What are some behavioral adaptations of a sea turtle?

Answer 1

Sea turtles bury their eggs in a hole in the sand to protect from predators and wind. The sand incubates them and the mother basically abandons them. The babies inside of the egg have a tooth usually referred to as an egg tooth (carucnle) which they use to break the shell. This tooth falls off soon after birth. Once the first eggs hatch they still must wait for others to hatch to because they cannot dig out on their own. Digging out can take days. Hatchlings generally leave the nest at night or during a cold period of time (rain storms) because they could die of dehydration caused by the heat of the sun. They scramble towards the ocean fast to avoid predators such as crabs and seagulls.

The hatchling will swim out towards beds of kelp until caught in a current. This current could carry the young turtle for years along with the kelp bed. They use the kelp bed as shelter and food as they grow. Full grown sea turtles are non territorial but still solitary animals. They usually prefer shallow coastal waters because it is easy to find food along the bottom or in the reefs. They are migratory and do no have a cave or den type home. They migrate long distances between breeding and feeding sites. They do not behave defensively around other turtles or humans other than swimming away as excepted. That is most of their BEHAVIOURAL adaptations, but they have many more physical adaptations including jaw structure. (I am studying them)

Answer 2

Climate and local non-climate stressors may act synergistically to further damage the health and sustainability of coastal ecosystems. Sea turtles are excellent indicator species for considering climate change conservation planning because of their interdependence on terrestrial and marine resources.

The health of beaches as well as mangrove, sea grass beds, coral reefs and deep ocean ecosystems can be gauged by the presence of sea turtles that use these areas for nesting, foraging, rookeries and migrations. Climate changes in the ocean and along coastal interfaces will exert strong effects on sea turtles.

For example, sea level rise will decrease nesting beaches and feeding habitats, increase sand temperature which can alter the sex ratio or potentially result in mortality, increase sea surface temperature effects on coral and sea grasses will also affect the foraging habitats of sea turtles, and changes in ocean currents will lead to alteration of migration paths.

The World Wildlife Fund, through a grant from the MacArthur Foundation is working to develop an approach for adaptation options for endangered marine turtle management to climate change. Activities include:

# Identification of the relevant topics in climate change and biodiversity as they pertain to the vulnerability of the hawksbill turtle, i.e. ambient temperature at nesting sites, beach morphology and resilience, pertinent dynamics of water tables, mangrove, sea grass beds, coral reefs, ocean ecosystems and currents. # Sources, types and availability of existing information. # Known and potentially unknown information gaps and best ways to fill them. # Best approach to organize and process the information to be gathered during the following months.Through a preliminary workshop, which included international experts who have published data and results on climate change and marine turtle science, an initiative was formed. ACT (Adaptation to Climate change in the marine Turtles) is an international initiative with an open door policy, operating as a network of interested specialists. Members may join multiple task groups. Membership in task groups is unlimited and unrestricted. The initiative is coordinated by Marianne Fish (cctortugas@wwfca.org) and consists of 8 tasks groups, each with specific aims and missions. Each group leader will be the focus point for coordinating the group's work.

Answer 3

The Shell And Its Arms because the shell protects itself from danger. And Its arms can allow it to swim and move.

Answer 4

When turtles hatch from their eggs they seek water, so they head towards the ocean from the beach.