Millions of baby sea turtles venture out of their shells into the deep blue ocean from the months of March to October. Although they are faced with the already constant dangers of predatory creatures, there is now another threat in their near future that could result in the rapid decline of their kind. Global warming—a hazardous concept to every living creature alike—will cause a surprising yet fatal change to the birth of the next sea turtle generation: 99% of sea turtles will be born female. With not only is this new fear at hand for sea turtles, but their slow yet steady decline is also evident due to many reasons.

As previously mentioned, global warming is causing the new generation of the sea turtle population to have a staggering majority of females. The changing temperatures of sea turtle hatching grounds due to climate change is affecting the turtle eggs buried underneath the sand. Unlike most creatures on this earth, the gender of sea turtles is determined solely by the temperatures of the shoreline sand they are buried in. With only a difference of around 7 degrees, sea turtles incubating below 27.7 C are found to be born male, while eggs incubated above 31 C are born female. Bette Zirkelback, a manager of the Turtle Hospital, states that “Scientists that are studying sea turtle hatchlings and eggs have found no boy sea turtles, so only female sea turtles for the past four years.” (Discovery, Dionisio). With rapid changes in weather and temperatures, sea turtles are unable to easily adapt to these unfamiliar environments, leading to these unfortunate discoveries. This dangerous extinction of male sea turtles is worrisome as future sea turtle populations will be unable to breed and repopulate due to a severe lack of sea turtle partners. Global warming is no longer just a rising issue for the world, but a severe cause of species extinction.

Although global warming’s effects are great on sea turtle populations, cruel human activities have also contributed to the massive decline and death of many sea turtles. Over the last 200 years, humans have poached and slaughtered thousands of sea turtles for their meat, eggs, skin, and shells. This is a prominent issue in coastal communities around Central America and Asia, which use sea turtles as sources of food. A common way coastal people hunt turtles is to kill the turtle and take their eggs after waiting for the female to deposit all of her eggs into the sand. Other parts of sea turtles are used for religious ceremonies and for producing oils. A specific species of sea turtle, the Hawksbill sea turtle, is known for its gorgeous shell patterning has declined by 90% in the last 100 years. This is completely because of the illegal trading of products and items made by Hawksbill turtle shells. Even today, Hawksbill sea turtles are hunted down for their shells and sold on the black market. These beautiful marine creatures are faced with imminent extinction due to the activities of humankind.

Lastly, marine debris of plastics and trash have caused the sickness and death of millions of sea creatures, including tens of thousands of marine turtles. From beach shorelines, storm drains, and landfills, 80% of the plastics contaminating the ocean come from the land. Plastics contain toxins and cannot be digested by weak sea turtle stomachs, leading to eventual organ failure and their demise. Even though microplastics—smaller plastic pieces barely visible to the naked eye—do not have an immediate effect on turtle decline, their ingestion allows a host of invasive species which can further harm sea turtles and other marine animals. Adding on, sea turtles’ main food source of jellyfish are often mistaken for floating plastic bags, causing the turtles that swallow them to almost immediately suffocate. Even as changes are being implemented to create a plastic-free environment for marine creatures (including sea turtles) these toxic plastics will never fully fade away from the ocean.

Nearly every species of sea turtle has now been classified as endangered, with three of the seven existing species being in critical endangerment. This is a heartbreaking reality for these beautiful sea creatures as they face continuous threats to their population one after another. A couple more harmful issues to sea turtles include artificial lighting, commercial fishing, and oil spills. However, marine conservationists are working hard for a better, positive future for sea turtles. Through education about their decline, volunteer patrolling of nesting beaches, and egg relocation to temperature-controlled hatcheries in impossible areas, people have started to seriously advocate and take action to save the turtles. With many more voices, the government has begun to impose laws on sea turtle consumption and trade, as well as other limitations to protect sea turtles. As regular people, we can start to be mindful of our trash and join in on volunteer efforts such as beach clean-ups or turtle rehabilitation. The future of sea turtles is bleak, but there is growing hope for their conservation.

Citations

Dionisio, Chloe. “99% Of Sea Turtles Are Now Born Female. Here’s Why.” Discovery, Discovery, 4 Aug. 2022, https://www.discovery.com/nature/why-are-99–of-sea-turtles-being-born-female-.

Sea Turtle Conservancy. “Information about Sea Turtles: Threats from Marine Debris.” Sea Turtle Conservancy, Sea Turtle Conservancy, https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-marine-debris/.

Sea Turtle Conservatory. “Information about Sea Turtles: Threats from Harvest for Consumption.” Sea Turtle Conservancy, Sea Turtle Conservatory, 2022, https://conserveturtles.org/information-sea-turtles-threats-harvest-consumption/.

WWF. “Sea Turtle.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sea-turtle.

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