Sea turtles are a keystone species, meaning they play a significant role in regulating the health and functions of the marine ecosystems they live in, as well as the terrestrial ecosystems they nest in! For example, their shells serve as a home for hundreds of marine invertebrates, which act as a food source for fish that these sea turtles encounter at the reefs they visit. Sea turtle migration and nesting also provides an influx and variety of nutrients to sandy beaches, allowing dune plants to grow and stabilize the dune systems. Without sea turtles, marine ecosystems can degrade quickly and even crash, putting great importance on protecting sea turtles during all times of their life cycle and across the many habitats they need to survive.
Florida’s coastline serves as a vital habitat for five species of sea turtles and is home to some of the highest-density nesting beaches in the world, but the availability of high-quality, sandy beaches is quickly disappearing. Rapid coastal development, fueled by tourism and urbanization, continues to encroach upon the pristine beaches where sea turtles have nested for millennia. Condos, hotels, and businesses are rapidly appearing along coastlines, and an increasing population of people, unaware of Florida’s natural resources, flock to the coastlines, wanting to alter our natural beauty into the perfect million-dollar view you’d see in a magazine.
As infrastructure continues to grow along Florida’s coast, comes the threat of increased artificial lighting along beaches. Nesting sea turtles and hatchlings rely on natural light cues, such as the moon, to navigate to and from the ocean. However, large amounts of artificial lighting from beachfront properties can deter nesting females from our beaches and disorient hatchlings, leading them away from the ocean and towards roads, parking lots, storm drains, chlorinated pools, and more.
With more people, also comes more trash. Humans generate waste, and many times that trash is improperly discarded, accidentally dropped, purposely left behind, or even just dumped outdoors. This waste becomes marine debris that enters our waterways and ecosystem, leading to entanglement or ingestion by marine life like dolphins, birds, fish, manatees, whales, and sea turtles. Discarded fishing gear is one of the greatest threats sea turtles face, contributing to more than 3% of all sea turtle strandings each year in Florida, surpassed only by boat strikes.
Climate change only exacerbates the vulnerabilities of Florida’s sea turtles. With rising temperatures changing the sex ratios within sea turtle populations, and sea level rise and more frequent extreme weather events threatening nesting beaches; these changes can disrupt sea turtle nesting and foraging site selection, jeopardizing their ability to thrive in Florida’s coastal waters and ecosystems.
The good news is that conservation efforts are underway to safeguard Florida’s sea turtles and their habitats. Strict regulations, such as local lighting ordinances, building mandates, and vegetation trimming restrictions are constantly being updated with wildlife and resilience in mind. Nest monitoring programs, inwater population studies, slow-speed boating signs, and research using satellite tags and cameras aim to reduce human disturbances on nesting beaches or known foraging grounds and provide research on the importance of our sea turtles.
State-of-the-art educational lesson plans and activities are being developed to involve kids of all ages in the recovery story of sea turtles, while inspiring the next generation of biologists, conservationists, engineers, and rehabilitation specialists. As guardians of Florida’s coastlines and stewards of the environment, each and every one of us must take action to protect our sea turtles and the ecosystems they inhabit. By supporting conservation organizations like Coastal Connections, you are encouraging eco-minded tourism, building a sustainably-minded community, educating about the importance of preserving wildlife, and fostering a connection with a charismatic animal that almost went extinct, but is now writing the greatest conservation comeback story in history.
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For more information, visit www.coastal-connections.org, like and follow the socials listed above, or visit our gift shop at 3321 Bridge Plaza Dr, Vero Beach, FL 32963
- Photo by: Joe Rimkus Jr – A loggerhead sea turtle heads back to the water after nesting on Florida’s coastline off of Vero Beach.
↩︎ - Photo by: Kurt Stevens – A green sea turtle that was found entangled in rope and commercial fishing line in Vero Beach, FL.
↩︎ - Photo by: Celeste McWilliams – Vero Beach Elementary Students participate in a nest excavation activity. During this program, they learn how to be a sea turtle biologist in training! ↩︎
