Good For Earth.
Green Sea Turtles Sustain One of the Most Essential Ecosystems on Earth
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is one of the most important and impactful sea creatures. When green sea turtles graze on seagrass beds, the productivity and nutrients in the seagrass increase (Oceana, 2016). They also provide essential nutrients to sea beds and coral reefs. Without green sea turtles, marine sea life would not be able to flourish, as the underwater ecosystems would start to degrade. These amazing animals are able to cycle nutrients between water and land which many other sea animals are not capable of. Cycling nutrients is a
process that transfers energy and matter, moving the nutrients between living and non-living organisms. The green sea turtle is one of the most critical turtles because it is the only one that is an herbivore which means none of the other turtles can help maintain these grasses
Inaglory, B. (2010). Green Turtle Swimming Over Coral Reefs in Kona. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_sea_turtle
Green sea turtle swimming over a coral reef
as well as the green sea turtle. Without green sea turtles, our coral and seagrass would be impacted drastically. The seagrass would overgrow and take over other ecosystems, possibly even the coral. This would damage the entire ecosystem since it is home to many different species of sea life.
The nesting requirements for green sea turtles are the need for a slightly sloped beach with minimal disturbances. The green sea turtle lays around 110 eggs and only a few grow up into adulthood (NOAA 2018). Green sea turtles are on the IUCN endangered list, partially due to the fact that each female turtle is only able to produce a few offspring. If one green sea turtle dies, their whole population will be impacted to a greater degree than the Bluefin Tuna, for example, which has up to 10 million eggs per year. Considering the great importance the green turtle plays in maintaining the balance of its ecosystem, it is important that we fight against its extinction.
Green Sea Turtles Protect The World
Feeding grounds such as seagrass beds and coral reefs are at risk from coastal development onshore, which leads to pollution and sedimentation within the nearby waters. When the waters are polluted, the sea turtles will slowly disappear and that will directly affect our coral reefs and kelp beds which protect us from storms and tsunamis. When the waters are polluted and the sea turtles disappear, the loss of their role in the ecosystem will create a ripple effect. This means their role of maintaining the seagrasses will be gone, causing the seagrass to overgrow, thus weakening the coral reefs because there isn’t a balance in nutrients. Coral reefs are essential to our ecosystem because they host many plants and animals and help take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. This is a great example of a positive feedback loop. If carbon dioxide isn’t absorbed anymore, more global warming and climate change will affect our atmosphere and oceans, and with nothing to sequester that carbon, the cycle will continue. By maintaining seagrass beds and coral reefs, green sea turtle provide very important ecosystem services in their habitats. This positive feedback loop will occur only if green sea turtles become extinct. This is why we need to protect the green sea turtle and other turtles alike. Another valuable ecosystem services that green sea turtles provide is when they lay hundreds of eggs near sand dunes, which benefits the coastal dune ecosystems immensely. The eggs that don’t hatch, along with the remaining shells, provide a source of nutrients to the dune ecosystem. These nutrients are recycled by microorganisms and invertebrates, then they are used by plants to strengthen and stabilize dune structure. (WWF, 2009)