GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Monday is World Sea Turtle Day, and an expert explains threats to sea turtles and their ecological importance along the coasts of the commonwealth.
As waters begin to warm in late spring, between 5,000 and 10,000 sea turtles enter Chesapeake Bay. Most sea turtles in Virginia are classified as juvenile loggerheads or Kemp’s ridleys, and both mainly use the bay for feeding, according to the Virginia Institute for Marine Science. Green and leatherback sea turtles are found less frequently, with the hawksbill being the rarest.
David Godfrey, executive director of the Sea Turtle Conservancy, said sea turtle populations are often markers of habitat health, and their diets promote biodiversity in the ocean.
“So areas where turtles are eating, the grass is shorter,” he said. “They eat a little bit; it’s sort of medium length. Some areas they don’t touch at all, and others they eat it all the way down to the sand and it creates all kinds of different microhabitats that are utilized by all kinds of different species. And in areas where there are no turtles, you get kind of a monoculture of tall sea grass.”
Green sea turtles create diversity in sea grasses, while hawksbill sea turtles fill a similar role on coral reefs. Godfrey added that jellyfish populations are kept in check by leatherback sea turtles, who rely on them for food.
Godfrey said human activity and development can often disturb sea turtles who are nesting or breaking out of their eggs for the first time. Young turtles use the light of the moon to guide them into the ocean after hatching. However, they’re often drawn to lights from homes and businesses on beaches instead, taking them away from their natural habitat.
“The construction of sea walls to protect property or roads, or when people litter on the beach or in rivers that flow into the ocean, lots of negative things happen for sea turtles, their habitat and their ability to nest,” he said. “What we do on the coasts is one of the big sources of threat.”
The commonwealth is home to five of seven turtle species in the world — all of which are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
