Sea Turtle Research Paper

Sea Turtle Extinction Sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico are going extinct. Humans are diminishing and polluting the oceans where the sea turtles swim and live. Pollution such as fertilizers, plastic, and oil in the Gulf of Mexico are causing the sea turtles to become extinct. The ocean is gigantic; many people think that the ocean dilutes the chemicals from the fertilizers that are washed into them. People use fertilizers on their farms, for soil, and for crops. However when it rains, the chemicals from the fertilizers make their way down to oceans through run-off. Run-off is the material carried away from land to the oceans. Once these chemicals are in the water, the sea turtles are then affected. The fertilizer in the water causes eutrophication. Eutrophication is the significant amount of richness of nutrients in a body of water, due to run-off from the land, causing growth in plant life and depletion of oxygen for animals. This process causes algae blooms

First, people litter or their plastic bags are blown away. Then, it ends up going down the sewage drain and travels through the pipes making its way to the oceans. The sun’s rays then break down the plastic into smaller pieces making it easier for the animals to consume. This is where the sea turtles mistake the small pieces of plastic for food and consume them. The consumption of the plastic causes the sea turtles to suffocate. Plastic from soda cans can be caught around sea turtles necks causing them to suffocate as well. According to The Washington Post, half of all sea turtles ingest the plastic and the number is continuing to increase (Feltman). Plastic can lead to blockage in the sea turtles gut and make them suffer a slow death. Ingesting the plastic is causing endangered sea turtles to become extinct. Becoming extinct will lead to the loss of biodiversity in the population of sea