![]() ![]() They can wreak havoc on native species by competing them for space and food or by acting as predators.Įxamples of invasive species include a stowaway barnacle from a ship ballast, a hidden plant seed in the sole of a hiking boot worn on a remote island or a pet iguana released in the wild. Invasive species are non-native species of plants, animals or insects that have been introduced into an area where they are not found naturally. Poaching of sea turtle eggs still occurs on some nesting beaches in southern Florida, although strict regulations and beach patrols have helped diminish this problem. Poaching, or illegally killing a turtle, is also common in many parts of the world. Some nations, such as the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Indonesia and Japan, allow juvenile and adult sea turtles to be hunted and their eggs to be collected legally. Sea turtles are a component of the dietary and spiritual rituals of many cultures. A study conducted on young loggerhead turtles found that 15 percent of the turtles had ingested large amounts of plastics that blocked their stomach from functioning. Marine trash poses an entanglement and ingestion hazard to turtles, threatening their ability to forage, grow and, ultimately, survive. PlasticsĮach year, more than six million tons of trash enters the oceans, with plastics comprising up to 90 percent. Scientists believe that there may be a link between exposure to agricultural pollutants and the spread and prevalence of fibropapillomatosis, a disease in sea turtles that causes tumors to grow on the eyes, intestinal tracts, lungs, mouth, heart and other organs. Sea turtles also consume plastics and marine debris which are harmful to their digestive systems. Thousands of man-made chemicals contaminate the marine environment, many of which accumulate in the tissues of sea turtles, affecting their locomotion, brain functioning and reproductive success. This means that even people living in the middle of the United States can have an impact on the health of the oceans and sea turtles. ![]() The pollution sources range from wastewater discharge released by cruise liners to fishing nets that are lost by fishermen to fertilizer runoff that comes down rivers from farms. ![]() Solid waste, chemicals and pollutants from human activities enter the ocean, causing injury, illness and even death to sea turtles. This gives them little chance for survival due to dehydration, exhaustion, predators and automobiles. After emerging from their nests at night, newborn hatchlings find their way from nest to sea using the light of the moon.Īrtificial lighting, such as street lamps and hotel room lights, confuses these hatchlings, sending them landward in the wrong direction. ![]() With the encroachment of hotels, parking lots and housing along nesting beaches, female turtles are forced to use suboptimal nesting habitats. These threats include coastal development, pollution, direct harvest, invasive species and vessel strikes. 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Īlong with fishing gear and climate change, there are numerous other man-made threats to sea turtles. ![]()
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