Sea turtles by marykate

Sea turtles are found in warm seas throughout they world. These turtles are found in shallow waters near the coast, bays, lagoons, and estuaries. Some are also found in the open sea, the young are usually found closer to the coast. Sea turtles lay eggs. Each species is at a different age when they reach sexual maturity. In hawkbills it can be as early as 3 years old in longerheads it is 12-30 years old, and in green sea turtles its 20-50 years old. Female sea turtles come ashore to lay 50 to 200 eggs which are soft shelled and leathery in texture. The female covers the eggs with sand. These sea turtles usually return to the same beach to nest every year. The size of the sea turtles depends on the species. Each varies in size. Green Sea turtles can weigh about 400 pounds and can grow to 45 inches long. Black Sea turtles are about 278 pounds. Leatherback sea turtles can grow to be over 1,000 pounds and are over 6 feet tall. They are the largest. The organisms sea turtles eat depends on the species. They eat sea grasses and algae, sponges, shrimps, squids,  crabs, molluscs, jellyfish, sea weed, cuttlefish, and sea cucumbers. Humans are the main predator to sea turtles. Baby sea turtles are also eaten by fish, frogs, minks and snakes. Their eggs are eaten by scunks and raccoons.

 

 

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Coastal Health: economy vs. environment

 What is more important: the economy or the environment? Unfortunately in today’s modern society, the economy tends to take priority. As you can see in the graph above, the belief that economic growth should be the priority has grown over the past years and continues to increase. However, if we want to see the world continue to flourish and survive, we must realize that the environment needs to be our main concern. In the long run, this is the best choice. Only if our environment and world around us is healthy can we continue to develop our ever growing economy.

We must preserve our coastal systems rather than develop them to increase economic growth. The life in our ocean planets is just as important as the people in our communities. It is difficult to preserve our coasts because of the growing attraction to living along coastal zones. Should we focus on the economic health of our community or the environmental concerns? In Florida, for example, the coasts are in constant threat from hurricanes and other storms. Even so, society continues to develop along the coasts, increasing the threat of coastal erosion. There are plenty of other places where our economy can flourish- lets not make coastal zones one of them.
Which street will you choose to walk on?

For my project, I developed an economically advanced island while preserving the coastal zones and keeping them healthy. Using Loggerhead Barrier Island as a blank slate, I was able to see the difficulties of maintaining both economy and environment. While there was a resort, a golf course, two restaurants, a subdivision of homes, a boardwalk, and much more, I was able to keep the nesting sea turtles, mangroves, and Scrub Jay Habitat safe. To create the least amount of environmental impact, I placed the tourist resorts and homes right in the middle of the island and left the environmental aspects of the island safe. The board walk was placed far from the sea turtles and other organisms. Because Loggerhead Barrier Island is home to one of the only sea turtle nesting sites, it was crucial that I kept them safe and away from the harmful societal issues. It is not worth it to eliminate and destroy the amazing aspects of our enviornment just to grow our economy. It may take some time, but our goal should be to change that graph and make society’s main concern the enviornment.

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