Loggerhead Sea Turtles: A Case Study

The Mediterranean Loggerhead Sea Turtles tend to nest in the eastern side of the the sea on the coasts of Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Turkey, and parts of northeast Libya and Egypt (Zbinden, Aebischer, Margaritoulis, Arlettaz, 2007). The female adult Loggerheads lay eggs on the beach (terrestrial ecosystem), preferably with coarse sand and a steep incline. The beaches tend to be wide with low dunes in the rear and flat sandy shorelines. However, this is a generalization. Detailed characteristics of the beaches can vary greatly between regions. In the Mediterranean, for example, the turtles are mostly found nesting on beaches with sandy entrances, whereas in South Africa, the turtles tend to prefer beaches with “adjacent reefs or rocky outcrops” (Bolten, Witherington, 2003). A study performed in Japan found that distance from human settlement was also an important factor when predicting Loggerhead spawning. The analysis found that the turtles tend to distance themselves from human interaction due to the obvious threats humans pose (Bowen, Karl, 2007).

The female must be careful not to nest too far from the ocean, for she risks the hatchlings being attacked by terrestrial predators or being unable to locate the shoreline. However, if she nests too near to the shoreline, she risks her babies being washed away by the tidal movements before they are fully incubated. The temperature of the sand is also important to determining incubation. The hotter the sand is in the nest, the quicker the embryos tend to develop. Colder sand usually results in more male Loggerheads, as well (Miller, Limpus, Godfrey, 2003). Loggerhead nests are constructed under the surface of the sand for protection from