The Sea Turtle By Aaron Gehrt

NAME’S Genus:Chelonia Species:Chelonia mydas Nickname is green turtle

The attributes Size: Adults are 3.5 to 4 feet The largest green turtle ever found was 5 feet. Weight: Adults weigh between 300 to 400 pounds PICTURES

What it does Diet: Changing while it grows when its less than 8 to 10 inches in length eat worms, young crustaceans. When there 8 to 10 inches in length, they mostly eat sea grass and algae, they are strictly only herbivores when there adults. Habitat: Mainly stay near the coastline and around islands and live in bays and protected shores, especially in areas with sea grass beds. Niche: Green sea turtles, by grazing the sea grass, help maintain a young and productive pas-ture, which lots of herbivores can inhabit.

Adaptations There fins are great for propelling through the water. There head is very good for cutting through the water (very hydrodynamic) There lungs make that no bad oxygen gets in and it allows them to stay under water for a vast amount of time.

Size: Adults are 3. 5 to 4 feet in carapace length (76-91 cm) Size: Adults are 3.5 to 4 feet in carapace length (76-91 cm). The green turtle is the largest of the Cheloniidae family. The largest green turtle ever found was 5 feet (152 cm) in length and 871 pounds (395 kg). Weight: Adults weigh between 300 to 400 pounds (136-180 kg). Diet: Changes significantly during its life. When less than 8 to 10 inches in length eat worms, young crustaceans, aquatic insects, grasses and algae. Once green turtles reach 8 to 10 inches in length, they mostly eat sea grass and algae, the only sea turtle that is strictly herbivorous as an adult. Their jaws are finely serrated which aids them in tearing vegetation. Habitat: Mainly stay near the coastline and around islands and live in bays and protected shores, especially in areas with seagrass beds. Rarely are they observed in the open ocean. Nesting: Green turtles nest at intervals of 2, 3, or more years, with wide year-to-year fluctuations in numbers of nesting females. Nests between 3 to 5 times per season. Lays an average of 115 eggs in each nest, with the eggs incubating for about 60 days. Range: Found in all temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. Status: U.S. - Listed as Endangered (in danger of extinction within the foreseeable future) under the U.S. Federal Endangered Species Act. International - Listed as Endangered (facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Threats to Survival: The greatest threat is from the commercial harvest for eggs and food. Other green turtle parts are used for leather and small turtles are sometimes stuffed for curios. Incidental catch in commercial shrimp trawling is an increasing source of mortality. Population Estimate*: 88,520 nesting females. Common Name: Green sea turtle - named for the green color of the fat under its shell. (In some areas, the Pacific green turtle is also called the black sea turtle.) Scientific Name: Chelonia mydas

Why is it a Keystone Species The green turtle: a keystone species? Imagine a marine pasture with no (or only very few) green sea turtles: The sea grass bed grows older, there are no more young sprouts. The leaves of the old pasture are thick, poor in nutrients and hard to digest. As a result, the small herbivores leave the area. This environment becomes an old envi-ronment, starting to decompose. Green sea turtles, by grazing the sea grass, help maintain a young and productive pas-ture, which lots of herbivores can inhabit.

sources http://www.cccturtle.org/pdf/TortugueroNewsletterOctober2008.pdf http://www.cccturtle.org/sea-turtle-information.php?page=green