Sea Turtle Nesting 101

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Email
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Key Vocabulary Terms

Review these key terms from Loggerhead Marinelife Center's Virtual Coastal Classroom Lesson to help you find the answers and unlock our favorite photos and gifs of the hammock habitat!

Algae: a simple, nonflowering, and typically aquatic plant of a large group that includes the seaweeds and many single-celled forms. Algae contain chlorophyll but lack true stems, roots, leaves, and vascular tissue.

Body Pitting: the step during sea turtle nesting where a female sea turtle digs a depression in the sand with her body. Body pits can differ between species of sea turtles.

Camouflage: to conceal the existence of something. When referring to sea turtle nesting, this step in the nesting process allows for the female sea turtle to hide their nest by disturbing the sand around them.

Clutch (eggs): the group of eggs produced by birds, amphibians, or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.

Deposit: the action of placing something in a specified place

Incubation: to keep eggs, cells, bacteria, embryos, etc. at a suitable temperature so that they develop

Life Cycle: the series of change in the life of an organizm including reproduction.

Life Stages: the different phases of life that all individuals pass through in a normal lifetime.

Predator: an animal that natural preys on others.

Prey: an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.

Species: a class of individuals having common attributes and designated by a common name
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Sea turtle nesting season is March 1st - October 31st in South Florida
TrueFalse
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True! We are considered one of the densest populated sea turtle nesting beaches in the world. Below you a handful of sea turtle tracks on a small section of the beach we monitor.
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What three species of sea turtles nest on the beaches of South Florida?Select all the apply
Green sea turtle
Hawksbill sea turtle
Kemp's Ridley sea turtle
Leatherback sea turtle
Loggerhead sea turtle
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In South Florida, we have Leatherback, Green, and Loggerhead sea turtles that nest on our beaches!The Hawksbill and Kemp's Ridley sea turtle can be seen swimming the waters surrounding South Florida, but nest elsewhere.
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How about old is sea turtle when they are considered an adult?
10-15 years old
15-20 years old
20-25 years old
25-30 years old
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An adult sea turtle is about 25-30 years old!This can vary between sea turtle species. For example an adult leatherback is 10-15 years old
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During what stage of sea turtle nesting does the female make a depression with her body?
Depositing the Eggs
Arriving on the Beach
Body Pitting
Camouflaging the Nest
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Body Pitting is the step during sea turtle nesting where the female makes a depression with her body!Body pits can vary between species of sea turtles. Leatherback and Green sea turtles tend to make deeper depressions in the sand, while Kemp's Ridley sea turtles make shallow depressions. The picture below shows a Green sea turtles nest!
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What does a female sea turtle do when she is camouflaging her eggs?
She uses all four flippers to scatter sand in a wide mound behind her
She crawls out of the surf and up the beach
She alternates flick and dig strokes with her rear flippers to form a smooth hole
None of the above
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A female sea turtle uses all four flippers to scatter sand in a wide mound behind her to camouflage her eggs!
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What determine the sex of a sea turtle hatchling?
X Chromosome
Temperature
Y Chromosome
Location
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Temperature determines the sex of a sea turtle hatchling! Temperatures above 82 degrees tend to produce more female hatchlings while temperatures below 82 degrees produce more male hatchlings.
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Key Vocabulary Terms