The southern part of the United States is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Unfortunately, this attraction has lead to a large increase in coastal development in areas that are also critical for sea turtle nesting. This increase poses serious threats to multiple species of sea turtles.
According to an overview on Ocean.org, due to the increase in coastal development, sea turtle nesting in Florida has decreased by more than 40% since 1998. Coastal development brings artificial light, pollution, and other threats to the coastal areas that sea turtles love to nest on.
The artificial light that comes along with development keeps hatchlings from being able to safely reach the water’s edge, causing them to move in the opposite direction. It also causes disorientation, which lengthens their exposure to predation. This lowers their chances of survival considerably. Increased predation and extended time on the beach result in fewer hatchlings surviving, which means a steady decrease in the sea turtle population.
So, here's why we should care: sea turtles and their habitats are incredibly important to a thriving ecosystem. They are a necessity. This article will dive into the why of sea turtles and their habitats being important, what coastal development is doing to them, and how we can further protect them.
Preserving sea turtles is vital in order to maintain healthy marine ecosystems! Sea turtle populations have already decreased in the past century due to pollution, commercial fisheries, and climate change. This is a sad reality because they are a keystone species in marine ecosystems.
They maintain healthy seagrass beds and coral reefs which provide habitats to other marine wildlife and they help balance food webs and facilitate nutrient cycling from the water to land. Since sea turtle numbers are still declining, they are less capable of fulfilling their vital functions in marine ecosystems, according to an article on oceana.org.
These creatures are not just important from an environmental perspective, but also historically and religiously! Numerous cultures around the world feature creation stories of a world built on the back of a sea turtle.
These kinds of stories show that the reverence of sea turtles dates back centuries. Many religions, folklore, and mythologies believe sea turtles represent wisdom and tranquility- makes sense, right? Despite the cultural reverence, sea turtles are facing a troubled future.
Among threats like pollution, sea turtles are now facing the fact that their habitats are prime coastal development land, bringing different threats and exacerbating the old ones. This is worrisome for one major reason: all seven known species of sea turtles are categorized as endangered, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Six species of sea turtle nest in the United States. The Endangered Species Act lists all six of these species as either threatened or endangered. Ninety percent of sea turtle nesting in the United States happens in Florida, which is unfortunate because some of the most attractive beaches for coastal development are in Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama.
With the exception of the big-bend part of Florida, the southern coasts of the United States are nesting areas for many species of sea turtles. According to NOAA, their hatchlings have to fight to get out of their shells, which incubate beneath the sand, and find their way to the water while fleeing from predators and following the reflection of the moon on the water.
On these same beaches are hotels, homes, restaurants, and bars. This coastal development interferes strongly with the success of sea turtle reproduction habits and also brings many threats to marine wildlife that depend on the dynamic habitat that the coast provides.
According to the Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of sea turtles, female sea turtles journey back to the beach they originally hatched at to lay around a hundred eggs five to seven times throughout the nesting season. These females rely on safe, clean, and uninterrupted beaches in order to lay their eggs. In turn, their hatchlings rely upon the same things to enter the water safely. Interrupting a hatchling's journey or disorienting the hatchling results in a much lower survival rate.
Human populations are growing quickly in coastal communities and are bringing artificial light and other threats to sea turtle nesting areas. This rapid growth brings excess trash, which is not only more pollution, but also more rats, raccoons, and domestic animals. These animals are predators for hatchlings.
The population increase also means more exposure to fishing nets, propellers, and commercial fishing threats. Pollution, especially lost fishing nets and plastic bags, is one of the greatest threats that sea turtles face. The more development, the more business for commercial fishing, which results in hazardous waters for marine life.
Since coastal areas are seeing an increase in the human population, coastal development is growing rapidly. According to Ecological Applications, a scientific journal that deals with the application of "ecological science to environmental problems", coastal development causes both direct and indirect loss of suitable nesting habitats. Artificial light from coastal development is increasing in recent years and brings along excess light pollution.
According to an article in Endangered Species Research, a scientific journal that concerns itself with "the ecology of endangered life, its requirements for survival, and its protection", the growth of human populations along the coast is happening faster than human population growth as a whole. Sadly, this disproportionate growth is causing coastal habitats to become some of those that are most vulnerable to light pollution.
According to NOAA, light pollution is among the highest priority threats that sea turtles face. Light pollution disorients hatchlings which causes them to not have enough energy or time to reach safety. This threat, of course, decreases the quality of nesting beaches. If the quality of these beaches continually goes downhill, sea turtles will not be able to reproduce at the necessary rate for survival.
Due to this type of research, knowing the extent that light pollution is affecting nesting areas is essential to guide management strategies. This is where we have to start in order to further the protection of sea turtles.
Prepping sea turtle management teams to handle any disrupted behavior due to light pollution from coastal development is necessary for said protection, according to an article in Endangered Species Research. Without management efforts to fight against light pollution, sea turtles will quickly see a decrease in their populations.
Since safe and consistent nesting areas are crucial to the survival of sea turtles, the artificial lighting, human disturbance, beach compaction, noise, and pollution that come along with coastal development are causing drops in sea turtle populations. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation states that construction along nesting beaches can prevent female sea turtles from laying nests. These threats, without policies to ensure the protection of sea turtles, will eventually lead to the extinction of sea turtles.
To add to the unfavorable circumstances sea turtles face, the southern United States also suffers from poor coastal management policies. Regrettably, the existing policies are not effective at protecting wildlife, specifically sea turtles. Enacting preservation policies and taking steps toward educating the public now will help to protect these creatures in the future!
This means that the first step would be public education initiatives in Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama. These initiatives would need to serve as a way to raise awareness of which beaches still need protection. More likely than not, creating awareness will lead to limiting human impact at said beaches, which will encourage female sea turtles to nest!
The next step would be to designate nesting beaches as refuges and parks. The STC states that these designations would help to decrease the effects of coastal development by protecting those areas. Protecting nesting areas will prevent coastal development which will eliminate the unavoidable threats with further development.
Thankfully, this protection would provide a safer habitat for sea turtles to nest at and encourage higher survival rates for hatchlings.
Another method would be to decrease the artificial light from coastal development. A study published in Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation shows that some U.S. National Parks that have active light management strategies are providing a refuge from light pollution for marine turtles. These light management strategies will keep females from being discouraged from certain beaches and help prevent hatchlings from becoming disoriented. This would also increase reproductive success, helping sea turtles to gain their numbers back!
Having a full understanding and being aware of the issues facing sea turtles will help further the protection of sea turtles and eliminate the threats.
Lack of knowledge is prohibiting efforts to protect sea turtles from experiencing full support. Preservation and conservation are often used interchangeably, but this exchange is not accurate. The National Park Service defines conservation as seeking the "proper use of nature" whereas preservation is defined as seeking "protection of nature from use."
Both the general public and lawmakers need a better understanding of the difference between conservation and preservation. When there is a full understanding of information and actions, support for protecting beaches and therefore sea turtles, is more easily gained. If this understanding is not thorough, the future for sea turtles is bleak.
Eliminating the numerous threats that sea turtles face is essential to protecting them, and the greatest threat to hatchlings is coastal development.
Sea turtles are vital to healthy marine ecosystems and coastal habitats; the variety of sea turtles in the southern United States cycle nutrients between the land and water and maintain seagrass beds and coral reefs.
Protecting these creatures is essential to protecting our oceans and the variety of marine wildlife that rely on them. Updating and creating new policies, raising awareness of the issue, and protecting known nesting habitats are the first steps that need implementing in order to preserve these ethereal species!
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