Good morning class!

My name is Everton Brown.

Today I will be talking to you about
“GREEN SEA TURTLES”
WHY GREEN SEA TURTLES?
I chose to talk about the Green Sea Turtles
because:
Turtles plays a huge part of Cayman’s history.
When Christopher Columbus discovered Cayman
in 1503, he gave the name ‘Los Tortugas’ meaning
the land of many turtles.
 DESCRIPTION

 Green Sea Turtles are graceful saltwater

reptiles with flipper-like limbs. They have the
largest heart-shaped hard shelled back with a
small head. The top shell of the turtle is called a
‘carapace’.
 The color of their belly is creamy, white or
yellow.
 Their size is about 4 feet and weighs up to 400
pounds.
 HABITAT
Their habitat is the ocean floor where there is a
lot of algae and marine grass.

When they are active they must swim to the

ocean surface to breathe every few minutes.

When they are resting they remain

underwater for longer periods of time.
 REPRODUCTION
 Female turtles reproduce between 25 to
50 years of age.
 Mating begins in March and females nests
between May to September.
 Nesting occurs between 2-4 year intervals.
 Female turtles lays up to 5 clutches during
nesting season. A ‘clutch’ is the name
given to a group of turtle eggs.
STAGES OF REPRODUCTION
1. The female turtle works her way ashore
to lay a clutch of eggs. This happens at
night because it helps to protect against
predators and protects mother and eggs
from the sun.
2. The Green Sea Turtle digs a hole to bury
their eggs. It can deposit anywhere from
50 to 200 eggs per clutch.
A clutch size = 7 to 200 eggs
 INCUBATION
3. Once eggs are laid the turtle carefully
covers the nest and returns to the sea.

It will take 45 to 70 days for the eggs to

incubate and hatch.
 GENDER
The temperature of the eggs during incubation
determines the gender of the hatchlings:

Lower Temperatures = produces male turtles

Higher Temperatures = produces female turtles
 HATCHING
4. When hatched young hatchling weigh
about one ounce and have a carapace
shell length of 2 inches. They goes into
the water to hunt for food and find their
species.
.
 WHAT DO THEY EAT?

 Green sea turtles are herbivores which

means they eat sea grass. They also eat
the manatee grass, turtle grass and
marine algae.

Sea grass. Marine grass. Red marine

algae.
 FUN FACTS
 They are cold-blooded, meaning that
they get their body heat from the
environment rather than making their own.
 They breathe air
 They live as long as 100 years
 Their scientific name is’ chelonia mydas’
but they got their name because of the
striking color of their shell.
 PREDATORS
Small turtles have more predators than the
adult turtles. Seabirds, crabs and ragoons
feeds on baby turtles. Only sharks are large
enough to prey adult turtles. Humans are
also predators.
 ADAPTATION
Green Sea Turtles adapts to their
environment:
1. They are strong swimmers flippers allow them
to swim at a cruising speed of 1.5 to 2.3
kilometers.
2. They are cold-blooded so they have a slow
metabolic rate which allows them to stay
underwater for long periods.
3. They have salt glands to rid their bodies of
excess salt.
 MIGRATION
Green Sea turtles migrate long distances between
feeding grounds and hatching beaches. Migration
habits depends on the sea turtle species.

Migrations can range from a few kilometers to

thousands of kilometers. A tracking device is used
in Cayman to track their travel distances.
 THREATS
 Pollution to the ocean floor eg. garbage,
plastic bags, oil spills).
 Climate Changes
 Buildings on the beaches that destroy
their nesting zones.
 Getting caught in fishing nets
 illegal sea turtle trades
 Natural threats
 SUMMARY
The green sea turtle existence is threatened!
We can do something to help them to:
 Participate in beach cleanups
 Adopt a turtle
 Avoid throwing objects into the ocean
 Tell others about the dangers to raise
awareness just like what I am doing NOW!
 ANY
QUESTIONS?

THE END
 REFERENCES
Online Sources:
 www.nmfs.noaa.gov/education/kids_times_turtles.html
 www.world-turtle-trust.org/turtleinfo.html
 www.seaworld.org/animal-info/seaturtle/reproduction.html
 www.ccturtle.org/sea-turtle-information/threats.html
 www.fws.gov/northflorida/seaturtles.html
 www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/photos/seaturtles.html

Time taken to complete assignment:

- Written = 3 hours
- Ocean diorama = 5 hours
- Practice presentation = 2 hours