Introduction
Sea turtles are one of Earth’s most ancient creatures. They have been around close to 150 million years, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. Sea turtles can hold their breath for up to 5 hours, live up to 100 years, weigh up to 2000 lbs, and travel 10,000 miles per year! Not only all of this, but they also play vital roles in maintaining the Ocean’s health such as maintaining productive coral reef ecosystems, to transporting essential nutrients from the ocean to the beaches and coastal dunes. Like with many other species, humans have greatly reduced sea turtles close to 95 percent. 6 of the 7 remaining species of sea turtles are endangered.
One of the top unnatural causes for sea turtle deaths is oil spills. Oil …show more content…
2.) Will hatchlings be able to survive such harsh conditions provided by oil spills? My hypothesis is that, yes oil spills will cause generational health problems and It will be harder for hatchlings to survive the conditions brought on by the oil spill. I think that because of the ingested chemicals and oil, hatchlings will suffer some illnesses and diseases which could be passed on for generations. I also think that because of loss of vegetation for hatchlings to seek shelter from predators, particularly sargassum, they will be more exposed and more likely to be killed. Not only will their shelter for protection be gone but hatchlings like to float on the top of water and are more likely to encounter patches of oil, or eat tar balls when mistaken for food. My prediction is that if oil is spilled and released in the ocean, then sea turtles are going to be severely affected in more ways than …show more content…
We can see the quantity of nests compared to previous studies to see if numbers have increased or decreased. We will be able to see if the water quality and algae/seaweed conditions are sufficient for the needs of hatchling sea turtles. This information will be able to give us an idea of what life is like now for sea turtles and what kind of condition these species are in.
These studies will take 3 months of field and lab work. I will be working with a team of 5 full time on this project. The total estimates for this project are $48,000. Majority of the costs will be going to supplies, equipment rental, and various forms of transportation. Other known costs will be pay for the workers, and for evaluating all samples in the laboratories.
Expected
Sea turtles are one of Earth’s most ancient creatures. They have been around close to 150 million years, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. Sea turtles can hold their breath for up to 5 hours, live up to 100 years, weigh up to 2000 lbs, and travel 10,000 miles per year! Not only all of this, but they also play vital roles in maintaining the Ocean’s health such as maintaining productive coral reef ecosystems, to transporting essential nutrients from the ocean to the beaches and coastal dunes. Like with many other species, humans have greatly reduced sea turtles close to 95 percent. 6 of the 7 remaining species of sea turtles are endangered.
One of the top unnatural causes for sea turtle deaths is oil spills. Oil …show more content…
2.) Will hatchlings be able to survive such harsh conditions provided by oil spills? My hypothesis is that, yes oil spills will cause generational health problems and It will be harder for hatchlings to survive the conditions brought on by the oil spill. I think that because of the ingested chemicals and oil, hatchlings will suffer some illnesses and diseases which could be passed on for generations. I also think that because of loss of vegetation for hatchlings to seek shelter from predators, particularly sargassum, they will be more exposed and more likely to be killed. Not only will their shelter for protection be gone but hatchlings like to float on the top of water and are more likely to encounter patches of oil, or eat tar balls when mistaken for food. My prediction is that if oil is spilled and released in the ocean, then sea turtles are going to be severely affected in more ways than …show more content…
We can see the quantity of nests compared to previous studies to see if numbers have increased or decreased. We will be able to see if the water quality and algae/seaweed conditions are sufficient for the needs of hatchling sea turtles. This information will be able to give us an idea of what life is like now for sea turtles and what kind of condition these species are in.
These studies will take 3 months of field and lab work. I will be working with a team of 5 full time on this project. The total estimates for this project are $48,000. Majority of the costs will be going to supplies, equipment rental, and various forms of transportation. Other known costs will be pay for the workers, and for evaluating all samples in the laboratories.
Expected