World travellers
Under threat
Gender imbalance
Ancient animals
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Ancient animals
What you didn’t know about sea turtles
Their future
World travellers
Researchers estimate that there are nearly 6.5 million sea turtles in the world. They prefer the warmer waters of tropical climates, as they use the heat from their surrounding environment to keep warm and digest their food, although they have been found in cooler waters too.
Under threat
Gender imbalance
Researchers discovered that temperature can affect the sex ratio of the turtles that hatch: When incubation happens at higher temperatures, more females are born. In the long run, the effects of global warming could generate greater gender imbalance and challenge the stability of populations - unless turtles migrate to cooler latitudes.
Their future
Saudi Arabia is home to one of the most important nesting sites in the Red Sea: Ras Baridi. Here, scientists are working on different initiatives to increase the number of hatchlings that survive and make it out to sea. This, they hope, will secure the future of the species.
Sea turtles have existed in their current form for around 80 to 100 million years. They can live for decades, and some have a lifespan comparable to, or exceeding, that of humans. Their entire lives are spent at sea, except when the females return ashore to nest on the beach.
* https://www.seeturtles.org/sea-turtle-facts
** https://www.seeturtles.org/sea-turtles-threats
* https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/how-long-do-sea-turtles-
** https://www.seeturtles.org/sea-turtle-facts
* https://oliveridleyproject.org/ufaqs/how-many-sea-turtles-are-left
** https://oliveridleyproject.org/ufaqs/what-temperature-do-sea-turtles-live-in
* https://www.livescience.com/52361-turtle-facts.html
** https://www.seeturtles.org/sea-turtle-facts
***https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070226131640.htm
* https://www.cms.int/iosea-turtles/en/publication/marine-turtles-red-sea
All seven sea turtle species are considered under threat or endangered. Plastic and chemical pollution, fishing bycatch, poaching, coastal development and the loss of nesting beaches all threaten their future. This is compounded by the fact that they take decades to mature and only breed every two to five years.
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