Have you ever wondered what the life cycle of sea turtles is like? To study the life cycle of any species, we must take into account how the young develop, how and when the adults reproduce, and where and what they eat.
Reproduction of sea turtles
The reproduction of sea turtles is intimately linked to the temperatures of their environment. From the moment the turtle enters the sea for the first time, it lives in an environment with a more or less stable temperature in any place, but which can vary with time, with depth and with the place on planet Earth where it is found. the turtle. Being in the Caribbean Sea is not the same as being in the North Pacific Ocean.
In general, it is only the female sea turtle that comes to the beaches and only when she needs to lay her eggs. Copulation occurs in the oceans. Furthermore, temperature plays an important role in the nesting process as well. Sea turtles, thanks to their large size, despite being a reptile, are able to control their internal temperature through blood flow.
Sea turtle sexual maturity
Sea turtles are estimated to reach sexual maturity between 12 and 50 years The range to reach maturity is so wide due to Because there are differences between species, hawksbill turtles, for example, do not reach sexual maturity until they are 12 or 30 years old, while loggerhead turtles are not sexually mature until they are 20 or 50 years old.
This maturity is related to the size of sea turtles or, better said, the size that their shell reaches, until the carapace does not reach a length of between 60 and 98 centimeters, maturity will not occur. Scientific studies have suggested that the shell continues to grow once it reaches maturity but, in certain species, this growth stops.
Coupling of sea turtles
courtship and copulation occur several weeks before nesting. Females are courted by two or more males. The males have claws on their front flippers, this helps hold the female's shell during mating. The fertilization of the ovum occurs inside the female, as in birds or mammals, and always takes place in the sea.
Sea turtle egg laying
Like all other turtles, sea turtles lay eggs. The females arrive on the beaches between the months of spring and summer, generally at night, they dig a hole with the help of their hind flippers, the depth of the hole it will depend on the size of its fins and will deposit between 50 and 200 eggs, then cover them with sand. Covering the eggs with sand fulfills several functions, protecting them from predators, keeping their surface clean and regulating temperature. The eggs are soft and have a texture similar to softened leather and are covered in a thick mucus.
Turtles Nest every two or three years, they always return to the beach where they were born, but they can also lay several times in one season on beaches other than the original one.
Development of newborn sea turtles
Since the female turtle lays her eggs, it will take between 45 to 70 days until the birth of the baby turtles. Incubation time depends on several factors: species, clutch size, temperature and humidity in the nest. The sex of hatchlings is determined after fertilization and appears depending on temperature Low temperatures give rise to males and high temperatures will produce females. In mammals or birds, being born female or male is determined at the time of fertilization of the ovum, and it is the male's sperm that determines it.
The birth of sea turtles
To get out of the egg, the hatchlings use their beak to break the shell, and they don't come directly to the surface, they take between 3 and 7 days to make their way out of the nest, and usually do so at night, thus reducing their exposure to predators. Thus, they leave the nest and head in small groups towards the sea.
When they do make it to the water, they swim for 24 to 48 hours without stopping, in order to reach deeper water, where they are less vulnerable to predators.
During the first year of life it is very difficult to see the baby turtles. Some studies have found that during that year, turtles follow surface ocean currents and hide in floating algae where they can find food. Other studies have found that certain turtles hide on land after 24-48 hours of swimming.
Migration of sea turtles
Like birds, sea turtles move long distances through the oceans, but not all of them do. Some species nest and feed in very close areas.
Migratory route of sea turtles
Some populations travel more than 2,000 km across the Atlantic Ocean, from where they nest to where they feed in Brazil. Others go from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mississippi area and then down to the Yukatan Peninsula. Olive Ridley sea turtles travel in groups from the eastern Pacific where they feed to the Indian Ocean to breed.
Thus, depending on the species, there will be one migratory route or another, without forgetting that there are populations within the different species that do not migrate.
Sea turtle feeding
Do you know what sea turtles eat? The diet of sea turtles depends on their jaw, finer and more delicate mouths need softer foods, such as jellyfish, those more resistant mouths with a serrated shape, they can feed on harder beings, such as crustaceans. Sea turtles can be carnivorous, herbivorous, or omnivorous
Below we explain more about the diet depending on the species of sea turtle:
- Green sea turtles are the only herbivores during their adult stage, but when they are born and young, they are carnivorous and, little by little, they change their diet.
- Hawksbill sea turtles are adapted to eating on coral reefs, they often eat sea sponges, shrimp and squid.
- Loggerhead and Kemp's ridley sea turtles feed on crabs, molluscs, shrimp, jellyfish and algae.
- On the other hand, leatherbacks feed almost exclusively on jellyfish.
Finally, in zoos, all species of sea turtles can be maintained on a carnivorous diet.
