Turtle conservationists in Ontario, Canada, are working overtime this nesting season to shield turtle hatchlings from the impact of hotter temperatures and habitat loss, among other environmental threats, CBC reported.
What's happening?
According to Hepper, turtles choose the warmest time of the year to lay their eggs. As such, the turtle nesting season in Ontario typically happens from mid-May to mid-July, with the peak of the season in June, according to Think Turtle Conservation Initiative.
However, rising global temperatures are causing turtle eggs to hatch more frequently as females because "the sex of the eggs is temperature-dependent," explained Kelly Wallace, managing director at Think Turtle, per CBC. "That's concerning."
An influx of female turtles can throw the turtle population off-balance, which can cause issues with reproduction when the turtles reach maturity and there are more females than males.
Turtles also face environmental threats, including the loss of habitat or entanglement in plastic packaging due to ocean pollution.
An Ontario conservation group, the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, has spent the last three decades finding and relocating turtle eggs from compromising sites — due to natural predators, poaching, natural disaster events, or habitat loss — to controlled incubators, where the hatchlings can safely grow.
UTRCA has as many as 500 nests in its incubators, which is as many as 10,000 hatchlings, per CBC.
Why are turtle populations important?
Some turtles, especially sea turtles, are considered important keystone species. This means that they play an important role in maintaining the health of ecosystems.
Green sea turtles, for example, help control the growth of seagrass beds, which keeps the grass healthy and productive for other marine life, such as crustaceans and shellfish, that build homes in these grass beds. Map turtles can help control the spread of zebra mussels, which are invasive and harmful to the health and quality of the water.
Protecting turtle populations helps protect the biodiversity of natural ecosystems and supports food security for humans.
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Definitely 👍 What's being done about turtle populations?
Lawmakers in Vermont recently passed a bill to ban the sale and possession of pond sliders (e.g., red-ear sliders), an invasive turtle species that threatens the population of native turtle species.
In New Jersey, a woman has made a lifelong hobby of saving trapped baby turtles from storm drains, giving these hatchlings a fair chance at surviving.
Consistent and dedicated conservation efforts have helped bring turtles like the red-crowned roof turtles back from the brink of extinction.
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