Kemp's Ridley
Encyclopedia
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
and is critically endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
. It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys (the other one being L. olivacea the olive ridley sea turtle).
Anatomy
Kemp's ridley is a small living sea turtleSea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
species, reaching maturity at 2–3 ft (61–91.4 cm) long and averaging only 45 kilograms (99.2 lb). Typical of sea turtles, it has a dorsoventrally depressed body with specially adapted flipper-like front limbs. Like other sea turtles, it possesses a horny beak
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
.
Distribution
Kemp's ridley sea turtles generally prefer warm waters but inhabit waters as far north as New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, They migrate to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
where they often inhabit the waters off Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Their range includes the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. Almost all females return each year to a single beach—Rancho Nuevo in the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
—to lay eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
. Some travel as far away as the coast of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Feeding
The Kemp's ridley turtle feeds on molluscs, crustaceanCrustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, jellyfish
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
, algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
or seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
, and sea urchin
Sea urchin
Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
s.
Life history
Juvenile turtles tend to live in floating sargassumSargassum
Sargassum is a genus of brown macroalga in the order Fucales. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral reefs. However, the genus may be best known for its planktonic species...
seaweed beds for their first years. Then they range between Northwest Atlantic waters and the Gulf of Mexico while growing into maturity.
These turtles change color as they mature. As hatchlings they are almost entirely a dark gray-black, but mature adults have a yellow-green or white plastron and a grey-green carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
. Some say they reach sexual maturity at the age of 7-15 but others claim that maturity doesn't occur until the age of 35.
The nesting season for these turtles is April to August. They nest mostly in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, but sometimes on Padre Island
Padre Island
Padre Island is part of the U.S. state of Texas. The island is located on Texas' southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is famous for its white sandy beaches at the south end...
in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. They mate offshore. Pregnant females land in groups on beaches in what is commonly called an arribada or mass nesting. They prefer areas with dunes or, secondarily, swamps. The estimated number of nesting females in 1947 was 89,000 but shrank to an estimated 7702 by the 1985.
Females nest three times during a season, keeping 10 to 28 days between nestings. Incubation takes anywhere from 45 to 70 days. There are, on average, around 110 eggs in a clutch
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
. The hatchlings' sex is decided by the temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
in the area during incubation. If the temperature is below 29.5 degrees Celsius the offspring will be mainly male.
Etymology and taxonomic history
These turtles are called Kemp's ridley because Richard Kemp (of Key WestKey West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
) was the first to send a specimen
Specimen
A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...
to Samuel Garman at Harvard. However, the etymology of the name "ridley" itself is unknown. Prior to the term being popularly used (for both species in the genus), L. kempii at least was known as the "turtle".
At least one source also refers to the Kemp's ridley as a "heartbreak turtle". In her book "The Great Ridley Rescue", Pamela Philips claimed that the name was coined by fishermen who witnessed the turtles dying after being turned turtle (on their backs). The fishermen said the turtles "died of a broken heart".
Conservation
Hunting first depleted their numbers, but today major threats include habitatHabitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
loss, pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, and entanglement in shrimp
Shrimp
Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
ing nets.
Mexico first protected Kemp's ridleys in the 1960s. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the Kemp's ridley turtle was first listed under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1970 on December 2, 1970, and subsequently under the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
(ESA) of 1973. A binational recovery plan was developed in 1984, and revised in 1992. A draft public review draft of revision number two was published by NOAA Fisheries
National Marine Fisheries Service
The National Marine Fisheries Service is a United States federal agency. A division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Commerce, NMFS is responsible for the stewardship and management of the nation's living marine resources and their habitat within the...
in March 2010. This revision includes an updated threat assessment.
One mechanism that protects turtles from fishing nets is the Turtle Excluder Device
Turtle excluder device
A turtle excluder device or TED is a specialized device that allows a captured sea turtle to escape when caught in a fisherman's net.In particular, sea turtles can be caught when bottom trawling is used by the commercial shrimp fishing industry. In order to catch shrimp, a fine meshed trawl net is...
(TED). Due to the fact that the biggest hit to the population of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles is shrimp trawls
Trawling
Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net that is used for trawling is called a trawl....
, the device is attached to the shrimp trawl. It is a grid of bars with an opening at the top or bottom, fitted into the neck of the shrimp trawl. It allows small animals to slip through the bars and be caught while larger animals, such as sea turtles, strike the bars and are ejected, thus avoiding possible drowning.
In September 2007, Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...
, wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
officials found a record of 128 Kemp's ridley sea turtle nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
s on Texan beaches, including 81 on North Padre Island
Padre Island
Padre Island is part of the U.S. state of Texas. The island is located on Texas' southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is famous for its white sandy beaches at the south end...
(Padre Island National Seashore
Padre Island National Seashore
Padre Island National Seashore is a National Seashore located on Padre Island off the coast of South Texas. In contrast to South Padre Island , PINS is located on North Padre Island and consists of a long beach where nature is preserved...
) and four on Mustang Island
Mustang Island
Mustang Island is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. The island is 18 miles long, stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Aransas. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south, and Corpus Christi Bay on the north...
. Wildlife officials released 10,594 Kemp's ridley hatchlings along the Texan coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
that year. The turtles are popular in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, as boot
Boot
A boot is a type of footwear but they are not shoes. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle and extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearly distinguishable from the rest of the sole, even if the two are made of one piece....
material and food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
.
Oil spills
Some Kemp's ridleys were airlifted from Mexico after the 1979 blowout of the Ixtoc 1 rig, which spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.The Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
menaces a wide variety of marine life, from dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s to blue crabs. Since April 30, 2010, 10 days after the accident on the Deepwater Horizon, they have recorded 156 sea turtle deaths; most of the turtles were Kemp’s ridleys. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
expanded a fishing ban in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
because of the spreading oil. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is a state agency of Louisiana that maintains state parks and wildlife and fishery areas. The agency has its headquarters in Baton Rouge.-External links:*...
biologists and enforcement agents have rescued Kemp's ridleys in Grand Isle
Grand Isle, Louisiana
Grand Isle is a town in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, located on a barrier island of the same name in the Gulf of Mexico. The island is at the mouth of Barataria Bay where it meets the gulf. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,541; during summers, the population sometimes increases to...
.
Of the endangered marine species that frequent Gulf waters, only the Kemp’s ridley relies on the region as its sole breeding ground.
As part of the effort to save the species from some of the devastating effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
, scientists have begun taking eggs from their nests and incubating them elsewhere. Sixty-seven eggs were collected from a nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
along the Florida Panhandle on June 26, 2010, and brought to a temperature-controlled warehouse at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, but only 56 hatched. State and federal officials plan to bring thousands more eggs for incubation in the coming months.
The overall plan is to pluck some 70,000 eggs from sea turtle nests on beaches across Alabama and Florida before they hatch and swim out into the oil from the April 20 Deepwater Horizon rig explosion off Louisiana. NASA currently has about 1,100 eggs at the space center site incubating.
See also
- Chelonioidea. The sea turtleSea turtleSea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
superfamily. - Caretta caretta. The loggerhead sea turtleLoggerhead sea turtleThe loggerhead sea turtle , or loggerhead, is an oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around long when fully grown, although larger specimens of up to have been discovered...
. - Chelonia mydas. The green sea turtleGreen Sea TurtleThe Green sea turtle or green turtle is a large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
. - Dermochelys coriacea. The leatherback sea turtleLeatherback Sea TurtleThe leatherback sea turtle is the largest of all living sea turtles and the fourth largest modern reptile behind three crocodilians. It is the only living species in the genus Dermochelys. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell. Instead, its...
. - Eretmochelys imbricata. The hawksbill sea turtle.
- Lepidochelys olivacea. The olive ridley sea turtle.
- Natator depressus. The flatback sea turtle.
External links
- Profile from the OBIS-SEAMAP project of the Ocean Biogeographic Information SystemOcean Biogeographic Information SystemThe Ocean Biogeographic Information System is a web-based access point to information about the distribution and abundance of living species in the ocean.-History:...
- Profile from Turtle Trax
- Information from the Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island wiki
- Profile from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Information from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissionFlorida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissionThe Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is a Florida government agency charged with managing the state's fish and wildlife resources, regulating Florida's fisheries and wildlife, and enforcing related laws...
- http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0013_kemps_ridley_sea_turtle.pdf