Loggerhead Sea Turtle Research Paper
Freddy Connors
Mr. Jones
Marine Science
22 November 2013
Loggerhead Sea Turtle The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is a beautiful creature that many marine biologists in today’s world love to study. It is the world’s largest hard shelled turtle, belonging to family Cheloniidae. Its scientific name is Caretta Caretta. The Loggerhead can be found all around the world in many different habitats. Although they are the most abundant marine turtle in the U.S., they have been on the threatened species list since 1978. This is due to many factors, a couple being: pollution and trawling.(National Geographic)
The Loggerhead is very distinct among the other sea turtles. It is the world’s largest sea turtle varying in weight from 180 lbs to 440 lbs …show more content…
Their daily activities are split between bottom resting and swimming. While resting the turtle keeps its arms and legs in mid stroke with its eyes open or half open, the turtle is also very alert while in this state. At night the turtle will sleep in this same position, however it keeps it eyes closed at night and is very slow to react. The Loggerhead spends 85% or more of its days submerged in water, with the males being more active divers than females. The average dive lasts about fifteen to twenty minutes, but they can be submerged for up to four hours. Female aggression is uncommon among vertebrates, however this aggression is not uncommon to the female Loggerhead. The Loggerhead is also a very territorial sea turtle and will often fight other species over territory.(Sea Turtle …show more content…
The predators of the eggs can include anything from as small as a snake to as large as a bear. A juvenile’s predators in the water are creatures such as the eel and the parrotfish. The adults are less likely to be preyed upon but when they are it is usually by seals, sharks and killer whales. Along the southeastern coastline of the United States, the raccoon is extremely destructive to the nesting of the Loggerhead.(Loggerhead Sea Turtles) Predators are not the only thing keeping the Loggerhead from flourishing, there is also disease and parasites. Infectious bacteria such as pseudomonas and salmonella attack Loggerhead eggs and hatchlings. Fungi such as penicillium can often infect this sea turtles nests. Another common disease is known as Fibropapillomatosis which is caused by a form of the herpes type virus; this disease leads to the Loggerhead ending up with both internal and external tumors. Lastly, more than one hundred species of animals from thirteen different phyla, as well as 37 different forms of algae make home on the Loggerhead sea turtles back, none of which are known to help benefit the
Mr. Jones
Marine Science
22 November 2013
Loggerhead Sea Turtle The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is a beautiful creature that many marine biologists in today’s world love to study. It is the world’s largest hard shelled turtle, belonging to family Cheloniidae. Its scientific name is Caretta Caretta. The Loggerhead can be found all around the world in many different habitats. Although they are the most abundant marine turtle in the U.S., they have been on the threatened species list since 1978. This is due to many factors, a couple being: pollution and trawling.(National Geographic)
The Loggerhead is very distinct among the other sea turtles. It is the world’s largest sea turtle varying in weight from 180 lbs to 440 lbs …show more content…
Their daily activities are split between bottom resting and swimming. While resting the turtle keeps its arms and legs in mid stroke with its eyes open or half open, the turtle is also very alert while in this state. At night the turtle will sleep in this same position, however it keeps it eyes closed at night and is very slow to react. The Loggerhead spends 85% or more of its days submerged in water, with the males being more active divers than females. The average dive lasts about fifteen to twenty minutes, but they can be submerged for up to four hours. Female aggression is uncommon among vertebrates, however this aggression is not uncommon to the female Loggerhead. The Loggerhead is also a very territorial sea turtle and will often fight other species over territory.(Sea Turtle …show more content…
The predators of the eggs can include anything from as small as a snake to as large as a bear. A juvenile’s predators in the water are creatures such as the eel and the parrotfish. The adults are less likely to be preyed upon but when they are it is usually by seals, sharks and killer whales. Along the southeastern coastline of the United States, the raccoon is extremely destructive to the nesting of the Loggerhead.(Loggerhead Sea Turtles) Predators are not the only thing keeping the Loggerhead from flourishing, there is also disease and parasites. Infectious bacteria such as pseudomonas and salmonella attack Loggerhead eggs and hatchlings. Fungi such as penicillium can often infect this sea turtles nests. Another common disease is known as Fibropapillomatosis which is caused by a form of the herpes type virus; this disease leads to the Loggerhead ending up with both internal and external tumors. Lastly, more than one hundred species of animals from thirteen different phyla, as well as 37 different forms of algae make home on the Loggerhead sea turtles back, none of which are known to help benefit the