Dear Friends--
This is our last loggerhead report for the season, and we hope you have enjoyed tracking and learning about the loggerheads.
Our Thanks To Dr. Standora and the Loggerheads!
We want to send our special thanks to our Journey North expert Dr. Ed
Standora for sharing his data and knowledge on the loggerhead sea turtles.
Dr. Standora's migration studies are very important to the conservation of
loggerheads,and we are very lucky to have him as part of Journey North.
We also want to thank all the loggerheads who swam with transmitters so that we could "ride along" during their migration--we really learned alot!
Navigating Back to the Natal Nest
A few weeks ago, we learned what amazing divers the loggerheads are. But
there is something else they do which is even more amazing! Scientists
believe that when a female loggerhead turtle is old enough to mate and lay
eggs, she will find her way back from hundreds and even thousands of miles
away to the same beach that she was hatched on. This is called her "natal
beach".
How Does She Find Her Way?
No one knows for sure how a loggerhead navigates, but lately scientists
believe that the turtles have a type of internal compass that tells them
where they are on earth by picking up magnetic signals from the Earth, just
like a compass. This is called "geomagnetic navigation",and some scientists
think the turtles do this because of some traces of a magnetic substance
called "magnetite" that is found in their brain tissues.
Smell Her Way Home?
The turtles may also use other senses to guide them such as navigating by
the stars or sun, following smells and tastes in the water, and even
sensing unique waves and currents in the ocean.
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Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
We didn't receive many Environmental Impact Statement letters from you, but
we can't extend the deadline because this is the last loggerhead update for
this year. Thanks to Kathy Clark's class in Alaska for sending in their
response, which we have put at the base of this report. So that you can
still see the ideas of an EIS, we have put a short example below for you.
Notice that the EIS tries to consider both sides of the issue.
Example--Environmental Impact Statement
"Dear City Planners--We have looked at the Turtle Towers and think there
are two sides to this story. On the one hand, there could be some benefit
to the city because the new hotel would bring new jobs for people in the
community. On the other hand, though, the hotel could put the loggerheads
in danger because it will disturb most of their nesting areas. If they
don't have anywhere to lay their eggs, their population would be decreased
and this is not wise because they are already threatened. Conserving the
turtles is very important, and the hotel should not be allowed to be built
unless it can be done without disturbing the nesting beach. Some ways to
protect the turtles but still build the hotel would be to:
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Longtime Legends--Let's Keep It That Way!
Turtles have been on earth for millions of years, and over this time they
have become part of many legends in Native American culture. These legends
are discused in the book "Keepers of the Animals" by Michael Caduto and
Joseph Bruchac. In some Native American legends, the continent of North
America is known as "Turtle Island" or "Earth on Turtle's Back." The
legend says that long ago, before the Earth was created, everything was
under water. To make Earth, some animals dove under the water to bring up
dirt, but when they got back up there was nothing to put the dirt on. In
the legend, a Great Turtle swims to the surface and tells the animals to
put the dirt on its back, and this is what the animals built the Earth on.
Another legend about the turtle focuses on the thirteen plates on some turtle's shells. In some legends, the plates represent thirteen moons or 13 nations of Abenaki cultures. The legends say that the turtle's shell was made this way to remind us that all things in the natural world are interconnected.
Finally,the turtle is also seen as a sign of long life in some Native American legends. Yet today, we know the turtles are facing many threats to their survival. We hope that the legend of long life will soon be true again for the loggerheads and other sea turtles.
Learn More About It!
To learn more about the loggerheads and what needs to be done to help their
future, you can look at the Webpage for
Caribbean Conservation
Corporation's Sea Turtle Survival League
Also, take a look at the Related Resource area on the Journey North loggerhead sea turtle page for additional resources like books, a turtle rap song, a turtle CD and information about a consumer program on turtle-safe shrimp.
Thank you all for tracking the travels of our loggerheads and working so hard on answering the challenge questions too. We hope you enjoyed learning about these magnificient turtles, and that you will help to protect and conserve them if you can.
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Response to Challenge Question # 112:
From ALASKA:
I think it will infect it the turtles. Wen they get the eggs and their wont
hardly any turtles in the Ocean. Ithink that turtle towers will not effect the
other animals exept the big ones.
Kathy Clark (kclark@kpbsd.k12.ak.us)
This is the FINAL Loggerhead Sea Turtle Migration Udpate
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