Question

At which stages in their life cycle were the olive ridley turtles being harmed

Answer 1

Oil spills from exploration for and transportation of oil and gas, as well as from urban and agricultural run-off, pose substantial risks to marine turtles and to the habitats they rely upon. Oil from spills and leaks that sit on the surface of the water doesn’t really stick to sea turtles like it would to other marine species. But oil can get in their eyes, on their skin, and in their lungs when they come to the surface to breathe. Although turtles maybe the toughest in terms of resisting some of the immediate physical damage from oil spills, they have proved to be more vulnerable to chemical exposure that happens indirectly through the food they eat. Not only do larger spills pose a problem for the turtles, studies have shown that continuous exposure over time will weaken a sea turtle’s overall health, making it more susceptible to other dangers.

Because sea turtles are highly migratory – spending different life-history stages in different habitats – sea turtles are vulnerable to oil spills at all life stages: eggs on the beach, post-hatchlings and juveniles in the open ocean gyres, subadults in nearshore habitats, and adults migrating between nesting and foraging grounds and on the nesting beach.

A 2002 study hundreds of tiny hatchling sea turtles were captured offshore of Florida’s mid-Atlantic coast nesting beaches. Turtles were captured along the “downwelling lines” that form along the western edge of the Gulfstream. The baby turtles were among the floating mats of Sargassum that accumulates in these areas. 20% of the hatchlings studied had ingested tar that had accumulated in their gut or on their mouth. Smaller amounts of plastic were also found

Answer 2

1.The life cycle of turtles begins with female sea turtles coming onto the beach at night to lay a nest of 100-200eggs.
2.Nests hwtch in 40-60 days,depending upon their species.