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Sea Turtles Benefiting From Protected Areas

By Guest PostMay 5, 2013Naturealgae, andrew crowder, atris, benthic habitat, carolina, coral reefs, data, dave zawada, dry tortugas, endangered, florida, florida keys, georeferenced, green sea turtle, habitat, hawaii, herbivorous, invertebrates, jellyfish, kaare iverson, kristen hart, national park, protected areas, puerto rico, research ecologist, sea turtle habitat, sea turtles, seafloor, seagrasses, synergistic approach, U.S. Geological Survey, underwater camera system, usgs, vegetarian, virgin islands

Study Offers First Look at Green Sea Turtle Habitat Use in the Dry Tortugas

DRY TORTUGAS, Fla. – Nesting green sea turtles are benefiting from marine protected areas by using habitats found within their boundaries, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study that is the first to track the federally protected turtles in Dry Tortugas National Park.

Green turtles are listed as endangered in Florida and threatened throughout the rest of their range, and the habits of green sea turtles after their forays to nest on beaches in the Southeast U.S. have long remained a mystery. Until now, it was not clear whether the turtles made use of existing protected areas, and few details were available as to whether they were suited for supporting the green sea turtle’s survival. (more…)

Light Pollution Transforming Insect Communities

Street lighting is transforming communities of insects and other invertebrates, according to research by the University of Exeter.

Published in the journal Biology Letters, the study shows for the first time that the balance of different species living together is being radically altered as a result of light pollution in our towns and cities.

Believed to be increasing by six per cent a year globally, artificial lighting is already known to affect individual organisms, but this is the first time that its impact on whole communities has been investigated.

This study shows that groups of invertebrates living near to artificial lights include more predators and scavengers. This could be impacting on the survival rates of different species, having a knock-on effect on birds and mammals that rely on these species for food. The effects could be affecting entire ecosystems and even humans. (more…)

Tag Archives: invertebrates

Sea Turtles Benefiting From Protected Areas

Light Pollution Transforming Insect Communities