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Habitat
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Most
species of sea turtles have a life span of almost 100
years and a life cycle that requires different types of
habitat including sandy beaches, sea grass and algal beds,
and the high seas. Sea turtles interact with a wide range
of human activities at all stages of their life cycle.
Five of the seven sea turtle species have a circum-global
distribution. Most populations have a distribution that
includes shallow coastal, offshore waters and high seas,
according to their life stages.
Marine turtles spend more than 99% of their lives at sea,
where they are largely inaccessible. Due to a lack of
a comprehensive understanding of marine turtle biology,
present conservation efforts tend to be focused on nesting
females and their
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with the majority of protected areas for marine turtles being
nesting beaches and their nearby coastal waters. As a relatively
small proportion of the life cycle is spent at the breeding
site (several months every 2-4 years following an extended
maturation period), such areas offer only limited protection
to populations as a whole. More recently, electronic tracking
studies of marine turtles have begun to highlight a level
of fidelity to migratory corridors and foraging sites.
References:
ScienceDaily
(Apr. 26, 2007). Turtles Are Loyal In Feeding As Well As
In Breeding. Available online: [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070424204534.htm]
(8/1/2008). |
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Margartoulis,
D. et al., 2003. Loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean
sea: present knowledge and conservation perspectives.
In Loggerhead sea turtles (ed. A.B. Bolten and B.E.Witherington),
pp. 175.198. Washington: Smithsonian Books.
White,
M., Haxhiu, I., Kouroutos, V., Gace, A., Vaso, A., Beqiraj,
S. Plytas, A., Dedej, Z. 2005. Rapid Assessment Survey
of important marine turtle and monk seal habitats in the
coastal area of Albania, 2005. Technical Report. Available
online: [http://www.medasset.org/PDF/albanian_report/Albanian_report.pdf
] (8/1/2008)
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