Green sea turtle: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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The '''green sea turtle''' ('''''Chelonia mydas'''''), also known as the '''green turtle''', '''black (sea) turtle''' or '''Pacific green turtle''',<ref>Swash, A. & Still, R. (2005). Birds, Mammals, and Reptiles of the Galápagos Islands. Second Edition. Hampshire, UK:WildGuides Ltd. p.116.</ref> is a [[species]] of large [[sea turtle]] of the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Cheloniidae]]. It is the only [[species]] in the [[genus]] '''''Chelonia'''''.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=173833 |taxon=''Chelonia mydas'' |access-date=February 21, 2007}}</ref> Its range extends throughout [[tropical]] and [[subtropical]] seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and [[Pacific Ocean]]s, but it is also found in the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref name="NGeo">{{cite web|url=http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/green-turtle.html|title=Green Sea Turtle (''Chelonia mydas'')|date=December 29, 2005|publisher=National Geographic Society|work=National Geographic – Animals|access-date=February 21, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205055313/http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/green-turtle.html|archive-date=2007-02-05|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Turtles & Tortoises|last=Ferri|first=Vincenzo|publisher=Firefly Books|year=2002|isbn=978-1-55209-631-4|location=Buffalo, New York|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/tortoisesturtles0000ferr}}</ref> The common name refers to the usually green [[fat]] found beneath its [[carapace]], due to its diet strictly being seagrass,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Howell |first1=Lyndsey N |last2=Shaver |first2=Donna J. |title=~~. "~~Foraging habits of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico." |journal=Frontiers in Marine Science (|date=2021|volume=8) |~~date~~doi=10.3389/fmars.2021.658368 |doi-access=free }}</ref> not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black.

The [[Dorsoventral#Dorsal and ventral|dorsoventrally]] flattened body of ''C. mydas'' is covered by a large, teardrop-shaped carapace; it has a pair of large, [[paddle]]-like [[flipper (anatomy)|flippers]]. It is usually lightly colored, although in the eastern Pacific populations, parts of the carapace can be almost black. Unlike other members of its family, such as the [[hawksbill sea turtle]], ''C. mydas'' is mostly [[herbivore|herbivorous]]. The adults usually inhabit shallow [[lagoon]]s, feeding mostly on various species of [[seagrass]]es.<ref name="WildlifeofPakistan"/> The turtles bite off the tips of the blades of seagrass, which keeps the grass healthy.

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[[File:Chelonia.svg|thumb|Escalation of [[carapace]] and [[plastron]]|alt=Drawing of turtle carapace and plastron showing respectively, vertebral, costal, marginal, and supracaudal and intergular, gular, pectoral, abdominal, humeral, femoral, anal, axillary (anterior inframarginal), and inguinal (posterior inframarginal) shields]]

[[File:Taxidermy of turtle shell (Chelonia mydas).jpg|thumb|Taxidermied shell of ''Chelonia mydas'']]

Its appearance is that of a typical [[sea turtle]]. ''C. mydas'' has a dorsoventrally flattened body, a beaked head at the end of a short neck, and paddle-like arms well-adapted for swimming.<ref name="FWS">{{cite web|url=https://www.fws.gov/northflorida/SeaTurtles/Turtle%20Factsheets/green-sea-turtle.htm|title=Green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas'')|date=December 29, 2005|publisher=United States Fish and Wildlife Service|work=North Florida Field Office|access-date=February 21, 2007|archive-date=June 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629221452/https://www.fws.gov/northflorida//SeaTurtles/Turtle%20Factsheets/green-sea-turtle.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Adult green turtles grow to {{convert|1.5|m|ft|0}} long.<ref name="Animal">{{cite book|title=Animal|last=Kindersley|first=Dorling|publisher=DK Publishing|year=2005|isbn=978-0-7894-7764-4|location=New York City}}</ref> The average weight of mature individuals is {{convert|68|-|190|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and the average carapace length is {{convert|78|-|112|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/sea-turtle/physical-characteristics.htm |title=SEA TURTLES - Physical Characteristics |access-date=2012-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728212355/http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/sea-turtle/physical-characteristics.htm |archive-date=2013-07-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref> They are ~~considerd~~considered the second largest sea turtle in the United States, with Leatherback Sea Turtle being the largest.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sonmez |first1=Bektas |title="Morphological variations in the green turtle (Chelonia mydas): A field study on an eastern Mediterranean nesting population" |journal=Zoological Studies 58 |date=2019|volume=58 |issue=58 |pages=e16 |doi=10.6620/ZS.2019.58-16 |pmid=31966317 |pmc=6875684 }}</ref>

Exceptional specimens can weigh {{convert|315|kg|lb|abbr=on}} or even more, with the largest known ''C. mydas'' having weighed {{convert|395|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and measured {{convert|153|cm|in|abbr=on}} in carapace length.<ref name="CCC">{{cite web|url=http://www.cccturtle.org/green.htm|title=Species Fact Sheet: Green Sea Turtle|date=December 29, 2005|publisher=Caribbean Conservation Corporation|work=Caribbean Conservation Corporation & Sea Turtle Survival League|access-date=February 22, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224150825/http://www.cccturtle.org/green.htm|archive-date=February 24, 2007}}</ref>

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===Diet===

[[File:Green Sea Turtle grazing seagrass.jpg|thumb|left|Green sea turtle grazing on seagrass]] The diet of green turtles changes with age.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|url = http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/19395/1/19395_Arthur_et_al_2008.pdf|title = Ontogenetic Changes in Diet and Habitat Use in Green Sea Turtle (''Chelonia mydas'') Life History|last1 = Arthur|first1 = Karen|date = June 30, 2008|journal = Mar Ecol Prog Ser|doi = 10.3354/meps07440|access-date = Dec 20, 2015|last2 = Boyle|first2 = Michelle|last3 = Limpus|first3 = Colin|volume=362|pages=303–311|bibcode = 2008MEPS..362..303A|doi-access = free}}</ref> Juveniles are carnivorous, but as they mature they become omnivorous.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=On the Trail of Sea Turtles|last=Devaux|first=Bernard|publisher=Barron's Nature Travel Guides|year=2000|isbn=978-0-7641-1162-4|location=Paris, France|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ontrailofseaturt00deva}}</ref> Young sea turtles eat [[fish]] and their [[egg]]s, [[Aplysia|sea hare]] eggs, [[hydrozoan]]s, [[bryozoan]]s, [[molluscs]], [[jellyfish]], small [[invertebrates]], [[echinoderm]]s, [[tunicate]]s, [[insect]]s, [[worm]]s, [[sponge]]s, [[algae]], [[Seagrass|sea grass]]es, [[leaves]], tree [[Bark (botany)|bark]], and [[crustacean]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title=On the Trail of Sea Turtles|last=Devaux|first=Bernard|publisher=Barron's Nature Travel Guides|year=2000|isbn=978-0-7641-1162-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ontrailofseaturt00deva}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Chelonia_mydas/ | title=Chelonia mydas (Green Turtle) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reptilesofecuador.com/chelonia_mydas.html|title=Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)|website=www.reptilesofecuador.com}}</ref> Green sea turtles have a relatively slow growth rate because of the low nutritional value of their diet. [[Body fat]] turns green because of the consumed [[vegetation]].<ref name=":5" /> This diet shift has an effect on the green turtle's skull morphology.<ref>http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/amphibians-reptiles-and-fish/sea-turtles/green-sea-turtle.aspxNishizawa{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, H., M. Asahara, N. Kamezaki, and N. Arai. 2010. Differences in the skull morphology between juvenile and adult green turtles: implications for the ontogenetic diet shift. Current Herpetology 29(2): 97–101. [http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3105/018.029.0205?journalCode=jche]</ref> Their serrated jaw helps them chew green and red algae (such as filamentous red alga (''[[Bostrychia (alga)|Bostrychia]]''), red moss (''Caloglossa''), freshwater red algae (''[[Compsopogon]]''), lobster horns (''[[Polysiphonia]]''), sea lettuce (''[[Ulva lactuca]]''), green seaweed (''[[Gayralia]]''), and crinkle grass (''[[Rhizoclonium]]'')) and sea grasses.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Amphibians-Reptiles-and-Fish/Sea-Turtles/Green-Sea-Turtle.aspx|title=Green Sea Turtle|website=National Wildlife Federation}}</ref> They also consume large quantities of wetland plants such as ''[[Avicennia]] schaueriana'' and ''[[Sporobolus alterniflorus]]'', which are commonly found in salt marshes.<ref name="auto"/> Most adult sea turtles are strictly herbivorous.<ref name=":5" />

===Predators and parasites===

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Mating behaviour is similar to other marine turtles. Female turtles control the process. A few populations practice [[Polyandry in animals|polyandry]], although this does not seem to benefit hatchlings.<ref name="Lee2004">{{cite journal |last =Lee |first =Patricia L. M. |author-link =Patricia L. M. Lee |author2=[[Graeme Hays|Graeme C. Hays]] |title =Polyandry in a marine turtle: Females make the best of a bad job |journal =Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume =101 |issue =17 |pages =6530–6535 |date =April 27, 2004 |doi =10.1073/pnas.0307982101|pmid =15096623 |pmc =404079|bibcode =2004PNAS..101.6530L |doi-access =free }}</ref> After mating in the water, the female moves above the beach's high tide line, where she digs a hole {{convert|11|–|22|in|cm|order=flip}} in depth with her hind flippers and deposits her eggs. The hole is then covered up again.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|title=Turtles of the World|last=Bonin|first=Franck|publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore|year=2006|isbn=978-0-8018-8496-2|location=Baltimore, Maryland|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/turtlesofworld0000boni}}</ref> Clutch size ranges between 85 and 200, depending on the age of the female. This process takes about an hour to an hour and a half. After the nest is completely covered, she returns to the sea. The female will do this 3 to 5 times in one season.<ref name=":4" />

The eggs are round and white, and about {{convert|45|mm|abbr=on}} in diameter. The hatchlings remain buried for days until they all emerge together at night.<ref name=":6" /> The temperature of the nest [[temperature-dependent sex determination|determines the sex]] of the turtles at around the 20–40 day mark. Green Sea Turtles are type 1a, meaning males develop at cooler temperatures while females are produced under hot temperatures.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Standora |first1=Edward A |last2=Spotila |first2=James R. |title="Temperature dependent sex determination in sea turtles" |journal=Copeia |date=1985 |issue=3 |pages=711–722|doi=10.2307/1444765 |jstor=1444765 }}</ref><ref>Spotila, J. R. (2004). Sea turtles: a complete guide to their biology, behavior, and conservation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.</ref> At around 50 to 70 days,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Green turtle|url = http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/marine_turtles/green_turtle/|website = wwf.panda.org|access-date = 2015-10-19}}</ref> the eggs hatch during the night, and the hatchlings [[instinct]]ively head directly into the water. This is the most dangerous time in a turtle's life. As they walk, predators, such as [[gull]]s and [[crab]]s, feed on them. A significant percentage never make it to the ocean. Little is known of the initial life history of newly hatched sea turtles.<ref name="FWS"/> Juveniles spend three to five years in the open ocean before they settle as still-immature juveniles into their permanent shallow-water lifestyle.<ref name="Reich2007"/><ref name="LS20070918"/> It is speculated that they take twenty to fifty years to reach [[sexual maturity]]. Individuals live up to eighty years in the wild.<ref name="NGeo"/> It is estimated that only 1% of hatchlings reach sexual maturity.

Each year on [[Ascension Island]] in the [[South Atlantic]], ''C. mydas'' females create 6,000 to 25,000 nests. They are among the largest green turtles in the world; many are more than {{convert|1|m}} in length and weigh up to {{convert|300|kg|lb}}.<ref name="AscensionGT">{{cite web |last =Fowler |first =Stephen |title =About The Green Turtle on Ascension |work =Turtles |publisher =Ascension Island Heritage Society |date =April 21, 2002 |url =http://www.heritage.org.ac/HS2right.htm |access-date =September 16, 2007 |archive-date =October 30, 2007 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071030074741/http://www.heritage.org.ac/HS2right.htm |url-status =dead }}</ref>

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== Unique characteristics and features ==

Green sea turtles can reach up to 40 miles per hour when swimming, making them the fastest sea turtle.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meylan |first1=Peter A. |last2=Meylan |first2=Anne B. |last3=Gray |first3=Jennifer A. |title=The ecology and migrations of sea turtles 8. Tests of the developmental habitat hypothesis. |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |date=2011 |volume=357 |pages=1–70|doi=10.1206/357.1 }}</ref> The green sea turtles exhibit sex differences by their development and appearance. As adult turtles, males are easily distinguishable from the females by having a longer tail (visibly extending past the shell) and longer claws on the front flippers. The hatching time and sex of the turtles are determined by the incubation temperature of the nest. Hatchings occur more quickly in nests that are warmer than nests that are in cooler conditions. Warm nesting sites above 30 degrees Celsius favor the development of females, whereas nesting sites below 30 degrees Celsius produce males. The position of the egg in the nest also affects sex-determination. Eggs in the center tend to hatch as females due to the warmer conditions within the nest.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Spotila|first=J.|year=2004|title=Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation|location=Baltimore, MD|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press}}</ref>

Green sea turtles play an essential role in the ecosystem in which they live. In the seagrass beds, the turtles feed on the seagrass by trimming only the top and leaving the roots of the plant. Through their feeding technique, the turtles help to improve the health and growth of the seagrass beds. The healthy seagrass beds that the turtles provide give habitat and feeding grounds for many species of fish and crustaceans. On the nesting beaches, the green sea turtles provide key nutrients for the ecosystem through their hatched egg shells. In their coral reef habitat, the green sea turtles have a [[Symbiosis|symbiotic interaction]] with reef fish, including the yellow tang. The yellow tang fish swims along with the turtle and feeds on the algae, barnacles, and parasites on its shell and flippers. This species interaction provides food for the yellow tang and provides a necessary cleaning and smoothing of the turtle's shell. This cleaning helps the turtles swim by reducing the amount of drag and improves their health.<ref name=":3" />

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|publisher=National Geographic News

|date=November 9, 2010

|access-date=November 9, 2010}}</ref> [[effluent]] from [[harbor]]s near nesting sites may create disturbances; and [[light pollution]] may disorient hatchlings. With chemical pollution present, there is a development of tar balls that is often eaten by green sea turtles in a confusion of their food. Tar balls cause the green sea turtle to ~~intake~~ingest toxins that can block their guts~~, displace the liver~~ and ~~intestines causing~~cause swelling of the tissue, displacing the liver and intestines.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shigenaka |first1=Gary |last2=Milton |first2=Sarah |last3=Lutz |first3=Peter |last4=Shigenaka |first4=Gary |last5=Hoff |first5=Rebecca Z. |last6=Yender |first6=Ruth A. |last7=Mearns |first7=Alan J. |title=Oil and Sea Turtles: Biology, Planning, and Response |date=1 August 2003 |publisher=U.S. Department Of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |location=Florida |doi=10.13140/2.1.1774.0486 |pages=35–46 |edition=1 |url=https://www.reefrelief.org/wp-content/uploads/oil-turtle1.pdf |access-date=26 March 2021}}</ref> Habitat loss usually occurs due to human development of nesting areas. Beach-front construction, land "reclamation" and increased tourism are examples of such development.<ref name="NGeo"/><ref name="WildlifeofPakistan"/> An infectious [[tumor]]-causing disease, [[Turtle fibropapillomatosis|fibropapillomatosis]], is also a problem in some populations. The disease kills a sizeable fraction of those it infects, though some individuals seem to resist the disease.<ref name="Glick2005Smithsonian"/><ref name="Herbst2000">{{cite journal |last =Herbst |first =Lawrence H. |title =Marine Turtle Fibropapillomatosis: Hope Floats in a Sea of Ignorance |journal =Proceedings of the 19th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Conservation and Biology |volume =19 |pages = 39–40 |date=September 2000 |id =NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-443}}</ref><ref name="Moncade2000">{{cite journal |last =Moncada |first =Felix |author2=Adela Prieto |title =Incidence of Fibropapillomas in the Green Turtle (''Chelonia mydas'') in Cuban Waters |journal =Proceedings of the 19th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Conservation and Biology |volume =19 |pages = 40–41 |date=September 2000 |id =NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SEFSC-443}}</ref> In addition, at least in the Southwestern Atlantic (Río de la Plata, Uruguay), exotic invasive species such as the rapa whelk [[Rapana venosa]], were reported massively bio-fouling immature green turtles, reducing buoyancy, increasing drag, and causing severe injuries to the carapace.<ref>Lezama, C., Carranza, A., Fallabrino, A., Estrades, A., Scarabino, F., & López-Mendilaharsu, M. (2013). Unintended backpackers: bio-fouling of the invasive gastropod Rapana venosa on the green turtle ''Chelonia mydas'' in the Río de la Plata Estuary, Uruguay. Biological invasions, 15(3), 483–487</ref> Because of these threats, many populations are in a vulnerable state.

[[File:Chelonia mydas (poached).jpg|thumb|right|A poached green turtle in [[Costa Rica]]]]

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The [[Mediterranean]] population is listed as critically endangered.<ref name="NGeo"/><ref name="MCSgreen"/> The eastern Pacific, Hawaiian and Southern California subpopulations are designated threatened. Specific Mexican subpopulations are listed as endangered. The Florida population is listed as endangered. The [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] has labeled populations in Pakistan as "rare and declining".<ref name="MTNGroombridge"/>

Since 1999, ~~The~~the [[Florida Aquarium]] has led extensive sea turtle rehabilitation efforts and visitor and community education & conservation platforms to advance sea turtle protection. Over a 20-year period, the ~~Aquarium~~aquarium received 200 sea turtles, and while not all could be ~~deemed releasable~~released due to the nature of their injuries or illnesses, 180 were successfully released. In 2019, they opened a state-of-the-art Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center in [[Apollo Beach]], Florida. In the first year, The Florida Aquarium Animal Response Team managed the care of 21 sea turtles, initiated new foraging-readiness testing for release candidates in deep-dive tank, and released 14 animals. In 2020, they also initiated a study to better understand how micro-plastics are impacting the sea turtles in their care. In 2016, [[Florida]] enacted extensive protection measures. Florida ~~Statutes~~statutes (F.A.C. Rule 68E-1) restrict the take, possession, disturbance, mutilation, destruction, selling, transference, molestation, and harassment of marine turtles, nests or eggs. Protection is also afforded to marine turtle habitat. A specific authorization from ~~Commission~~commission staff is required to conduct scientific, conservation, or educational activities that directly involve marine turtles in or collected from [[Florida]], their nests, hatchlings or parts thereof, regardless of applicant's possession of any federal permit.

In the State of [[Hawaii]], specifically on the Island of Hawai'i (Hawaii County), state representative [[Faye Hanohano]], a Native Hawaiian rights activist, pressed for a measure to delist ''C. mydas'' from protected status so that Native Hawaiians could legally harvest the turtles and possibly their eggs as well. The bill, HCR14, was largely overlooked by the media since at that point it was only a local issue. While the bill was passed in the [[United States House of Representatives]], the [[United States Senate|United States Senate's]] Committee on Energy and Environment refused to hear it, which meant that the bill did not go on to be heard by the Senate.<ref name=bill>{{cite web|last=Callis |first=Tom |url=https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2013/04/04/hawaii-news/turtle-report-months-away/ |title=Turtle report months away |website=Hawaii Tribune Herald |date=4 April 2013 |access-date=25 March 2017}}</ref>

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In the Atlantic, conservation initiatives have centered around Caribbean nesting sites. The Tortuguero nesting beaches in [[Costa Rica]] have been the subject of egg-collection limits since the 1950s. The [[Tortuguero National Park]] was formally established in 1976, in part, to protect that region's nesting grounds.<ref name="Bjorndal1999CostaRica"/> On [[Ascension Island]], which contains some of the most important nesting beaches, an active conservation program has been implemented.<ref name="AscensionConservation">{{cite web |title =Ascension Conservation |work =Ascension Conservation, Wildlife |publisher =Ascension Conservation |year =2007 |url =http://www.ascensionconservation.org.ac/wildlife.htm |access-date =September 16, 2007 |url-status =dead |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070928054657/http://www.ascensionconservation.org.ac/wildlife.htm |archive-date =September 28, 2007 }}</ref> Karumbé has been monitoring foraging and developmental areas of juvenile green turtles in Uruguay since 1999.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.karumbe.org/|title=Karumbé | Centro de Tortugas marinas|website=www.karumbe.org}}</ref>

In Mozambique, there are a number of initiatives to protect sea turtles. In the [[Primeiras and Segundas Archipelago|Primeiras e Segundas]], [[World Wildlife Fund|WWF]] Mozambique has established a turtle tagging and protection program. The ~~archipelego~~archipelago is a vital nesting area for green turtles, including [[Ilha do Fogo, Mozambique|Ilha do Fogo]] where Fire Island Conservation<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fire Island Conservation {{!}} Saving Sea Turtles |url=https://fireislandconservation.com/saving-sea-turtles/ |website=Fire Island Conservation|date=23 October 2023 }}</ref> manage a turtle monitoring programme, and at Celdeira Island, where several nesting females have been tagged.

[[Cayman Turtle Farm]] located in Grand Cayman in the northwest Caribbean Sea is the first farm to have achieved the second generation of green sea turtles bred, laid, hatched, and raised in captivity.<ref>{{cite web|title=History: 1989|url=http://www.turtle.ky/history-history|publisher=Cayman Turtle Farm|access-date=April 9, 2012|archive-date=June 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612155633/http://www.turtle.ky/history-history|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since its beginning in 1968, the farm has released over 31,000 turtles into the wild,<ref name="Turtle release set"/> and each year more captive-bred turtles are released into the [[Caribbean Sea]] from beaches around the island of [[Grand Cayman]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Fuller|first=Brent|title=Little turtles swimming for it|url=http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2011/11/18/Little-turtles-swimming-for-it/|newspaper=Caymanian Compass|date=November 18, 2011|access-date=April 9, 2012|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205753/http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2011/11/18/Little-turtles-swimming-for-it/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Captive-bred turtles released from the farm as hatchlings or yearlings with "living tags," have now begun to return to nest on Grand Cayman as adults.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bell|first=Catherine|author2=Parsons J |author3=Austin TJ |author4=Broderick AC |author5=Ebanks-Petrie G |author6=Godley GJ |title=Some of them came home: the Cayman Turtle Farm headstarting project for the green turtle ''Chelonia mydas''|journal=Oryx|date=25 April 2005|volume=39|pages=137–148|doi=10.1017/S0030605305000372|issue=2|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Connolly|first=Norma|title=More turtles nesting in Cayman|url=http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2011/06/02/More-turtles-nesting-in-Cayman/|newspaper=Caymanian Compass|date=June 2, 2011|quote=five turtles with tags from the Cayman Turtle Farm were observed nesting on Seven Mile Beach|access-date=April 9, 2012|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205749/http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2011/06/02/More-turtles-nesting-in-Cayman/|url-status=dead}}</ref> On February 19, 2012 the farm released the first 2nd-generation captive-bred green sea turtle equipped with a Position Tracking Transponder, or PTT<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=112227&full=1|title=seaturtle.org - Satellite Tracking|website=www.seaturtle.org}}</ref> (also known as a satellite tag).<ref>{{cite web|title=Cayman Turtle Farm Green Sea Turtle Releases|url=http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=112227|publisher=SeaTurtle.org|access-date=April 9, 2012|author=Cayman Turtle Farm}}</ref> In addition, the farm provides turtle meat products to the local population for whom turtle has been part of the traditional cuisine for centuries. In so doing, the farm curtails the incentive to take turtles from the wild,<ref>{{cite news|last=Brammer|first=Jeff|title=What if the turtle farm went belly up?|url=http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/blogs/whatifcolumn/What-if-the-turtle-farm-went-belly-up-/|newspaper=Caymanian Compass|date=October 16, 2011|quote=presenting disincentives to poachers due to the commercial availability of turtle meat|access-date=April 9, 2012|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205911/http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/blogs/whatifcolumn/What-if-the-turtle-farm-went-belly-up-/|url-status=dead}}</ref> which over the years in addition to the Cayman Turtle Farm's release of captive-bred turtles has enabled an increase in the number of turtles sighted in the waters around the island of [[Grand Cayman]] and nesting on its beaches.<ref>{{cite news|last=Connolly|first=Norma|title=More turtles nesting in Cayman|url=http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2011/06/02/More-turtles-nesting-in-Cayman|newspaper=Caymanian Compass|date=June 2, 2011|quote=(Quoted Ebanks-Petrie, Gina and Blumenthal, Janice of Department of the Environment, Cayman Islands)|access-date=April 9, 2012|archive-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923205749/http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2011/06/02/More-turtles-nesting-in-Cayman/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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[[Category:Species endangered by habitat loss]]

[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]

[[Category:Habitats Directive ~~Species~~species]]

[[Category:Fauna of Christmas Island]]