Endangered Species Research Paper- Chelonia mydas

The green sea turtle, also known as the Chelonia mydas in science, has now been declared endangered. The green sea turtle is a member of the phylum Chordata and is a member of the Animalia kingdom. The green turtle belongs to the order Testudines' Reptilia class. The green turtle, whose scientific name is Chelonia mydas, is a member of the Cheloniidae family. Its evolutionary history may be traced back to one of the oldest living turtle species. It is thought to have originated from freshwater and land turtles more than 230 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period. A few quick facts about the green sea turtle, it can grow up to be 4 feet long and 400 pounds maximum. Its small head is shaped like a heart, generally light to dark brown with mottling, and has a pair of prefrontal scales between the eyes. Hatchlings of the green sea turtle have a black carapace and white margins on the limbs and its shell. One of the green sea turtle's closest living relative is the loggerhead sea turtle, which has an exceptionally large head, unlike its relative. The ecology of the species changes with each life stage.
They have a variety of parasites that affect their body organs and the most lethal disease known to it is fibropapilloma. They will spend most of their lives in water and only females leave for the beach during the nestling periods. This means that their habitats are beaches and coastal warm waters. They are known to migrate and that is why they are a global population. The diet of an adult green sea turtle will consist of seagrass and algae hence the color green. As for the newly hatched, they will be carnivorous. Additionally, they only reproduce between the ages of 20-50 years with the females known to reach their sexual maturity age between the years of 35-40. The latter will nest during summer times when the weather is a bit warm. They lay an average of 5 eggs and they will take 2 months to mature and hatch.
The green sea turtle has occupied mainly tropical and subtropical regions, including Costa Rica, the Dutch colony of Surinam, U.S Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and Australia to name a few. There have also been native occurrences of the green turtle in parts of Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, China, French Southern Territories, Haiti, Jamaica, Japan, Sri Lanka, Mexico, and Tanzania as well as Somalia. The green turtle is currently classified as threatened in eight distinct population segments (DPS), including the Central North Pacific, East Indian-West Pacific, East Pacific, North Atlantic, North Indian, South Atlantic, Southwest Indian, and the Southwest Pacific.
Meanwhile, the green turtle is also classified and endangered in three DPSs, including the Central South Pacific, Central West Pacific, and the Mediterranean. There is no known global population of the green turtles but it is estimated that there are about 85000-95000 nesting females. Their population is decreasing because of continual exploitation which other factors such as overhunting of eggs, climate change, hunting of the adults, fishing gears being the reasons they become endangered. The continual loss of their nesting beach sites based on human-related activities is also another reason why they become endangered.
It was during the 1970s that the green sea turtle was recognized and considered threatened under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. Thus far, there are several protection plans in place to help increase their population. In 1998, the U.S. identified the coastal waters of Puerto Rico and Culebra Island to be ideal for a critical habitat designation. Further locations are still being considered for this. In reference to the recovery plan, most have to do with engaging the fisheries community. The WWF interacts with fisheries to help engage with them to come up with improved and turtle friendly fishing methods. For instance, there is now the use of Turtle Excluder Devices in trawls, modified nets and larger circle hooks amongst others. The strategy is to avoid the accidental trapping of turtles on fishing tools.
For the habitat conservation plan, there are designated marine protected areas under government policies that are closely monitored and patrolled by WWF. These habitats are conserved for nesting purposes to help increase the number of the species. Lastly, there are several safe harbors related agreements in respect to protecting green sea turtles. A few examples include CITES which prohibits international trade. For instance, since 1989, there has been the prohibition of shrimp importation that is considered to have been harvested in a manner that affects green sea turtles.
There is also the CMS which allows for turtle protection under auspices of CMS to include the "IOSEA memorandum for the conservation of marine turtles in the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia" (NOAA). Furthermore, there is the IAC conservation agreement which is the only agreement in America that is solely dedicated to marine turtles. It should be noted that protecting the green sea turtle becomes more of a challenge due to their migration such that the same laws that apply to one country might not necessarily be enforced in another.
Protecting green sea turtles is a costly affair for the U.S. government with an estimated $150 million as of 1991 was being spent for the protection of both green and loggerhead sea turtles. It can be considered that this amount has significantly increased over the years. The cost is largely associated with conservation efforts, research, and employment of relevant staff. Legislatively, the decision to protect these species was first enacted through the Federal endangered species act of 1973.
Other countries such as Mexico are known to have made a similar decision during the 1970s towards enlisting the turtles as threatened. There is also the Florida marine turtle protection act that is considered a key legislative decision in the hope of recovering the population of green sea turtles. Furthermore, a recent one on this is the campaign on lighting where Florida wants the government to restrict lighting under certain areas of its beach for the purpose of protecting nesting locations. In regards to political and social controversies, I did a thorough research but it appears that none exists.
In summary, the green sea turtle and endangered and this matters to us human because of their biological importance. In regards to their habitat, the green sea turtles play the key role in maintaining the seagrass beds to a healthy standard. These beds are known to be nurseries for other fish and invertebrates which add to the economic benefits associated with fishing. Green sea turtles also play the role of being food to large sharks. They also assist with the food chain through their seagrass consumption where after digestion, the by-product is considered nutritious for plants and animals that exist within the seagrass ecosystem.
Another biological importance is that they are the largest and oldest existing marine turtles thus a lot can be learned from studying them. The historical value of how different species evolved and continue to do so over time can only be achieved by studying them. As such, should the green sea turtle remain threatened, we risk the opportunity to continue their biological study which is significant in not only understanding this species but the larger ecosystem that they exist in. As for their cultural significance, they hold great value to Asia Pacific communities. For instance, their meat and eggs provide nutritional value while their shells are often used for ceremonial and ornamental purposes.
Personally, I do think that it is worthy to protect and recover this species. They are an important part of marine life and furthermore, they hold value as one of the oldest existing reptiles in the planet worth saving. We cannot deny the fact that they are amongst the few reptiles to have survived millions of years of evolution. As such, it is worth protecting them for future generation to benefit from their existence. Furthermore, it is true that every living organism and species has a specific role to play within the greater ecosystem that we all exist in thus worth saving where applicable.
However, projecting at least 100 years from now, the status of the green sea turtle might change to extinct. Reason being that as human beings, we tend to be selfish when it comes to exploring our environment for personal gains whereby economic growth tumbles over everything else. Since the 1970s when this species was declared threatened, they have only emerged as endangered in specific countries mostly due to overexploitation which is a human action. We are 'slowly destroying their habitats with the need to develop more land area for our own existence that we overshadow the existence of other species. Therefore, my prediction on the future status of green sea turtle is extinction if our past and current behavior is anything to go by.





Works Cited
ITIS "Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758)." ITIS Report. 2017. Web. 12 Dec 2017. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=173833#null
NOAA Fisheries. "Green Turtle (chelonian mydas). NOAA Fisheries, 6 Apr 2016. We. 12 Dec 2017. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/green.html
Sea Turtle Conservancy. "Information About Sea Turtles: Green Sea Turtle." Sea Turtle Conservancy, 2017 web. 12 Dec 2017. https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-green-sea-turtle/
Seaturle-world. "Sea Turtle Evolution." Seaturtle-world.com. 4 Jan 2014. Web. 12 Dec 2017. http://www.seaturtle-world.com/sea-turtle-evolution/
Shogren, Jason. "Economics and the Endangered Species Act." Umich.edu n.d. web 12 Dec 2017. http://www.umich.edu/~esupdate/library/97.01-02/shogren.html
WWF. "Biological, Cultural and Economic Significance." WWF. 2017. Web. 12 Dec 2017. http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/marine_turtles/asian_marine_turtles/background/