endangered animals

TThe endangered species that I chose is called the green sea turtle, or just the green turtle. The green turtle is a vertebrate animal in the reptile category. It lives in the southeast United States, which is my region, as well as other parts of the world such as Australia. Its common name, of course, is the green sea turtle or green turtle, while its scientific name is Chelonia mydas. This turtle species is an amazing creature. I've found different information on what its status is. On some web sites I've found that the turtles in Florida and on the Pacific coast of Mexico are endangered while all others are threatened, although some resources say that they're all endangered. Plus, some resources say that the ones in Florida are threatened, so I'm not completely sure what its status is. Consequently, since nobody is really sure what its status is, the number known to exist is unknown. I'm sure we're all hoping that the number and status are high. The green turtle is very unique. It looks like a turtle with flippers instead of feet, and it has a large shell. It's distinguished from other sea turtles by a single pair of large plates on top of the head between the eyes, a smooth shell, and four large plates that don't overlap on each side of the shell. The turtle is 2 to 4 feet long and 7 to 12 inches high. Adults reach a weight of over 400 pounds, but their average weight is 300 pounds. It looks aerodynamic, and it has a brownish shell color overall. As you can see, it usually grows very big. The green turtle lives in tropical and subtropical oceans. It is found in the warm waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. In the Atlantic, it ranges from Texas to Massachusetts. It also lives in Australia, Brazil, and sometimes Europe. These turtles migrate hundreds of miles to the beach of their birth to lay eggs during nesting season. Some turtles in Brazil migrate hundreds of miles to the island of Ascension to lay their eggs. The babies that survive can live 30 to 50 or more years. Sadly, not many live that long. The green turtle eats a variety of food. It eats plants like seaweed, sea grass, and mangrove leaves. Young turtles eat mainly jellyfish, shrimp and crustaceans to grow faster. Adults occasionally eat these things, too. From what I read, I inferred that they live alone, because it said that they travel long distances to mate and they leave their young after they lay their eggs. Some may share feeding or nesting grounds, though. They never get to see their babies. Every second or third year the turtles travel to their nesting site to mate. The average clutch contains 100 or more eggs. Sometimes a female will lay several clutches in a season at about two-week intervals. During the day, they swim around shallow islands, coral reefs and sea grass beds looking for food. Sometimes they bask in the sun to absorb vitamins not obtained by food. At night, they either sleep on the shallow bottom or out of the water on rocky ledges. During nesting season, the mom lays the eggs on the beach at night, too. She has to heave herself up on to land with her flippers to do so. She sure does have a difficult goal to achieve when nesting season rolls around! I found lots of interesting facts about the green turtle. First, years of living apart have let green turtles in the Atlantic and Pacific evolve differently, so they look different. Also, the green turtle got its name from its fat - when it's boiled, it turns green and makes soup! Also, turtle eggs are eaten by animals like raccoons, and turtle babies are eaten by crabs and seabirds. Only five percent of the hatchlings survive in the first two weeks. Plus, the babies emerge mostly at night, and they've adapted to the ocean and the beach - they're black above and white below! They really are interesting animals. There are various reasons for the turtles' decline. The greatest cause is because of harvest for their eggs, hides and meat. They're used to make turtle soup and turtle steak. Other turtle parts are used for leather and jewelry, and small turtles are caught and stuffed for curios. Accidental catches during shrimp trawling still affects their recovery. They are also still captured in other countries for food, although exploitation in the United States is now controlled. Another reason was because of the development of nesting grounds, and they always nest in the same place, so people like to watch them. Lights on the beaches make babies walk toward the lights instead of the ocean. Because of all this, the green sea turtle was put on the endangered species list as endangered/ threatened on July 28, 1978. We just can't let the green turtle become extinct. If we do, it will affect the whole sea community and the food chain. The animals and plants that it eats will become overpopulated, and the animals that eat the turtle won't have anymore turtle to eat. Plus, it will affect humans. We won't have anything to look forward to on that trip to the aquarium. Also, scientists won't have any live turtles to study. That would be awful, don't you agree? Lots of things are being done to help the green turtle, though. For the Atlantic population, the United States is going to help protect the nesting beaches, install lights on beaches that will hopefully lead the babies to the ocean, track the movements of the turtles, help minimize deaths from commercial fisheries, and also control marine pollution. In the Pacific, the government will stop both direct and indirect harvest of the turtles and their eggs, find their size and status, protect their nesting and foraging areas, and control non-native predators. Other things that are being done to help the turtles include minimizing boat collisions, minimizing incidental fishing deaths, taking a census of the turtle population, protecting their nesting sites, and finding their size and status. Exploitation is now very strictly controlled in the United States, although in other countries it is not. As you can see, there is hope for the green sea turtle after all. There are also some controversies happening in the southeast over sea turtles. Not too long ago, three different kinds of sea turtles, including the green turtle, were caught and killed in fishing nets. There was a lot of controversy over that. Also, there are always arguments about lights on the beach, beach development, and people watching and touching the baby or adult turtles during nesting or hatching. It's really awful to see turtles tormented like that. There are actually lots of ways we can help. We shouldn't buy leather products, furniture, or accessories made from the green turtle. Of course, don't buy a house on a nesting beach, because that contributes to beach development. We need to tell people or resorts that we know are located on a nesting beach to turn off their lights during nesting season. Also, don't eat food made from the eggs, fat or meat of the turtle. This is illegal in the United States but still common in other countries. Finally, don't pollute with things like plastic bags and oil. The turtles can mistake the plastic bags for jellyfish and eat them, and then it will cause blockage. But remember, the turtles will only return with our help. If we do pitch in, maybe someday the green sea turtle will make a comeback, and we will be able to enjoy them once again. Bibliography: http://endangered.fws.gov/r4spndx.html , Region 4 Listed Species by Lead Region and Status, Endangered Species; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1/31/00 http://zoo.pgh.pa.us/wildlife/green_sea_turtle.html , Pittsburgh Zoo - Wildlife - Green Sea Turtle, 2/14/00 http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/chelonia/c._mydas, Chelonia Mydas (Green Sea Turtle): Narrative, 2/14/00 http://tqjunior.advanced.org/6067/cgi-bin/Resources/turtles.html , Turtles, 2/14/00 http://mbgnet.mobot.org/salt/animals/green.htm, Green Sea Turtle, 2/14/00 http://library.thinkquest.org/25014/english.index.html , ES2000 - Endangered Species of the Next Millennium, 2/14/00 http://www.nmfs.gov/prot_res/turtles/greentur.html , The Office of Protected Resources: Turtles, 2/17/00 http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/nature/endang/endang.htm , Texas Endangered Species Listings, 3/1/00 Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia Deluxe Edition	Dutch - Nederlandse vertaling volgt z.s.m.
Written by / geschreven door : Graig
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