Transcript Endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

Endangered Olive Ridley
Sea Turtles
By: Sophia Sakopoulos & Isabelle Smith
Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School
2nd Period
4th Quarter
The Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
Basic Facts
Common name: Olive Ridley
 Scientific name: Lepidochelys Olivaceaf
 Named after it’s olive green shell
 Adults get to about 2 to 2.5 feet
 Adults weigh 77-100 pounds
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Interesting Facts
When they are born their shells are grey
they turn all green
 They have two visible claws on each
flipper
 They are related to the Kemp’s Ridley but
Olive Ridleys live in warm water
 They are the smallest sea turtles
weighing up to 100 pounds
 They usually live 50 years
 Males tails stick up behind their shells
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Why Endangered?
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In India people are building a huge deep water
port and the mouth of the Dharma River
The largest Olive Ridley nesting beach is there
Every winter half a million of the turtles meet in
the shallow water then the females travel for the
Arribada
For the first time in 2008 there were was no
Arribada
Oil spills, people taking the eggs, litter, and
artificial light are preventing the Olive Ridley sea
turtles to survive
Human Impact
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Females and babies are disturbed by trash on nesting
beaches left by humans
If a piece of trash is close enough to a female she will
return to the ocean and not nest
Turtles die when they eat trash mistaking it for jellyfish
Noise is bad and has the same effect
Thousands of sea turtles get caught in fishing nets and die
They are effected by artificial lights on beaches
People illegally collect turtle eggs for food
They are also hunted for meat, shells, and fat
Propellers also hit sea turtles injuring them and making
them vulnerable to attack
Habitat
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They are often found in
coastal bays and estuaries
They typically forge in
surface waters or dive into
depths of 500ft on the
bottom eating crustaceans
They live in the Pacific,
Indian, and Atlantic oceans
They like muddy or sandy
bottoms where prey can be
found
Mating and Birth Cycle
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Turtles don’t form couples
Neither sex provide parenting after nesting
The male only provides the sperm
The female leaves the eggs once they are laid
Females look for good genetic qualities in
males so their babies will be smart, tricky, sly,
and brave
Females lay 50-100 eggs
The eggs hatch 45-70 days after they are laid
It takes them several day to dig themselves
out of the hole
Video
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http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=UhsxVpZ
b-cQ
Nesting
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One of the most extraordinary nesting in the
world is the Olive Ridley
Large groups of turtles gather off shore then all
of the sudden thousands of female turtles come
ashore and nest
The nesting is known as an Arribada
During Arribada females come to lay eggs
The nesting density is so high that females will
dig up old eggs to lay new ones
No one knows what triggers and Arribada
Food Web
Olive Ridley’s Food Web
Humans
Sharks
Whales
Crocodiles
Olive Ridley Sea
Turtle
Mollusks
Crustaceans
Algae
Small Fish
Jellyfish
How We Can Help!
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We can not throw our trash into the
ocean
Not go on nesting beaches
We can turn off lights on the beach
because baby Olive Ridleys go back
to the same beach and if there are
lights it confuses them
Dogs dig up sea turtles eggs so keep
your dogs off the beach
We Helped!
We had a bake sale for the Olive Ridley sea
turtles. We made cupcakes, cookies, and
lemonade! We made $42.25, but we were
only there for one hour so we feel good
about the amount. People were very
interested about helping them in fact on
girl screamed her car, “Look, they are
helping sea turtles, I love turtles, rock
on!”
Video of Other People Helping
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http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finde
r/marineturtles/marineturtles.html
Works- Cited
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Caribbean Conservation Corporation. 5/10/2010.
http://www.cccturtle.org/seturlteinformationphp?page=olive-ridley.
NOAA Fishers Office Of Protected Resources. 5/11/2010.
http://www.hmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/oliveridley.htm
The Wild Foundation. 5/11/2010. http://www.wild.org/field-projects/endangered-olive-ridleyturtles/
Orits, Rudy M. et.al. “Predation Upon Olive Ridley Sea Turtles by the American Crocodile at Playa
Nancite, Costa Rica” June 28, 1997: 2-2
Sea World Sea Turtles. 5/12/2010.
http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/seaturltes/stlongevity.html
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Oxford Journals. 5/13/2010. http://jhered.Oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/9212/2067
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Means, Bruce D. “Sea Turtles.” World Book Advanced. World Book,2010.web. 14 May 2010
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Olive Ridley Sea Turtle. National geographic. 5/17/2010.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/olive-ridley-sea-turtle
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Sea Turtle. Photograph. June 19,2007.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1239/553140408_fffa55f330.jpg
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Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Arribada. Photograph. October 5,2009.
http://www.qondio.com/img/images/files-4/15277.jpg
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Librahim, Mohamed.We Can Do It. Photograph.
http://www.clker.com/clipart-24353.html
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mr. Pham for
providing the computers and giving
constructive criticism when we needed it
most.
Also thanks to our moms Carolyn Duryea
and Lisa Hinz for supplying the lemonade
and baked goods for our stand!