. the beach at Rancho Nuevo and incubated in
Researchers have found that leatherbacks are able to containers. The hatchlings that emerged from these
regulate their body temperature so that they can survive eggs were then raised for almost a year in a National
in cold waters. Leatherbacks are found in Florida’s Marine Fisheries Service facility in Galveston, Texas.
coastal waters, and a small number (from 30 to 60 per When they were released, it was hoped that these
year) nest in the state. “headstarted” turtles would have a better chance of
survival than they would have had as hatchlings.
Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) Unfortunately, there were many problems with
this program. When it was discovered that the sex of
The hawksbill is a small, agile turtle whose beautiful turtle hatchlings was influenced by temperature, project
shell is its greatest liability. Although international workers realized that the method used to house the
trade in hawksbill products has been banned in much turtle eggs created an environment cooler than a
of the world, its shell is still used in some European and natural nest on the beach, thus producing only male
Asian countries to make jewelry, hair decorations, and turtles. They also discovered that after release, many
other ornaments. of the “headstarted” turtles did not behave like their
The adult hawksbill weighs from 100 to 200 pounds. wild counterparts. Many scientists worried that these
Its carapace is approximately 30 inches long and is “headstarted” turtles would never become reproducing
shaded with black and brown markings on a adults. Although two “headstarted” turtles are known
background of amber. The scales of this kaleidoscopic to have nested, headstarting is generally considered to
armor overlap, and the rear of the carapace is serrated. be an inappropriate conservation technique for marine
Its body is oval-shaped; its head is narrow. Raptor-like turtles.
jaws give the hawksbill its name. These jaws are
perfectly adapted for collecting sponges, the hawksbill’s
preferred food. Although sponges are composed of Threats to Sea Turtles
tiny glasslike needles, this potentially dangerous diet Sea turtles face many threats from humans. They are
apparently causes the turtle no harm. hunted for their meat and shells, their eggs are stolen,
Hawksbills, usually found in lagoons, reefs, bays, and their nesting beaches are often degraded by
and estuaries of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, condominiums, seawalls, and other structures. Hatch-
are the most tropical of the sea turtles. They are lings are lured to their deaths by the artificial lights on
frequently spotted by divers off the Florida Keys, and developed beaches; juveniles and adults may die after
a few nests are documented annually from the Keys to consuming discarded plastic bags, balloons, and other
Canaveral National Seashore. marine debris. Turtles of all sizes and ages may be

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drowned in shrimp trawls and gill nets. However, strong teaching shrimpers in other countries to use these
conservation measures offer hope that their future devices.
may not be so precarious. International treaties now There are encouraging signs of recovery and positive
prohibit trade in sea turtle products and impose high action in Florida: the number of green turtle nests
fines or prison terms on violators, but not all nations appears to be increasing slowly, and the number of dead
with sea turtle populations have signed these pacts. turtles found on beaches is decreasing gradually. Many
Many important nesting areas, including those in coastal construction and beach renourishment permits
Florida, are at least partially protected from both now incorporate sea turtle protection measures. The
human disturbance and natural predators such as Florida sea turtle vehicle license plate is available for
raccoons, which have been known to sit directly behind purchase, and its sales generate dedicated funding for
nesting turtles and scoop up eggs as they are laid. research. Such efforts may indeed help to secure a
Protection of nesting beaches remains a key goal in the bright future for these “living fossils.”
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s
sea turtle conservation program.
Managing coastal development on nesting beaches
is another critical concern. State rules impose some Florida Counties with the Greatest Average
limits on the construction of seawalls and other Percentage of Loggerhead Nests, 2000-2005
shoreline-hardening structures that can erode sandy
nesting beaches, but such structures are still permitted
in many areas where turtles nest. Additionally, beach
renourishment projects designed to restore sandy
beaches may pose a threat when they are conducted
during the prime turtle-nesting season. It is not always

V
O
possible to relocate all turtle nests in the path of the

LU
SI
A
renourishment projects. # of Total
Perhaps the most important step forward for sea County Statewide Nests

BR
EV
turtles came in 1989, when all shrimpers in the United Brevard 37%

AR
D
INDIAN

States were required to use special “turtle-excluder Palm Beach 20.7% RIVER

ST
Martin 11.1% LUCIE
devices,” or TEDs, which allow turtles accidentally
St. Lucie 7.9% SARASOTA MARTIN

caught in nets to escape through a trap door. Before Indian River 5.8% PALM
TEDs were required, an estimated 11,000 sea turtles died Sarasota 4.3%
BEACH

each year when they became trapped in shrimp nets Broward 3.5% COLLIER
BROWARD

and drowned. Kemp’s ridleys were especially hard-hit Volusia 2.6%

by shrimping impacts. Increases since 1989 in the Collier 1.3%
number of nesting Kemp’s ridleys suggest that the TED
regulations are reducing mortality. Biologists are also

November 2006

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
100 8th Avenue SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • (727) 896-8626 • http://research.MyFWC.com