sun, sand and sea turtles - duke university

ABSTRACT

During a 3-month internship on the Caribbean island of Nevis this past summer (2006), I devel-oped a summer camp for local children, “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” sponsored and supervised by the Department of Fisheries, a local non-profit organization (Nevis Turtle Group, NTG), and the Wider Car-ibbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST). The camp was initiated as a collaboration be-tween the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis and NTG. The success of the summer camp program became the inspiration for my master’s project. The specific objective of my master’s project was to produce a detailed (and ultimately multilingual, English, Spanish, French) curriculum guide for the “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” program, including all necessary resources to successfully implement a week-long sum-mer camp focused on the basic biology, contemporary threats (both man-made and natural), and con-servation issues that relate to sea turtles in the Caribbean Sea. “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” has been designed as a 15-hour camp organized over five consecutive days and the intended age range is 9-15 years. At the end of the five days, the students receive Course Completion Certificates stating that they have successfully completed the camp and are now Junior Members of a local natural resource agency or conservation group, with whom a partnership had been established by the Instructor beforehand. Upon completion, the Guide will be repatriated to Nevis, where it was conceived, and also distributed through-out the Caribbean region through the efforts of WIDECAST. As a result of educating Nevisian youth, the NTG saw an elevated island-wide interest in sea turtle conservation, including increased participation of local adults in nighttime beach monitoring. With this in mind, I anticipate that “Sun, Sand and Sea Tur-tles” will enhance sea turtle conservation programs in Nevis, as well as inspire similar efforts throughout the Caribbean region and beyond. _________________________________________________________________

INTRODUCTION

Historically, the Caribbean Sea was home to an inestimatable number of sea tur-tles. Contemporary sea turtle populations are severely depleted from what they were even a century ago. In addition to direct harvest for their meat, eggs, shell, skin and oil, sea turtles are often accidentally caught in active or abandoned fishing gear. Other human induced threats, such as pollution and marine debris, coastal development and ocean-based tourism, have damaged or eliminated many Caribbean nesting beaches and feeding grounds (Eckert and Honebrink 1992, Gulko and Eckert, 2004 ).

While cooperative and collaborative action between Caribbean islands is crucial

to the survival of migratory marine species, including sea turtles, conservation is most often undertaken at a local level. In order for communities to take action and to ensure that these actions are rooted in the principles of sustainable use (whether that use is consumptive or non-consumptive), natural resource managers and residents alike must become more literate in the complexities of sea turtle biology and management issues. Because sea turtle conservation is a long-term challenge, it is important to edu-cate those who will be accountable for the resolution of this problem in the future: our youth.

OBJECTIVE

At the request of the Nevis Department of Fisheries, I was invited to the island to assist with the establishment of a Sea Turtle Conservation Program during the sum-mer of 2006. The goal of the Sea Turtle Conservation Program was to involve local communities in conservation efforts aimed at ensuring that sea turtles will survive to meet the needs of present and future generations. A major objective of the Conserva-tion Program was to develop a public education program on Nevis, a small island in the Eastern Caribbean, which can be adapted for use in neighboring islands. As a certified environmental educator, this mission genuinely appealed to me.

During a 3-month internship on the island this past summer (2006), I devel-

oped a summer camp for local children, “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” sponsored and supervised by the Department of Fisheries, a local non-profit organization (Nevis Tur-tle Group, NTG), and the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST). The camp was initiated as a collaboration between the Four Seasons Re-sort in Nevis and NTG. The success of the summer camp program became the inspira-tion for my master’s project.

What became clear during my internship was that opportunities to reach active

youth with a positive and informed conservation message relevant to their lives were widely available during summer camps and other youth programs, both rural and ur-ban, but a lack of curriculum materials suited to these settings meant that these oppor-tunities were routinely lost.

My goal was to fill this need with a researched and academically rigorous sylla-

bus incorporating crafts and other hands-on activities through nonformal environmen-

tal education. Nonformal environmental education is defined as education about the environment that takes place at nonformal settings such as parks, zoos, nature centers, community centers, youth camps, etc., rather than in a classroom or school. Simply stated, it is any organized educational activity about the environment that takes place outside the formal education system (NAAEE, 2006).

The specific objective of my master’s project was to produce a detailed (and ulti-

mately multilingual) curriculum guide for the “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” program, including all necessary resources to successfully implement a week-long summer camp focused on the basic biology, contemporary threats (both man-made and natural), and conservation issues that relate to sea turtles in the Caribbean Sea. The intended age range is 9-15 years.

In partnership with WIDECAST, the guide will be translated and made available

in both print and electronic formats to any interested party, allowing “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” to be replicated throughout the Caribbean region and beyond.

METHODS

“Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” has been designed as a 15-hour camp organized over five consecutive days. Each day focuses on a particular topic of sea turtle biology and/or conservation, as follows: Day 1: Introduction to Sea Turtles Day 2: Turtle Tracks and Nesting Behavior Day 3: Natural Threats to Sea Turtle Survival Day 4: Human Associated Threats to Sea Turtle Survival Day 5: How People can Help Sea Turtles

Each day begins with a craft or game that introduces the topic. Lesson plans for each activity are included in the Guide. The lesson plans have been designed to provide instructions on how to implement the game(s) or craft(s) that relate specifically to the topic of the day.

The first page of each lesson plan provides the following information: prepara-

tion and activity times, materials needed, setting, subject areas that the lesson plan cor-relates to, skills and vocabulary, as well as a summary of the activity, the objectives and the procedure for implementing the activity. Detailed step-by-step instructions are provided with each activity. Optional extension activities are also included. All neces-sary cards, game pieces, fact sheets, etc. are included in the Guide.

A 30-45 minute PowerPoint presentation provides comprehensive and photo-illustrated background information for each topic, and imparts knowledge necessary for the successful completion of the day’s activities. All PowerPoint presentations are provided on a CD included with the Guide, along with a complete narration for each presentation.

Additional activities, including a number of outdoor and indoor options, follow

the PowerPoint presentation to reinforce the day’s lesson through hands-on participa-tion. Each day concludes with a review of the material and a written evaluation of the day by each student. At the end of the five days, the students receive Course Comple-tion Certificates stating that they have successfully completed the camp and are now Junior Members of a local natural resource agency or conservation group, with whom a partnership had been established by the Instructor beforehand.

RESULTS

A total of 80 Nevisian children successfully completed the “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtle” program in the summer of 2006. Each participant was pronounced a Junior Member of the Nevis Turtle Group (NTG) . As a result of educating Nevisian youth, the NTG saw an elevated island-wide interest in sea turtle conservation, including in-creased participation of local adults in nighttime beach monitoring.

It is clear that programs like “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles”, implemented in ways

that challenge youth to creatively consider their role in local ecological and policy is-sues, have the potential to increase public awareness of conservation issues – among both youth and their families – which is the first step toward successfully and sustaina-bly managing natural resources, including endangered sea turtles. Another significant accomplishment of this project was that it was a unique collaborative effort between business (Four Seasons Resort), Government, national (NTG) and international (WIDECAST) NGOs, and local communities and provided a model for similar collabo-rations in the future.

A detailed and multilingual (English, Spanish, French) curriculum guide will be the final result of my master’s project. The guide will be repatriated to Nevis, where it was conceived, and also distributed throughout the Caribbean region through the ef-forts of WIDECAST. The Guide will be available in hard copy, as well as in electronic format at www.widecast.org/educators, along with a number of other resources for Caribbean teachers and non-traditional educators (e.g. hotel- and park-based summer camp counselors). With this in mind, I anticipate that “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” will enhance sea turtle conservation programs in Nevis, as well as inspire similar efforts throughout the Caribbean region and beyond.

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

American Forest Foundation. 2003. Project Learning Tree: Environmental Education PreK-8 Activity Guide. Bozeman, Montana. Anon. 2004. Project Wet Curriculum and Activity Guide. The Watercourse, Montana State University. Bland, S. 2001. Sea Turtle Trek. Hammocks Beach State Park. Swansboro, North Carolina. Council for Environmental Education (ed.). 1992. Aquatic Project Wild K-12 Activity Guide. Project Wild, USA. Crutchfiled, Fran. 1993. Tracks in the Sand. Jockey’s Ridge State Park. Nags Head, North Carolina. Eckert, KL (ed.) et al. 1999. Research and Management Techniques for the conservation of Sea turtles, IUCN.SSC. Marine Turtle Specialist Group Publication no. 4. Eckert, KL and TD Honebrink. 1992. WIDECAST Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for St. Kitts and Nevis. CEP Tech. Report No. 17. UNEP Caribbean Environment Pro gramme, Kingston, Jamaica. Xiii + 116 pp. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2002. Sea Turtle Conservation Guide lines. http://myfwc.com/seaturtle/Guidelines/MarineTurtleGuidleines.htm Gulko, DA and Eckert KL. 2004. Sea Turtles: An Ecological Guide. Mutual Publishing, Hono lulu, HI. 128 pp. Harold, Sera and Karen L. Eckert. 2005. Endangered Caribbean Sea Turtles: An Educator’s Handbook. Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) Technical Report 3. Beaufort , North Carolina. 176pp. Lutz, PL and Musick, JA. 1997. The Biology of Sea Turtles. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. Lutz, PL, John A. Musick, and Jeanette Wyneken. 2003. The Biology of Sea Turtles Volume II. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. North American Association of Environmental Educators. 2006. Nonformal Enviromental Education Programs: Guidelines for Excellence. <http://www.naaee.orgprograms- and-initiatives/guidelines-for-excellence/materials-guidelines/nonformal-guidelines>. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and North Carolina Division of Marine Fisher ies. 2000. North Carolina Project CATCH. Division of Conservation Education. Ra leigh, North Carolina. Population Connection Education Program. Washington, DC. Ripple, J. 1996. Sea Turtles. Voyageur Press, Inc. Vancouver, B.C. Spotila, JR. 2004. Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to their Biology and Conservation. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.

Notice: This Guide is a pre-print copy. Field tests are ongoing and final minor changes have yet to be made. The project itself is quite complete, but if you would like to use any part of the Guide, please access a final copy from the WIDECAST website http://www.widecast.org or re-quest a hard copy from WIDECAST: Dr. Karen L. Eckert Director, WIDECAST 135 Duke Marine Lab Road Beaufort, NC 28516 Email: [email protected] Alicia B. Marin Public Outreach Educator Georgia Sea Turtle Center 100 James Road Jekyll Island, GA 31527 Email: [email protected]

Marin (2007) Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles WIDECAST Technical Report 8

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Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles: Inspiring Caribbean Youth through

Nonformal Education

Alicia B. Marin

WIDECAST Technical Report No. 8 2007


Front Cover: Photo by Alicia B. Marin For bibliographic purposes, this document may be cited as: Marin, Alicia B. 2007. Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles: Inspiring Caribbean Youth through Nonformal Education (Karen L. Eckert, Editor). Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conser-vation Network (WIDECAST) Technical Report 8. Beaufort, NC. 145pp. Copies of this publication may be obtained from: WIDECAST 135 Duke Marine Lab Road Beaufort, North Carolina 28516 Phone: (252) 727-1600 Fax: +1 252 504 7648 Email: [email protected] [email protected]


Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles: Inspiring Caribbean Youth through

Nonformal Education

Alicia B. Marin

Karen L. Eckert, Editor

A project sponsored by:


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PREFACE AND INTENT

Historically, the Caribbean Sea was home to an inestimatable number of sea tur-tles. Contemporary sea turtle populations are severely depleted from what they were even a century ago. In addition to direct harvest for their meat, eggs, shell, skin and oil, sea turtles are often accidentally caught in active or abandoned fishing gear. Other human induced threats, such as pollution and marine debris, coastal development and ocean-based tourism, have damaged or eliminated many Caribbean nesting beaches and feeding grounds.

During the summer of 2005, I participated in Dr. Karen and Scott Eckert’s Sea

Turtle Biology and Conservation course at the Duke University Marine Laboratory. It was here that I established a relationship with Lemme Pemberton, a Fisheries Develop-ment Officer and president of the Nevis Turtle Group. As a result, and at the request of the Nevis Department of Fisheries, I was invited to assist with the establishment of a Sea Turtle Conservation Program during the summer of 2006. At the request of the Ne-vis Department of Fisheries, I was invited to the island to assist with the establishment of a Sea Turtle Conservation Program during the summer of 2006.

The Sea Turtle Conservation Program seeks to involve local communities in con-

servation efforts aimed at ensuring that sea turtles will survive to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Four Seasons Resort, a 5 star international hotel chain located in Nevis approached the Nevis Turtle Group in 2006 with the desire to contribute to the Conservation Program by providing some type of “sea turtle related” activity for local children. As a certified environmental educator, this idea genuinely appealed to me and I was able to collaborate with the hotel in the design of such an ac-tivity as part of my internship.

This collaboration led me to develop a sea turtle camp for local children! The

camp was initiated as a partnership between the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis and the Nevis Turtle Group. The Resort generously donated refreshments, a location to host the camp, and waived all registration fees. The camp was originally intended to run for 3 weeks, and due to popular demand, I extended it for an extra session!

What became clear to me over the course of the summer was that opportunities

to reach active youth with a positive and informed conservation message relevant to their lives were widely available in the form of summer camps and other youth pro-grams, both rural and urban, but a lack of curriculum materials suited to these settings meant that these opportunities were being lost. My goal was to fill this need with a re-searched and academically rigorous syllabus incorporating crafts and other hands-on activities designed to meet the needs of nonformal educational settings. Simply stated, nonformal environmental education is any organized educational activity about the en-vironment that takes place outside of a classroom or school.

The success of the summer camp program became the inspiration for my mas-

ter’s project and I titled the program “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles.” The specific object-


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tive of my master’s project was to produce a detailed curriculum guide for the program, including all necessary resources to successfully implement a week-long summer camp. “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” focuses on the basic biology, contemporary threats (man-made and natural), and conservation issues that relate to sea turtles in the Caribbean Sea. Based on comments from my students who wished camp had been longer this past summer, I extended the camp to 5 days instead of 3 and expanded the original curriculum. The intended age range is 9-15 years, although the activities can be adapted to any age. “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” is a 15-hour camp organized over 5 consecutive days. Each day focuses on a particular topic of sea turtle biology or conser-vation.

While cooperative and collaborative action between Caribbean islands is crucial to the survival of migratory marine species, including sea turtles, conservation is most often undertaken at a local level. In order for communities to take action and to ensure that theses actions are rooted in the principles of sustainable use (whether that use is consumptive or non-consumptive), natural resource managers and residents alike must become more literate in the complexities of sea turtle biology and management issues. Because sea turtle conservation is a long-term challenge, it is important to edu-cate those who will be accountable for the resolution of this problem in their future: our youth. The day before I left Nevis, I received a hand written thank you note from one of my students and I was truly impressed with what he wrote. “Now the youth commu-nity can begin to participate in the protection of this wonderful species which strives so hard and barely escapes extinction.” From this statement, it becomes clear that pro-grams like “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles”, implemented in ways that challenge youth to creatively consider their role in local ecological and policy issues, have the potential to increase public awareness of conservation issues – among both youth and their fami-lies. This is the first step toward successfully and sustainably managing natural re-sources. As a result of educating Nevisian youth, the Nevis Turtle Group saw an elevated island-wide interest in sea turtle conservation, including increased participation of lo-cal adults in nighttime beach monitoring. Another significant accomplishment of this project was that it was a unique collaborative effort between business, Government, NGOs and local communities, and as such it provides a model for similar collabora-tions in the future, both in Nevis and elsewhere. As a result, sea turtles and the com-munities that interact with them will benefit. With this in mind, I anticipate that “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” will enhance conservation programs in Nevis, as well as inspire similar efforts throughout the Caribbean region and beyond.

Alicia B. Marin, MEM Duke University

2007


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A great many people, both nationally and internationally, made this project a suc-cess and they all deserve recognition for their contributions. First and foremost, I would like to sincerely thank the children of Nevis, without their enthusiasm this project would have never been possible. I owe my deepest gratitude to my advisors, Drs. Karen and Scott Eckert, for all their guidance and support during the pursuit of my master’s degree. I chose Duke University for the opportunity to work with Karen, and am honored to have had the pleasure of being mentored by the world’s finest sea turtle biologist.

I would also like to thank Captain Arthur Anslyn and the Nevis Department of Fish-eries, for granting me an internship on Nevis, West Indies this past summer. I am forever grateful to Lemme Pemberton and the other members of the Nevis Turtle Group for their willingness to work with a novice sea turtle biologist and share with me their experience and expertise. I would also like to recognize Charles Fisher and the Four Seasons Resort Nevis for sponsoring the camp, donating the facility and refreshments and waiving all reg-istration fees. I would like to sincerely thank Barbara James and the entire Kids for All Seasons staff for their assistance with the preparation and implementation of Sea Turtle Camp. To my fellow “turtle girl” Peri Mason, I extend my sincere gratitude for sharing with me her “field expertise” and being a true friend through a number of difficult situa-tions. I would also like to acknowledge all my Nevisian friends for their hospitality and making the Summer of 2006 unforgettable; Simone, Alice, Miles, Elvan, Jules, Harry, Ellis, Lenox, Barbara Whitman, Andre, Joan and David Robinson, Anastasia, and Desiree

I would like to thank my funding sources, who made my travel and stay in Nevis possible; the Student International Discussion Group, the Environmental Internship Fund and the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network. I would also like to thank the following Nicholas school faculty for their encouragement and support during the last two years; Cindy Peters, Joe Scarfo, Erika Lovelace, Glenda Lee, and Karen Kirchof. To Deb Wojick and my fellow EErs, thanks for making learning fun again, for all the great activities and memorable field trips, and helping me to realize what I want to do with my life! A spe-cial thanks to Gail Cannon, for encouraging me to look beyond the dollar sign and recog-nize the importance of investing in myself! To the Marine Lab community, I thank you for including us CEMs in the Marine lab family and sharing with us your knowledge and apti-tude; Larry Crowder, Andy Read, Lisa Campbell, Lauren Stulgis and Jay Cornett.

To my fellow CEMs, thank you for providing comic relief during our epic late night computer lab sessions, for the much needed, random study breaks, and most importantly, the memories. A special thanks to my mentor and dear friend Ruba Marshood, for her genuine advice, friendship and love of reggae music. To my red-head twin, Nicole Saladin, your amity over the last two years means more to me than I can express. Your sincere de-votion to the environment is contagious and I am honestly humbled by your passion. YOU are what is RIGHT with the world! I owe extreme gratitude to my best friend Greg Queen for his patience and understanding, genuine friendship and constant reassurance over the last 5 years. To Mikey D, thank you for always being there for me and giving me the confi-dence to believe in myself.

Last and certainly not least, I would like to thank my family. To Lisbeth and Trevor Leddin, thank you for giving me the strength to stand alone. Mom, Dad and Lelaina (and Bailey too), without your constant and unwavering support, I would have never been as successful as I have been in the completion of my master’s degree. Thank you for always believing in me and encouraging me to follow my dreams, in this case, follow the sea tur-tles!


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE AND INTENT 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 HOW TO USE THE GUIDE 8 SEA TURTLE CAMP SCHEDULE 9 SAMPLE ADVERTISING FLYER 12 Day 1: An Introduction to Sea Turtles 13 Students will learn the different adaptations of marine versus terrestrial turtles, and the biology of the six species 0f sea turtles in the Caribbean sea.

Sea Turtle Journals 14 Craft: Students will prepare Sea Turtle journals that may be used to take notes and draw pictures during Sea Turtle Camp.

Sea Turtle Name Tags 16 Craft: Students will make Sea Turtle Name Tags, which will later be decorated and used in the Sea Turtle Soirée game.

Introduction to Sea Turtles (Background) 30 Slide show: PowerPoint Presentation about the basic biology and adaptations of Caribbean Sea Turtles.

Let’s be Sea Turtles! 41 Game and Craft: Students will learn about adaptations that enable sea turtles to survive in the marine environment.

Construct a Sea Turtle 44 Craft: Students will assemble and decorate their own sea turtle, and be able to identify the “parts” of a sea turtle. Day 2: Nesting Behavior and Turtle Tracks 46 Students will learn about how sea turtles nest and the details of the hatching process. Students will distinguish sea turtle species based on tracks left in the sand.


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Sea Turtle Soirée 47 Game: Students will review key characteristics of each of the 6 species of sea turtle that inhabit the Caribbean Sea, and learn species identification techniques.

Nesting Behavior (Background) 49 PPT: PowerPoint Presentation about sea turtle nesting. Ready, Set, NEST! 58 Game: Students will simulate the egg laying process by participating in a relay race. Turtle Tracks (Background) 61 Slide show: PowerPoint Presentation about the tracks that female sea turtles leave in the sand during the nesting process.

Who Made this Crawl? 67 Game: Students will learn to distinguish the species of sea turtle by the tracks she leaves in the sand.

Day 3: Natural Threats to Sea Turtle Survival 70 Students will identify the many natural predators sea turtles face during different life stages, how weather and erosion can destroy nests, and how natural diseases may affect sea turtle survival. Fun with Food Webs 71 Game: Through role play, students will make connections and explain the cause-and-effect relationship between actions of sea turtles and their natural predators, and the delicate balance of the marine environment.

Natural Threats (Background) 76 Slide show: PowerPoint Presentation about the natural threats that a sea turtle faces during its life.

Egg-cellent Nest Protectors 84 Game: Students will learn about the egg laying process by participating in an exercise where they become a nesting female and must hide their eggs in the sand (this game involves food).

It’s Tough being a Sea Turtle! 86 Game: Students will simulate the natural mortality rate of sea turtles as they leave the nest, grow up in the ocean and return to the beach to lay eggs.


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Sandy Sea Turtles 97 Craft: Students will create sea turtles in the sand, recalling and demonstrating species specific characteristics learned in previous lessons. Day 4: Human-Associated Threats to Sea Turtle Survival 98 Students will learn how humans negatively impact sea turtles on land and at sea. In addition to direct harvest, humans have damaged or eliminated many Caribbean nesting and feeding grounds.

Sea Turtle Prints 99 Craft: Students will sketch an image of a sea turtle, create a printing block, and make a color print.

Human Threats (Background) 101 Slide show: PowerPoint Presentation about the human-associated threats that sea turtles encounter during their lives. Garbage in the Water 108 Game: Through role play, students will simulate how humans contribute to pollution of the marine environment. Sea Turtle Survivor 110 Game: Students will learn the threats that face sea turtles as they journey in the water and on land.

T-H-R-E-A-T 122 Game: Students will play a version of BINGO that illustrates the many threats that sea turtles face.

Day 5: How People Can Help Sea Turtles 124 Students will learn how people of all ages can participate meaningfully in sea turtle conservation, ensuring the survival of a valuable natural asset for future generations. Salty Sea Turtles 125 Craft: Students will make biodegradable sea turtle ornaments and decorate a designated area to increase sea turtle conservation awareness.

Helping Out (Background) 127 Slide show: PowerPoint Presentation about what humans can do to help sea turtles.

Let’s do Our Part 136 Craft: Students will do their part to help out the marine environment by conducting a beach cleanup and creating educational signs for their community.


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Sea Turtle Jeopardy 139 Game: Students will demonstrate their sea turtle knowledge by playing Sea Turtle Jeopardy.

Sea Turtle Camp Certificate Ceremony 149 Ceremony: Students receive a Camp Completion certificate and become junior members of a local sea turtle conservation organization.

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES 151 PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS 152


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HOW TO USE THE GUIDE

♦ The “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles” program was written for children ages 9-15. However, some activi-ties may be too difficult for younger children and perhaps too easy for older children. Each activity is easily adaptable for most age ranges.

♦ A sample camp schedule, advertising flyer and final camp certificate are included in the Guide. Feel free to use this one or adapt as needed.

♦ While the Guide was written for a 15-hour camp that occurs over 5 consecutive days, each day has been designed to stand alone. Therefore the camp can be implemented over a 5-week period, or however the Instructor sees fit.

♦ A list of materials is provided with each activity, but these may be modified depending on funding and availability.

♦ Many activities require some preparation. Please plan accordingly.

♦ New vocabulary introduced in an activity is listed in boldface type.

♦ We suggest that you get a sense of what the students are retaining and enjoying by asking for daily/weekly critiques. Ask students to write down their favorite activities, in addition to something they did not enjoy. If not everyday, we recommend that you definitely have the students do this critique the last day of camp. This will help you plan for future camps!

♦ Camp activities can be performed either inside or outside. Weather permitting, we encourage you to execute as many of the activities outside in the field as possible.

♦ All PowerPoint presentations are provided on a CD included with the Guide, along with a complete narration for each presentation. These are designed to provide background information on all 7 spe-cies of sea turtle. Feel free to adapt the presentations and focus on the species native to your region.

♦ We encourage you to establish partnerships with local organizations, and to invite guest lecturers to present to your students and share their expertise.

♦ Although originally designed for use in the Wider Caribbean Region, this Guide can be adapted to any location whether sea turtles are native species or not.

♦ The Guide is designed primarily for non-formal settings, and for children. However, these activities can be used in a variety of different circumstances and to any age groups.

(Most importantly, we hope that you and your students enjoy “Sun, Sand and Sea Turtles”!)


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SEA TURTLE CAMP SCHEDULE

Day 1 An Introduction to Sea Turtles

9:00 - 9:30 Arrival Crafts: Sea Turtle Name Tags and Sea Turtle Journals

9:30 - 9:45 Welcome (staff introductions, what to expect, rules for behavior)

9:45 - 10:15 Slide show: An Introduction to Sea Turtles

10:15 - 10:30 Snack/Break

10:30 - 11:15 Game and Craft: Let’s be Sea Turtles!

11:15 - 11:50 Craft: Construct a Sea Turtle

11:50 - 12:00 Journal writing, critiques Wrap up (review, what to expect tomorrow, etc.)

Day 2 Nesting Behavior and Turtle Tracks

9:00 - 9:15 Arrival Craft: Decorate Name Tags, Journal writing/review

9:15 - 9:45 Game: Sea Turtle Soirée

9:45 - 10:15 Slide show: Nesting Behavior

10:15 - 10:45 Game: Ready, Set, NEST!

10:45 - 11:00 Snack

11:00 - 11:30 PowerPoint Presentation: Turtle Tracks

11:30 - 11:50 Game: Who Made this Crawl?

11:50- 12:00 Journal writing, critiques Wrap up (review, what to expect tomorrow, etc.)


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Day 3 Natural Threats to Sea Turtle Survival

9:00 - 9:30 Arrival Craft: Create Food Web “characters”

9:30 - 10:00 Game: Fun with Food Webs

10:00 - 10:30 Slide show: Natural Threats

10:30 - 11:00 Snack = Game: Egg-cellent Nest Protectors

11:00 - 11:30 Game: It’s Tough being a Sea Turtle!

11:30 - 11:50 Craft: Sandy Sea Turtles


Day 4 Human-Associated Threats to Sea Turtle Survival

9:00 - 9:30 Arrival Craft: Sea Turtle Prints

9:30 - 10:00 Slide show: Human-Associated Threats

10:00 - 10:30 Game: Garbage in the Water

10:30 - 10:45 Snack

11:45 - 11:30 Game: Sea Turtle Survivor

11:30 - 11:50 Game: T-H-R-E-A-T



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Day 5 How People Can Help Sea Turtles

9:00 - 9:30 Arrival Craft: Salty Sea Turtles

9:30 - 10:00 Slide show: Helping Out

10:00 - 10:30 Craft: Let’s do Our Part

10:30 – 10:45 Snack

10:45 - 11:30 Game: Sea Turtle Jeopardy

11:30 - 11:50 Certification Ceremony

11:50- 12:00 Final Wrap Up (Thank yous, have students take home all crafts, etc.)


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Come join us for the

1st Annual Sea Turtle Camp!

Hosted by the Four Seasons Resort

and the Nevis Turtle Group

Open to children ages 9 to 15

Week 1 July 12, 13, 14

Week 2 July 17, 18, 19

Week 3 July 24, 25, 26

9am – 12pm

*For more information or to register for Sea Turtle Camp please call Barbara James at 469- 4111; ask for Kids for All Seasons


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Day 1 _____________________________________________________________

An Introduction to Sea Turtles


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OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Create journals that they will use to record

sea turtle facts throughout the week • Learn the importance of reusing materials that

would otherwise be thrown out

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Cut the 8.5 x 11 inch paper in half (side to

side), and the cardstock/old cereal boxes to match. Using a hole puncher, make 2 holes at the top (the shorter end) of each piece of cardstock and copy paper. Each student should have 2 pieces of cardstock and 15 pieces of paper.

NOTE: If colored cardstock is not available, white can be used instead. In fact, white may inspire more creativity!

♦ Preparation Time:

30 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

30 minutes

♦ Materials Needed:

White or Colored cardstock (for ex-ample old cereal boxes), 8.5 X 11 paper (if available, use recycled or used on one side), old pencils/pens, rubber bands, coloring supplies (crayons, markers, colored pencils), hole punch, books and/or maga-zines with pictures of sea turtles

♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Fine Arts Literature

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Field Skills Observation Scientific Writing

SUMMARY Students will prepare Sea Turtle Journals that may be used to take notes and draw pictures during Sea Turtle Camp. They will also learn how to reuse materials to make a new craft and the importance of taking good notes while performing scientific research.

DAY 1: Craft

Sea Turtle JournalsSea Turtle JournalsSea Turtle Journals


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5. Instruct the students to place their pen-cil/ pen through the loop of the rubber band (see Diagram C).

6. Lastly, have the students thread the

other end of the rubber band from the bottom of the journal up through the hole and loop it around the other end of the pencil/ pen (Diagram D).

7. Explain to the students that they may

use their Sea Turtle Journal to take notes and draw pictures during the week. Encourage them to write down important facts they want to remember, including at least one new thing they learned each day. Students will be able to take the Journal home once they have completed camp, and will be able to refer to their notes in the future. Re-late this to how scientific researchers take notes.

ACTIVITY 1. As the students arrive, present each

student with 2 pieces of cardstock and 15 pieces of recycled copy paper. Have them decorate one side of both pieces of cardstock; one will be the front of their journal, the other the back. En-courage them to incorporate sea turtles into their decorating, using the books and magazines you’ve provided as in-spiration.

2. Once the students finish decorating

their Sea Turtle Journals, present each student with a pencil or pen and a rub-ber band. Ask the students to turn their attention to you, as you explain the di-rections for putting the journals to-gether. Explain to them that you are reusing materials that would otherwise be thrown out. Why is this important?

3. Have the students organize their Jour-

nals in the following order; front cover piece of cardstock on the top with their best design facing up, 15 sheets of pa-per, back cover piece of cardstock, de-sign out. Once in order, staple the pages together at the top between the two holes (see Diagram A).

4. Each students will take one end of their

rubber band and thread it up through one of the holes in the Journal (see Dia-gram B).

Diagram C

Diagram D

Diagram B

Rubber band

Pencil/ Pen

Diagram A

Journal

Staple


16

OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Create name tags that they will later use in

the Sea Turtle Soirée game • Learn facts about the 6 species of sea turtles

in the Caribbean Sea

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Using Cardstock, photocopy and cut out the

Sea Turtle Name Tags, making sure to equally represent each species found in your country. Use a hole puncher to make a hole at the top of each Name Tag. There should be one Name Tag per student.

ACTIVITY 1. As the students arrive, present each student

with one Name Tag and a piece of string. Ask each student to write their name on the front of their Name Tag prior to listening to the PowerPoint Presentation. Have students wear the Name Tags around their necks.


20 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

10 minutes


Provided Sea Turtle Name Tags Cardstock Hole Puncher String Markers Crayons

♦ Setting:

Classroom and/or Outdoors

♦ Subject Areas:

Fine Arts

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Creative Skills

SUMMARY Students will make Sea Turtle Name Tags, which will later be decorated and used in the Sea Turtle Soirée game.

DAY 1: Craft

Sea Turtle Name TagsSea Turtle Name TagsSea Turtle Name Tags


17

NOTE: Students will have the opportunity to decorate their Sea Turtle Name Tags on Day 2 and should leave their Name Tags in the classroom at the end of the day.

The Six Species of Sea Turtles in the Caribbean Sea


18

Name Tags - Loggerheads

I get my name

from m

y large,

powerful head.

I have powerful

jaw m

uscles that

help m

e feed on

hard-shelled prey.

I often have

dozens of other

organisms living

on m

y carapace.

My carapace is

slig

htly heart shaped

and reddish-

brown in color.


19

Name Tags - Loggerheads

I swim

relatively

slowly compared

to the other spe-

cies of sea turtle.

In the C

aribbean,

most of my

species nest in

Florida.

I migrate along

coastlines w

here

my food is m

ost

abundant.

I love to eat crabs

and conch, and

often get trapped

in shrimp trawls.


20

Name Tags - Green

I am the only

marine turtle

that leaves the

water to bask.

I am the only

vegetarian sea

turtle, and I love

sea grass!

I get my name

from the green-

ish color of the

fat in m

y body.

I am the heaviest

hard-shelled sea

turtle.


21

Name Tags - Green

Many think that I

am the tastiest

sea turtle to eat.

You w

ill find m

e

hanging out in

sea grass beds.

I have 2 prefrontal

scales betw

een

my eyes.

I generally have a

pale belly and a

white throat.


22

Name Tags - Hawksbill

The rear edge

of my carapace

often has a

scallo

ped edge.

My sharp beak

lets m

e grab and

slice into sponges

from the reef.

I prefer to nest

in beach

vegetation.

I get my name

from m

y “beak-

shaped” mouth.


23

Name Tags - Hawksbill

I am a spongivore.

(I eat sea sponges)

People use m

y

shell to m

ake

jewelry and

decorations.

The scutes (shell

plates) on m

y carapace are

overlapping.

You w

ill find m

e

hanging out near

the coral reef.


24

Name Tags - Olive Ridley

I can be seen in large

groups traveling

betw

een breeding

and feeding grounds.

Like m

y cousin, my

species participates

in m

ass nesting.

I have small

pores in the

scutes that con-

nect the carapace

and the plastron.

I am found both in

continental shelf

habita

ts and in the

open sea.


25

Name Tags - Olive Ridley

I am the m

ost

numerous of

all sea turtles.

I am a small turtle

with a disk-shaped

carapace.

You w

ill often find m

e

taking shelter under

floating objects, like

large logs and

ocean debris.

I am an omnivore

by nature and feed

mainly on fish and

invertebrates.


26

Name Tags - Kemp’s Ridley

95% of nesting

occurs near

Rancho N

uevo,

Mexico.

My species

participates in

group nesting:

an arribada.

I live in the G

ulf

of Mexico and

Northwestern

Atlantic

Ocean.

I like to hang

out in m

uddy or

sandy bottom

habita

t.


27

Name Tags - Kemp’s Ridley

I am the rarest

of all sea turtles.

My carapace is

olive grey to

grayish in color.

My carapace

length and

width are

nearly equal.

I love to

eat crabs!


28

Name Tags - Leatherback

I love to eat jelly-

fish, slicing in

to them

with sharp cusps

on m

y jaws.

I am the largest

of all sea turtles.

My eggs are

alm

ost as big

as tennis balls!

I am the only sea

turtle that does

not have a hard

shell.


29

Name Tags - Leatherback

I have 7 ridges

on m

y leathery,

streamlin

ed

carapace.

I can dive deeper

than 4000 feet!

I have the widest

range of all sea turtles

and travel into Sub

Artic waters.

I get my name

from m

y thick,

black, leathery

skin.


30

OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Name the 6 species of sea turtles in the Car-

ibbean Sea • Learn the adaptations that enable sea turtles

to survive in the marine environment • Name 3 “parts” of a sea turtle

PROCEDURE

Warm up 1. Set up the projector and load the “Introduction

to Sea Turtles” PowerPoint Presentation. Re-view the PowerPoint Narration and feel free to include additional information as you present.

2. Ask the students to temporarily stop working

on all crafts, journal entries, etc. and direct their attention toward you. They will have more time to finish their projects later.

3. Instruct the students to sit quietly during the

Presentation and encourage them to ask questions by raising their hands.


10 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

30-45 minutes


Projector Laptop Computer Provided PowerPoint Presentation Provided PowerPoint Narration Laser Pointer (if available) Sea Turtle Carapace and Plastron Flexible Tape Measure

♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology Geography

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Listening Observation

SUMMARY Students will learn the different adaptation of marine versus terres-trial turtles, and the biology of the six species of sea turtles in the Caribbean Sea.

DAY 1: Slide Show (Background Information)

Introduction to Sea TurtlesIntroduction to Sea TurtlesIntroduction to Sea Turtles


31

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[1] Title slide; Welcome! Introductory comments at the discretion of the speaker.

[2] The Caribbean Sea was once home to mil-

lions and millions of sea turtles, but over time their numbers have dramatically de-creased. Today all sea turtles are classified as “endangered” – which means that with-out our help, they might be lost forever. “Endangered” means that there is still time to act! But before we can be effective help-ers, we need to learn more about these mysterious and ancient creatures. So here we go!

[3] Believe it or not, sea turtles have been

swimming in the world’s oceans for more than 100 million years – that’s before the time of the dinosaurs! This is a picture of a fossil sea turtle named Archelon. Notice how big the skeleton is compared to the man! Do you think that modern sea turtles get this big? Keep listening and you’ll find out.

[4] Let’s start by talking about “adaptations”.

Can anyone tell me what that means? Ad-aptations are any alteration in the structure or function of an organism (or any of its parts) that help the animal to survive and multiply in its environment. Looking at these pictures [* narration note: flip back and forth between Slides 4 and 5], can you tell me differences between the sea turtle and the terrestrial (land) turtle? What about the shape of the shell? Right! Sea turtles have a flatter shell, why do you think this is?It is streamlined so it can move more easily through the water – scientists call this shape “hydrodynamic”. Think about if you were to move your hand through the water palm

ACTIVITY


32

[4] continued [5]

down, and then with your palm to the side. It moves faster with your palm down, right? Your palm-down position is more “hydrodynamic”.

[5] The land turtle has a domed shell. Can

anyone tell me what happens when a land turtle gets scared? That’s right, it pulls its head and legs into the shell. [* narration note: once at slide 5, the terrestrial turtle, press the next key to show a picture of a land turtle hiding in its shell.] Sea turtles are not able to hide in their shells; there is no room for them to do this! So how do they get away from danger or a predator (another animal that is hunting them, to eat them)? Right, they swim away. This is an-other adaptation for living in the sea. [* nar-ration note: advance the slide and a picture showing the land turtle’s legs will appear.]

Look at the short stumpy legs of the land turtle. What do you think would happen if this turtle was placed in the water? It would have a very hard time swimming, wouldn’t it? Now look at the sea turtle, they have long, paddle-like front flippers to help pull them through the water. Their back flippers help them steer (like a rudder on a boat) and also help the females dig their nests.

Now although we talked about the differ-ence between land and sea turtles, they do have something in common. Does anybody know what scientific (taxonomic) “family” all turtles belong to? Are they mammals? birds? [* narration note: press the next key.] No, they are reptiles. Can anyone name a reptile characteristic? They are cold blooded (scientists prefer the term ectothermic), meaning they maintain their body tempera-ture through behavior – like basking in the sun – as opposed to generating heat inter-nally (like you and I do). Reptiles also have scales on their skin and were the first ani-mals to lay shelled eggs that could survive out of water. We will continue to talk about “adaptations” as we move on.


33

[6]

[7]

[8]

[6] This is a picture that shows the skeletal structure of sea turtles. Can you show me where your shoulders are? Your hip bones? Your ribs? Great! A really neat thing about sea turtles is that both their shoulders and hips are located inside their rib cage! You can see this in the picture. The turtle’s top shell is called the carapace. Remember that we just learned that reptiles have scales, and in the case of turtles these scales are sometimes modified into “scutes” which cover and waterproof the shell. The number and arrangement of scutes is one way to tell different types of sea turtles apart. The bottom (belly) shell is called the plastron.

[7] Do reptiles breathe water or air? Air! So

how do sea turtles live underwater? That’s right, they must come to the surface to breathe. However, they can hold their breath for a long time, depending on their level of activity. Think about when you are running around, do you breathe faster? It’s the same with sea turtles. If they are really active, like swimming or eating, they will surface more than if they are just sleeping. How long do you think you can hold your breathe? The Green sea turtle can hold its breath for 5 hours!

[8] We talked earlier how reptiles are cold-

blooded, and that the real term for that is “ectothermic”, meaning that behavior helps maintain body temperature. Sea turtles use the heat of the sun to warm them. This also aids in regulation of body functions. Most sea turtles just hang out at the surface if they want to bask, soak up the sun’s rays. However, the Pacific green turtle sometimes hauls up on land to bask, especially in Ha-waii. Scientists don’t know why, perhaps because there have never been big fierce predators in Hawaii, which is a group of is-lands in the middle of the ocean, so the tur-tles felt safe. In general, sea turtles spend most of their lives in the ocean and only the female comes ashore (to lay eggs).


34

[9]

[10]

[11]

[9] What do you think sea turtles drink? (Fruit juices, soda?!) Sea turtles drink salt water. Living in the sea, sea turtles obviously take in a lot of salt water when they eat. Have you ever swallowed salt water when you were at the beach? How did it make you feel? You probably wanted a drink of fresh water, right? Salt water actually makes you thirstier! Sea turtles have come up with a way to get rid of the extra salt they take in. They cry it out in thick tears! The tears may also lubricate the female’s eyes on land, helping to protect their eyes from flying sand.

[10] Today most scientists recognize 7 species

of sea turtles worldwide – the Green, Log-gerhead, Hawksbill, Olive ridley, Kemp’s ridley, Leatherback and Flatback. Six of these are found in Caribbean waters. The Australian Flatback (Natator depressus) is found only in Australia, as the name sug-gests. Let’s learn more about the species in our region, like where to find them, how to identify them, and what they eat, etc.

[11] Loggerheads (Caretta caretta) are colorfully

marked in dark red, orange and gold. Log-gerheads are unique in supporting a whole ecosystem on their backs! They often carry encrusting barnacles and other small ani-mals on their carapace, sometimes more than 50 small plants and animals can be identified on a loggerhead’s shell! How do you think this turtle got its name?


35

[12]

[13]

[14]

[12] Loggerheads have a very large head as compared to other sea turtles, and very strong jaws. These are necessary adapta-tions to their carnivorous diet. What is a carnivore? That’s right, a meat eater.

[13] So what do you think the Loggerhead eats?

[* narration note: advance the slide to show what a Loggerhead eats.] They use their strong jaws to crush hard-shelled crabs and mollusks, like conch! Can you bite through a conch shell? No way, right? So let’s think about what the inside of a Loggerhead’s mouth must look like. Think about our own mouths. We have big, flat molars (back teeth) for crushing. The Loggerhead’s jaw is flat and wide, and adapted to crushing things that are very hard.

[14] This is a Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas).

How do you think this sea turtle got its name? No, not because the shell is green. I’ll give you a hint – the name has to do with what the turtles eats. What is green that is found in the ocean?


36

[15]

[16]

[17]

[15] Exactly! They eat vegetation, like sea grass and algae, which is so abundant in our re-gion. The Green turtle is the only vegetar-ian sea turtle, meaning that they do not eat meat. They get their name because some of their body tissues, mostly their fat, actu-ally appears green from eating plants. Chlorophyll is the pigment that makes grass green, and the chlorophyll is absorbed into the animal’s tissues. Green turtles are about the same size as Loggerheads, but have smaller heads, a rather blunt beak, and a slight serration along their beak to help in clipping sea grasses.

[16] Here is a picture of a Green sea turtle eat-

ing some sea grass. Notice that, just like the Loggerhead, their mouths are adapted to the kind of food they eat. If you were to look inside their mouth, you would see little scissor-like teeth along the jaw. Green tur-tles don’t actually have teeth, but a thin layer of serrated keratin (the same material that forms your hair and nails) covers their jaw and helps them clip grass and algae to eat.

[17] Hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata) prefer

to live near coral reefs where their colora-tion acts as a camouflage. Can someone tell me what “camouflage” means? Right, it is when an animal has a certain shape or coloration that helps them blend into their environment. Hawksbills are smaller than Green turtles, and adults rarely exceed 180 pounds. Hawksbills, especially young ones, are often mistaken for Green turtles, but we are going to learn how to tell the two apart.


37

[18]

[19]

[20]

[18] Hawksbills have overlapping scutes, like shingles on a roof, while a Green’s scutes meet one another in straight line – no over-lapping. [* narration note: if you have shells on display, this is a good time to show the difference, or you could return to Slide 15.] What do you notice about the rear edge of the carapace? [* narration note: press the next button and a red rectangle will appear around the back of the carapace.] Right, it’s scalloped, or serrated. The Green turtle shell does not show such strong serration, although some serration can occur in small juveniles and can be a source of confusion in telling young turtles apart – but remem-ber, a Green turtle’s scutes will never over-lap!

[19] So what do you think Hawksbill sea turtles

eat? Think about where they live, the coral reef. [* narration note: press the next button to show what a Hawksbill eats.] They have an unusual diet, feeding largely on sponges and other reef invertebrates. Scientists call this species a “spongivore” – think about other words that you know, like “carnivore” or “herbivore”. What do you suppose “spongivore” means? Hawksbills are named for their sharp beak, like that of a hawk, and its narrow, pointed shape helps the turtle pick sponges from the cracks and crevices of a coral reef.

[20] Olive ridleys (Lepidochelys olivacea) are

one of the smallest sea turtles, rarely ex-ceeding 24-28 inches long and 100 pounds in weight. Unlike the other sea turtles, they have a variable and often uneven number of lateral scutes (the plates that appear along either side of the midline on the carapace). How many do you count in this picture? Olive ridleys often have 7-9 pairs of lateral scutes.


38

[21]

[22]

[23]

[21] Olive ridleys are “omnivores”. What do you think omnivore means? It means that the animal has a wide dietary preference, and is comfortable eating both plants and meat. [* narration note: press the next button to show what Olive ridleys eat.] They feed mainly on fish and many species of inverte-brates, like snails, crabs and jellyfish.

[22] Kemp’s ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii)

are similar in size and appearance to the Olive ridley. The carapace is typically olive grey, and the plastron is yellowish. Kemp’s ridleys are the rarest of all sea turtles and 95% of all nesting occurs on a single beach near Rancho Nuevo (Mexico) in the Gulf of Mexico.

[23] Any guesses as to what Kemp’s ridleys eat?

[* narration note: press the next key.] Adult habitat is characterized by muddy or sandy bottoms where their primary prey items live. Can you guess? That’s right! Ridleys really love to eat bottom-dwelling crustaceans and mollusks. Who can give me some exam-ples of a “crustacean” [crab] or a “mollusk” [snail]?


39

[24]

[25]

[26]

[24] Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are very different from all the other sea tur-tles. What do you notice immediately about this turtle?

[25] That’s right! They are huge, larger than this

man! Remember earlier when you saw the picture of the fossil that was much bigger than the man? Well, it was real! Sea turtles can get much larger than humans. Leather-backs are the largest of all sea turtles; in fact, they are the largest of all reptiles (by body weight). Adult males can exceed 9 feet in length and weigh 2000 pounds or more! (* narration note: if available, use a measur-ing tape to show the students how big 9 feet is.]

[26] What else do you notice about this very un-

usual animal? Leatherbacks are the only sea turtle not to have a hard carapace. You can’t see it in this picture, but their ribs are not fused together, they are separate like yours and mine. Can you feel your ribs? You feel each individual one, can’t you? It’s the same with Leatherbacks, and this adap-tation gives them flexibility, enabling them to dive deeply. They dive the deepest of all sea turtles (deeper than 4,000 feet) in search of food. If they had a hard shell the pressure of the water would crush them. Instead they have a layer of thick, black, leathery skin, which has little pieces of bones within it. You may also notice pink, white or bluish spots on the skin in addition to 7 ridges that run the length of the cara-pace to make it more hydrodynamic. Who remembers what “hydrodynamic” means?


40

[27]

[28]

[27] So what do you think this huge sea turtle eats? [* narration note: advance to the next slide.] Jellyfish! That would be like us eating only jello! Think about how many jellyfish a Leatherback has to eat before he or she is full! This is a picture of a Leatherback’s throat. You can see that it is lined with stiff spines that help them swallow their slippery food, and keep it down. Also notice the shape of the mouth. Leatherbacks have 3 interlocking cusps. What do you think these are for? Do Leatherbacks have teeth? No, so how do they grab their slippery prey? Can anyone tell me? Right, these cusps are like teeth for the Leatherback – allowing the animal to grab and cut cleanly through very large open-ocean jellyfish.

[28] Do you all feel like you can be better sea

turtle helpers? That you are more aware of what kind of habitats and what kind of food sea turtles need to survive? For example, now that we know that sea turtles eat jelly-fish, we should be much more careful about where we throw our plastic bags. When plastic bags wash into the sea, sea turtles eat them, confusing them for jellyfish, and the sea turtle can die as a result. We also know that coral reefs are very important to sea turtles. Protecting our coral reefs is im-portant not only for sea turtles, but for many, many animals that live in the reef – includ-ing many fish that are important to our econ-omy.

Well, now that you are all experts on Carib-bean sea turtles, do you have any ques-tions?


41

OBJECTIVES Students will: • Name 3 differences between land turtles and

sea turtles • Name 3 adaptations of sea turtles • Create imaginary creatures with adaptations

similar to those of sea turtles

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Create the cardboard carapace (top shell)

and plastron (bottom shell) by cutting two 3 ft ovals out of thick paper or cardboard.

ACTIVITY 1. Introduce the subject. Animals live in all kinds

of habitats. To survive, these animals have developed physical adaptations: changes in the structure or function of an animal that al-lows it to better adjust to and survive in its environment.


10 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

Warm Up 30 minutes Activity 30 minutes Extension (optional) 20 minutes


Nose clip, 2 pairs of swim fins (1 large, 1 small pair), cardboard “carapace” and “plastron”, goggles, scissors, tongs, mortar and pestle, paintbrush, drawing paper, crayons, markers

♦ Setting:

Indoor or Outdoor space

♦ Subject Areas:

Ecology Fine Arts

♦ Skills:

Crafting, Comprehension, Observa-tion, Public Speaking, Imagination

♦ Vocabulary:

Adaptation, Camouflage, Carapace, Hydrodynamic, Plastron, Tomium, Vegetarian

SUMMARY Students will learn about adapta-tions that enable sea turtles to survive in the marine environment.

DAY 1: Game and Craft

Let’s be Sea Turtles!Let’s be Sea Turtles!Let’s be Sea Turtles!


42

2. Explain to the students that they will be considering these adaptations as they “build” a Sea Turtle. Ask for a volunteer from the group. The volunteer will wear items that represent a variety of sea turtle adaptations.

Sea Turtle Transformation

A. Goggles - These represent a sea tur-

tle’s eyes and how they are able to see underwater.

B. Nose clip - This represents how the sea

turtle can hold its breath under water. Remember, sea turtles are air breathing reptiles and must surface in order to breathe.

C. Large fins (worn on the hands) - These

represent the sea turtle’s front flippers. The foreflippers are long and paddle-like. They are powerful structures that help propel the animal through the wa-ter and assist the nesting female in pull-ing herself up the beach.

D. Small fins (worn on the feet) - These

represent the sea turtles’ back flippers. They are shorter than the front because they have a different function. The hind flippers act as rudders, stabilizing and directing the animal as it swims. The back flippers are also used to help push a nesting female up the beach, in addi-tion to helping her dig her nest. Discuss how the flippers differ from a land turtle, which has stumpy legs. What would happen if you put a land turtle in water?

Cardboard carapace and plastron (worn on the back and chest, respec-tively) - These represent the carapace and plastron. They protect the inner organs of the sea turtle, much like a Knight’s coat of arms. The carapace and plastron are part of the skeleton of the sea turtle. The backbone and rib cage are fused to form the carapace. A sea turtle is born with its shell and grows with it all its life. A turtle does not

switch shells like a hermit crab. The hard shell protects the animal from predators. As a sea turtle grows larger, the carapace and plastron get stronger and there are fewer animals that can penetrate the shell and hurt the turtle. Notice the streamlined, or hydrody-namic, shell allows the sea turtle to move quickly and easily through the wa-ter. This flattened shell also prevents the sea turtle from retracting its head and limbs.

Beside the hard carapace, sea turtles rely on other adaptations - such as their flippers - to help them escape quickly from predators.

F. Paintbrush - This represents the differ-ent coloration pattern that sea turtles have. Color can be a form of camou-flage. Hawksbills have a color pattern that helps them to blend into the coral reef environment, while Green turtles have a slightly different pattern that blends into a sea grass meadow. (Remember, Green turtles are vegetari-ans!)

G. Scissors, tongs, mortar and pestle

(demonstration only, have the student hold each item as you describe them) - These represent the different oral adap-tations of sea turtles. Jaw shape varies among species, and each species has a jaw shape adapted for its diet. Logger-heads have strong jaws lined with flat crushing plates for eating hard-shelled prey like conch and crabs (mortar and pestle). Leatherbacks have 3 interlock-ing cusps used to grab their soft bodied prey, jellyfish (tongs). The serrated jaw or tomium of a Green sea turtle allows for efficient grazing of sea grasses (scissors).

3. Now the students will have the opportu-

nity to create their own creature. Divide the students into groups of 2-4. Each group will create an imaginary creature


43

and its habitat, based on the information given. They can not use an actual known animal, they must come up with their own creation using crayons and markers! Adaptations should include - but are not limited to - how it moves, eats, breathes and protects itself. Stu-dents must also develop a unique name for their animal. Abilities of the animal must include: 1. Lives in water. 2. Swims well under water. 3. Eats _____. (Students may use an

imaginary food. They should de-scribe the food and the adaptations needed to catch and eat it).

4. Needs protection from predators. (Students should choose a predator and describe how their creature avoids the predator).

4. Have each group present their imagi-

nary animals to the rest of the class, and explain their adaptations.

EXTENSION

1. Have the students draw animals close

to home and explain their adaptations. 2. Discuss how adaptations might change

with different climates and/or different food availability.

Figure 1. Green sea turtle mouth.

EuroTurtle/FAO Species Catalogue Vol. 11

Green

Loggerhead

Leatherback

Hawksbill


44

OBJECTIVES Students will: • Name at least 3 different anatomical struc-

tures of a sea turtle • Create a sea turtle to take home

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Copy the provided Sea Turtle Pattern on

cardstock, one per student.

NOTE: Students can simply draw the eyes and use the flippers provided on the pattern instead of using googley eyes and tongue depressors.

ACTIVITY 1. Each student will cut out, assemble and deco-

rate their own sea turtle. As you instruct them how to assemble it, review the names of each anatomical structure (head, carapace, plas-tron, foreflipper, hind flipper, tail and scutes). Have the student list each structure on the back of their turtle.

2. Have the student write 3 facts about their sea

turtle on the back of their craft and then share these facts with the class.


30 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

Warm Up 10 minutes Activity 30 minutes


Provided Sea Turtle Pattern Cardstock Googley eyes Tongue depressors Crayons Markers Glue Scissors

♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Fine Arts

♦ Skills:

Creative Skills Comprehension Public Speaking

♦ Vocabulary:

Anatomical, Carapace, Plastron, Foreflipper, Head, Hind Flipper, Scutes, Tail

SUMMARY Students will assemble and decorate their own sea turtle and be able to identify the “parts” of a sea turtle.

DAY 1: Craft

Construct a Sea TurtleConstruct a Sea TurtleConstruct a Sea Turtle


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Sea Turtle Pattern

Head

Carapace (top) Plastron (bottom)

Foreflipper

Hind Flipper

Tail

Draw the scutes, which are modified scales on the cara-pace (top shell) and plastron (bottom shell)


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Day 2 _____________________________________________________________

Nesting Behavior and Turtle Tracks


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OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Name 6 species of sea turtle

• List at least 3 characteristics of each species of sea turtle

• Learn the names of their classmates

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. The students will use the Sea Turtle Name

Tags they made on Day 1. Make sure all stu-dents have a Name Tag.

ACTIVITY

1. Provide crayons, makers, glitter glue etc. to

students and allow them time to decorate their Name Tags.

2. Have the students sit in a large circle and

read the Turtle Facts (on the back of their Name Tags) to themselves. After giving them enough time to read and memorize their Tur-tle Facts, have the students move their Name Tags to their back, so they can no longer see the Name Tag or its text.


10 minutes

♦ Activity Time:



Sea Turtle Name Tags (from Day 1) Markers Crayons Glitter and/or glitter glue (optional)

♦ Setting:


♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology Physical Education

♦ Skills:

Analyzing Communication Comprehension Decision Making Team Building

SUMMARY Students will review key character-istics of each of the 6 species of sea turtle that inhabit the Caribbean Sea, such as diet, habitat and spe-cies identification techniques.

DAY 2: Game

Sea Turtle SoiréeSea Turtle SoiréeSea Turtle Soirée


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3. Using the knowledge learned from yes-

terday’s PowerPoint Presentation, ask the students to identify the sea turtle that is described on their Name Tag, quietly to themselves.

4. When given the signal, students will

walk around and try to identify other stu-dents with facts that correspond to their species of turtle. Students must first introduce themselves to each other and then ask about their Turtle Fact. For example,

“Hello my name is _____. Do you know what species of Sea Turtle you are? I am a _____. May I see your Name

Tag?” 5. After finding a match, the pair will con-

tinue to walk around, greeting other stu-dents, until they think they have found all members of their species.

6. To demonstrate that the students have

found all members of their species, ask the group to stand together with their Name Tags visible on their chests.

7. Ask each group to introduce its mem-

bers, and to read their Turtle Facts out loud. With your guidance, have the class as a whole determine whether each member of the group represents the same sea turtles species. Ask the class, “What turtle is this group?”

EXTENSION 1. Repeat the process with students ex-

changing their Name Tags with other students and then re-assembling in spe-cies groups.

2. As a final review, have all students

hand in their Name Tags. Read the Turtle Facts aloud and have the stu-dents raise out their hands to name the species described by the Turtle Fact.


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OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Learn how females sea turtles dig their nests • Name 2 ways female sea turtles protect their

eggs • Learn how long it takes for the eggs to hatch

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Set up the projector and load the “Introduction







10 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

30-45 minutes


Projector Laptop Computer Provided PowerPoint Presentation Provided PowerPoint Narration Laser Pointer (if available)

♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology

♦ Skills:


SUMMARY Students will learn about how sea turtles nest and the details of the hatching process.


Nesting BehaviorNesting BehaviorNesting Behavior


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[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[1] Introductory comments at the discretion of the speaker.

[2] As we mentioned yesterday, typically only

adult female sea turtles come on land. Do you remember why? That’s right, to lay eggs. Usually this happens at night. One of the most amazing things about sea turtles is that they come back to lay their eggs in the general area where they themselves were born many years ago.

[3] Some populations of Ridley turtles nest dur-

ing the day, an unusual trait. Also unusual is that these turtles tend to nest “en mass” in what biologists refer to as an arribada, which means “arrival” in Spanish. As seen in the picture, thousands of females might come ashore to lay their eggs at the same time. These spectacular events appear to be correlated with moon and tidal phases, among other things.

[4] The female sea turtle pulls herself up on the

beach using her fore flippers. Different spe-cies prefer different nesting habitat. The Hawksbill prefers to nest in or near beach vegetation, while other species prefer the open sand. All turtles need sand that is deep enough to safely incubate their eggs for several weeks. Once the mother turtle has chosen a suitable site on the beach, she will sweep the area smooth and create a shallow body pit with her flippers.

ACTIVITY


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[5]

[6]

[7]

[5] What kind of sea turtle do you think this is? Right, a Leatherback! Can you see that she doesn’t have a hard shell? Once she has completed clearing her site, she uses her rear flippers to dig the nest chamber, the hole that will receive her eggs. Sand is scooped with one flipper and then the other until she can reach no deeper. The rear flippers act much like our own hands when we are digging in the sand, but the female sea turtle cannot see what her rear flippers are doing! The digging is just instinct. If the sand is too wet or too dry, she will be un-able to complete the chamber and she may have to select another site – or she may give up and return to the sea.

[6] This is what you might see if you come

upon a sea turtle laying her eggs on the beach. The sea turtle may look like a sandy rock lying still on the beach. Sea turtles are shy and cumbersome when out of the wa-ter. All species are sensitive to light and easily frightened. If you come upon a nest-ing sea turtle, be sure that you remain still and leave your flashlights off! If you sit a short distance away, preferably behind and downwind of the turtle, you will find that your eyes adjust to the darkness and you can observe the nesting without disturbing her. Notice the back of the shell in this picture, what species of sea turtle is this? Hawksbill! (Why?)

[7] This picture is showing the cloaca or ovi-

positor, the structure that releases the eggs. Eggs are laid singly or in small groups and are covered in thick mucus. Sea turtle eggs are not hard like chicken eggs. Why do you think this is? The egg chamber could be 2 or 3 feet deep, what would happen to a hard-shelled egg if it was dropped this dis-tance? It would break! The mucus and the soft leathery shell help to cushion the eggs as they drop into the nest.


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[8]

[9]

[8] Depending on the species, females will lay 50 to 200 or more perfectly round eggs. On average, most sea turtles lay approximately 100 eggs. Leatherback eggs are the larg-est, about the size of a cue-ball, and Hawksbill and Ridley eggs are the smallest, about the size of ping-pong balls. Why do you think Leatherbacks have large eggs and Ridleys have small eggs?

[9] Leatherbacks have an unusual trait – do

you notice the different sizes of eggs in the nest? Leatherbacks differ from other sea turtles in that the female deposits infertile (no yolk) under-sized eggs atop the fertil-ized ones. Infertile means that they will not develop into a baby sea turtle; they are, in essence, “false eggs.” It is thought that these eggs may serve as “space fillers”, preventing sand from filling in around the much larger fertile eggs. The tiny embryo actually breathes through the eggshell, so this added air space aids in gas exchange and, later when they hatch, may provide “wiggle room” for the hatchlings. Because the yolkless eggs dry out during the long incubation period, some scientists think that the moisture they release into the nest cre-ates humidity that is important to the devel-oping embryos.


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[10]

[11]

[10] It is important to note that, during egg-laying, the female is less aware of her sur-roundings than during other phases of nest-ing. Researchers refer to this as the “nesting trance”, and it is at this time that the turtle can be tagged and measured. Tagging, measuring, etc. is always done very quietly and respectfully, and with very low light, so that the turtle is not frightened. After the eggs are laid, the turtle refills the nest chamber with sand and packs it firmly over the eggs. Covering the eggs protects them from predators and from drying out, and minimizes temperature fluctuation. How would the incubation of the eggs be different is the turtle simply left the eggs on the surface of the beach? Sand is then flung in all directions, with the intent of con-fusing a potential egg-predator.

[11] The exhausted female leaves her eggs to

incubate in the warm sand, and she returns to the sea. She never returns to check on her eggs. As is the case with many ani-mals, there is no parental care in sea tur-tles. There are tales told about how the fe-male is crying because the nesting process is so difficult, or because so many of her eggs are stolen by man and other preda-tors, or because she will never see her tiny hatchlings. But the truth is that all sea tur-tles “cry”, whether they are on land or in the sea. Do you remember why? Right, to get rid of extra salt! Good!

Sea turtles may not stay with their eggs, but

they are still very good mothers. Can you think of some ways in which she has been a good mother? Remember that she created a deep nest hole to protect the eggs from the sun and the rain, and then covered the nest really well so that predators would not find her eggs. She also packed her babies a lunch! Can you guess how? Inside each egg is a yolk sac, which is a structure of stored energy to be used by the developing embryo until it emerges as a hatchling and can feed itself. It’s the same with birds, isn’t it? Each bird egg has a yellow yolk inside, which feeds the developing embryo. Until


54

[11] continued [12]

the hatchlings emerge from the nest and are able to find their own food, they live off the yolk sac created for them by their mother.

Most female sea turtles return to the beach

every 8-15 days, depending on the species, to lay another clutch of eggs, often in the same or nearby area. Most females nest 2-5 times per year, again depending on the species. The small Ridley turtles produce the fewest nests, while the much larger Leatherback may deposit as many as 11 or 12 clutches of eggs during a single year.

[12] The eggs will only hatch successfully if they

are incubated at the right temperature and the environmental conditions are ideal. One of the most interesting aspects of sea turtle biology is that the sex of developing em-bryos is determined by temperature! Fe-male turtles are produced in warmer nests, while males are produced in cooler loca-tions. Let’s look at the flask-like shape of the nest. Do you notice at the bottom where there is a thick concentration of eggs? Do you think the temperatures would be warm-est if you were an egg in the middle of all the other eggs … or if you were an egg on the outside edge of the clutch? What about if you were at the bottom of the nest near sand that has been cooled by the water ta-ble, or an egg at the top of the clutch, closer to the surface and the warm sun?

The fully developed hatchlings will begin their journey to the beach surface after about 45-60 days of incubation. Like baby birds, they break open their shells using a tiny “egg tooth” on their nose. As the first hatchlings break free from their eggs, their movements stimulate their siblings to hatch. Within a few days all the hatchlings are working together to dislodge the sand above them, wiggling, wiggling, and slowly moving upward through the nest. This process of the hatchlings working together is called “protocooperation” or, literally, “early coop-eration”.


55

[13]

[14]

[15]

[13] And then they emerge! Aren’t they the cut-est! Hatchling typically occurs in the early evening, but continues throughout the night and sometimes occurs during the day, es-pecially after a rain when the sand is cool. An evening or night emergence serves the hatchlings well because most predators are not active at night.

[14] In addition, the sand is relatively cool and

the bright ocean horizon is a strong cue. Contrary to popular belief, hatchlings do not orient toward the moon. They are seeking the lowest, brightest horizon. Hatchling’s eyes are very sensitive to light, and under natural conditions the open ocean horizon is always brighter than the darker landward vegetation.

[15] In addition to light, which is the strongest

cue, hatchlings may use other cues to find the water’s edge. Can you think of some? [Examples: the slope of the beach, the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the smell of the salt water.] Once the hatchlings reach the water’s edge, the waves sweep them out to sea. Think how scary this would be for the little air-breathing turtles, to be swept under the dark water with no one to help them. This gets us back to our conversation yesterday about “adaptations”. The little turtles have a very strong instinct to swim quickly and to sur-face to breathe, this is an adaptation that enables them to survive in their environ-ment. What would happen if the hatchling stayed on the beach and did not enter the water? Would this be a good thing? Could they protect themselves from the sun’s heat and from predators when morning came?


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[16]

[17]

[16] Once in the water, hatchlings use incoming waves to orient themselves to the open sea. Scientists call this a “wave compass” and it is well proven in the laboratory. Sea turtles are the only animals on earth known to have a wave compass! The little turtles fly through the water, using their front flippers to propel them and their rear flippers to steer. Once offshore, hatchlings often take shelter in floating mats of seaweed and other oceanic accumulations that provide food and refuge during the first few years of life.

Sea turtle hatchlings have a type of colora-tion that might provide a clue as to where they spend their time after they leave the beach. Green turtles, for example, are “counter-shaded”, meaning that their dorsal (top) side is much darker than their ventral (bottom) side. To predators in the air, the hatchling blends in with the darker waters bellow; to fish predators looking up from be-low, the lighter underside of the hatchling helps it blend in with the lighter surface wa-ter.

[17] Can you tell which hatchling is which? Here

we can see the difference in size amongst sea turtle hatchlings (which is related to the size of their eggs). The one on the far left is a Leatherback (notice that the flippers are nearly as long as the body). Those white stripes will someday rise into seven stream-lining ridges along the adult turtle’s back. The hatchling in the middle is a Green turtle, and the far right is a Hawksbill. If you look very closely, you might see that the scutes on the carapace of the Hawksbill hatchling overlap one another, just like on an adult Hawksbill.


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[18]

[19]

[18] These are the same hatchlings, but now you are looking at their ventral (belly) side. Can you see the counter-shading? Also notice the spot that looks like a bellybutton. This is the opening into which the hatchling absorbed what was left of its yolk sac at the time of hatching. Again, the hatchling at the far left is a Leatherback, the middle is a Green turtle, and the far right is a Hawksbill. [* narration note: flip back and forth be-tween slides 17 and 18 - ask the students to identify 3 ways in which these species look different from each other.]

[19] Although hatchlings work together to get out

of the nest, once they break the surface it is every hatchling for themselves in a race to the ocean’s edge! Assuming she is not harmed by natural or human predators, the female will return to the beach every few years for two decades or more, and the cy-cle of life continues.

Now that you know that the mother turtle returns to the same beach or area where she was born, and that she will lay all of her eggs there,- and that all her babies will lay their eggs there too - what happens if we destroy our beaches with pollution or coastal development? What happens if we take too much sand from the beach, or dump garbage on the beach that attracts predators?

Do you feel like you are much better sea turtle helpers after hearing this presenta-tion? Do you have any questions?


58

Ready, Set, NEST!Ready, Set, NEST!Ready, Set, NEST!

OBJECTIVES Students will: • Name 2 adaptations that contribute to suc-

cessful nesting • Identify 3 steps of the egg laying process • Learn how many eggs a sea turtle lays

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Set up the playing area as shown in the pic-

ture below:

♦ Preparation Time

15 minutes

♦ Activity Time:



Sandy Beach

♦ Setting:

Outdoors or large indoor space

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Group Building Observation Physical Education

♦ Vocabulary:

Debris Nest Cavity Vegetation Line

SUMMARY Students will simulate the egg laying process by participating in a relay race: swimming to shore, crawling up the beach, clearing the nest area of debris, digging the nest cavity, laying eggs, covering, and finally returning to the sea.

DAY 2: Game

20 m

Ocean

Beach

Vegetatio

n

Line

20 m

Start/Finish Surf Line


59

NOTE: If a Lifeguard is present, there is an aquatic adaptation to this game. In that case, the REAL ocean will be used and only the vegetation line should be marked.

ACTIVITY 1. Review the steps of the nesting process

with the students. First the female swims to her nesting beach and crawls toward the vegetation line, generally at night. After finding a suitable nesting spot, she clears the areas of dry sand and debris, such as leaves and sticks. Next she digs a nest cavity and depos-its her eggs. Then she covers the eggs and disturbs the area by throwing sand over it. Finally she crawls back down the beach and returns to the ocean.

2. Divide the class into teams of 4 to 5 stu-

dents. Ask each team to stand to-gether. Each team represents ONE nesting female. Explain to the students that each individual will have a role in this relay and give them a few minutes to decide amongst themselves who will play each of the following roles (nesting order): the Swimmer, the Crawler/Clearer, the Digger/Egg Layer, the Cov-erer/Returner to the sea.

NOTE: If the class is large, each role can be further broken up so each student has a part to play. If it is smaller, certain roles can be combined or students can play more than one role. 3. Have the students stay with their teams

and ask them to spread out horizontally across the Start Line. Then instruct

the students to get in their respective places; the Swimmer at the Start Line, the Crawler/Clearer at the Surf Line, the Digger/Egg layer and the Coverer/Returner at the Vegetation Line. Make sure all members of the team are in the same vertical line - each student should see their teammate in front of them.

NOTE: If resources allow, have a staff member stand at each divide: the Surf Line, and the Vegetation Line. Aquatic exten-sion: a staff member MUST stand in the water, to mark start/finish line. 4. Once given the signal, the Swimmer will

swim (using their arms as flippers) from the Start Line toward the Beach (Aquatic Extension: students will start in the water and swim to the beach). When the Swimmer reaches the nesting beach (Surf Line), they tag their await-ing team member (the Crawler/Clearer) who then crawls toward the Vegetation Line.

5. When the Crawler/Clearer reaches the Vegetation Line, he/she must use his/her front flippers (arms) to clear the area. Once that is complete, the Crawler/Clearer tags the Digger/Egg Layer.

6. The Digger/Egg Layer can only use his/

her hind flippers (feet) to dig the nest. The Beach/Vegetation Line Monitor (staff member) will let each Turtle know when they have completed digging their nest. After they finish digging, they be-gin to lay their eggs, by counting out loud in increments of 10 until they


60

reach 100. When they reach 100, they tag the Coverer/Returner.

6. In the final stage of this Nesting Relay

Race, the Coverer/Returner first fills in the nest with his/her hind flippers and then uses his/her front flippers to cam-ouflage it by tossing sand. Then he or she crawls back toward the sea and tags the Swimmer.

7. The first team whose Swimmer crosses

the Finish Line is the winning Nesting Female!

EXTENSION

1. Repeat the entire game, only this time

have the students switch their roles within their teams.

2. Another option is to give certain turtles

disabilities, such as missing a front or rear flipper, the sand being too hard to dig into, lights on the beach (which dis-orients or frightens the female), etc. Have the students play the entire game again with these disabilities. Once they have finished, ask the Turtles with dis-abilities to discuss their experience. Was it easier or harder to nest?

Digging a nest and laying eggs...

Covering the nest...

Returning to the sea...


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OBJECTIVES

Students will:

• Name 2 ways to tell turtle tracks apart • Learn which species of sea turtle leaves be-

hind symmetrical tracks • Learn which species of sea turtle leaves be-

hind asymmetrical tracks








10 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

30-45 minutes



♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology

♦ Skills:


SUMMARY Students will learn how to distinguish sea turtle species based on tracks that female sea turtles leave in the sand during the nesting process.


Turtle TracksTurtle TracksTurtle Tracks


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[1]

[2]

[1] Introductory comments at the discretion of the speaker. As a turtle comes ashore, its flippers change from being used to swim and steer … to being used to pull (and push) its heavy body up the beach slope. In doing so, she leaves behind a clear track which can often be used to identify her spe-cies (especially if the track is fresh).

[2] They are two distinct ways to tell tracks

apart. First, look at the size (width) of the tracks. The size of the track is generally related to the turtle’s size. From what we have learned so far, which turtle do you think has the largest track? (Leatherback) The smallest track? (Kemp’s and Olive ridleys) Why?

The second thing to look for is whether the track is “symmetrical” (the same pattern on both sides) or “asymmetrical” (not the same). The Green and the Leatherback move their fore flippers forward simultane-ously, literally “dragging” themselves up the beach (think about using a breast-stroke when you swim). In contrast, the Hawksbill, Loggerhead and both species of Ridley al-ternate their flipper movements; that is, one front flipper moves forward at the same time as the hind flipper on the opposite side, leaving behind a “zipper-like” track with off-set flipper marks.

The different ways that turtles crawl up the beach is reflected by their own size and weight. If they are small and light, they have a little bit easier time moving on land, but if they are very large and heavy (remember from yesterday that Greens and Leatherback are the largest sea turtles), they are going to need to use all their strength (which is in the front flippers) to pull themselves up the beach. Let’s look at each species and some examples.

ACTIVITY


63

[3]

[4]

[5]

[3] This is an example of asymmetrical sea tur-tle tracks. Notice the zig-zag pattern? Again, Kemp’s ridley, Olive ridley, Hawksbill and Loggerhead turtles all have asymmetri-cal tracks. The Ridley’s tracks, as well as those of the Hawksbill, are about 70 to 85 cm wide, but the Loggerhead tracks are lar-ger, sometimes 90 cm or more (which is almost 3 feet).

[4] Here is a picture of a Hawksbill sea turtle

returning to the ocean. Notice how she is pulling with one flipper and then the other. This turtle is also wearing a satellite tag. Researchers apply this device to the cara-pace and are able to track sea turtles as they make their migrations around the Car-ibbean Sea, and beyond.

[5] Here we see an Olive ridley making her way

down the beach. Does she leave a sym-metrical or an asymmetrical track? Asym-metrical! Like the Hawksbill and the Log-gerhead, she pulls with one flipper and then the other. Can you see how her right fore flipper is coming forward, whereas her left fore flipper is not?


64

[6]

[7]

[8]

[6] Notice the difference between these tracks and the ones we just saw. Notice how “clean” and clear these tracks are, with a matched set of flipper-prints. These are Leatherback tracks, an example of the sym-metrical type of turtle tracks. Notice the deep imprints of the rear flippers on either side of the midline (tail drag). Also notice the size of these tracks! Leatherback tracks are about 150 to 230 cm (6 feet or more across!), while Green turtle tracks are a bit smaller, 100 to 130 cm.

[7] See how the Leatherback is pulling with both flippers at the same time?

[8] Here is a Green sea turtle returning to the

ocean. Notice the symmetrical pattern she is leaving in the sand.


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[9]

[10]

[11]

[9] Can you tell which tracks is which? Re-member to look at the size (width) of the tracks and whether they are “zig-zagged” (asymmetrical) or not. [* narration note: press the next button to reveal who the tracks belong to.] The middle track is Hawksbill (zig-zag), the far right is Leather-back (symmetrical and large) and the far left belongs to the Green turtle. Notice that it is the same pattern (symmetrical), but nar-rower than and not as deep as the Leather-back’s track.

[10] Hatchlings also leave tracks in the sand as

they make their way down to the ocean. Do you think these are sea turtle hatchling tracks? [* narration note: press the next key to reveal who the tracks belong to.] No! They are crab tracks! Crab tracks are often mistaken for sea turtle hatchling tracks.

[11] Here we have a number of different tracks.

Who do they belong to? Let’s start with the easy ones – who do the biggest tracks be-long to? [* narration note: press next key.] Humans! What about the ones immediately to the left of the biggest human tracks? [* narration note: advance to the next slide.] These are sea turtle hatchling tracks. Now, what about the fainter lines of tracks toward the right side of the screen? [* narration note: advance to the next slide.] These are crab tracks. Notice how they are similar to hatchling tracks. If you were to see these tracks up close, you would see that one side of the crab track is larger than the other side (due to the larger and smaller front claw), and this is one way to be a good beach de-tective and tell these tracks apart.


66

[12]

[13]

[14]

[12] Another clue in deciding whether the tracks you see belong to hatchlings (or something else) is to follow the tracks up the beach. Do they end in a nest? Baby turtles often emerge together with their siblings, and a mass of tracks emerging at one point can identify for you the exact spot where the eggs were laid! Take a close look. How many baby turtles were there? Did they head directly for the sea, or were they con-fused by something? If some tracks head inland, away from the sea, follow them and notify an authority if you find a hatchling that is lost. NEVER keep hatchlings as pets, they must return to the sea if they are to survive.

[13] Tracks can tell a story about a sea turtle’s

activities on the beach. If she nested suc-cessfully, you will see a U shaped track, with some disturbance at the top of the U where she dug her hole and then covered it again after her eggs were laid. If you see a U-shaped track with no disturbance at all, scientists call this a “false crawl” or “half moon”, meaning for one reason or another she did not nest. She could have been frightened by a predator on the beach, been blocked by beach chairs or a seawall, or just did not find a suitable nesting spot. Seeing only one track in the sand – coming out of the sea but not returning – is a red light! Danger sign! What could this mean? Probably that she was taken by a hunter, wandered inland after being confused by the bright lights of a hotel or road, or per-haps is stuck in the vegetation somewhere. If you do find a sea turtle on the beach and she appears to be in danger, you should call your local fisheries or forestry officer – or police or hotel security officer – and they can help.

[14] In summary, you can all be good beach de-

tectives and use the tracks a sea turtle leaves in the sand to identify her species and a lot of information about her activity on land. Remember to look at the size of the tracks, and whether they are symmetrical or asymmetrical. Any questions?


67

Who Made this Crawl?Who Made this Crawl?Who Made this Crawl?

OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Learn how different species of sea turtle cre-

ate different patterns (tracks) in the sand • Determine what the activity the turtle partici-

pated in while on the beach

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. The Instructor creates tracks of 3 different

species in the sand, using the following in-structions. Be sure to include a “false crawl” (one in which the turtle came ashore but did not successfully nest before returning to the sea) and a no-exit track.

Leatherback Turtle Step 1: Starting at the water’s edge and facing inland, spread your feet as far apart as possible while still being able to walk. Shift your feet in place so that your feet dig into the sand. Repeat this proc-ess as you move inland. Each set of footprints should be about 5 inches in front of the last. Make sure that your footprints are symmetrical and that the space between your feet remains constant as you move up the beach.


15 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

Warm Up 30 minutes Activity 20 minutes Extension 20 minutes


Sandy Beach

♦ Setting:

Outdoors, Beach

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology Fine Arts

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Discussion Observation

♦ Vocabulary:

Asymmetrical False Crawl Symmetrical

SUMMARY Students will learn to distinguish the species of sea turtle by the tracks she leaves in the sand.

DAY 2: Game


68

This will produce part B of the track, as indi-cated in the diagram below.

Step 2: Go back to the water’s edge and, walking alongside the track you have just created, use your toe to make a sweeping motion away from the outer tips of your “B” foot-prints, in a sickle shape through the sand. This will create the part of the track labeled A in the diagram. A and B marks are meant to imitate the front-flipper tracks of the tur-tle. Step 3: Again starting at the water’s edge, shuffle your feet in “baby steps” through the middle of your tracks. This will create heel marks which roughly imitate the back flipper tracks in a turtle crawl (labeled C in the diagram). Create the appearance of a tail-drag (D) by dragging a stick behind you so that it makes a squiggle through the sand or dips occasionally through the middle of the track. The symmetrical pattern and large track size will indicate that this track belongs to a Leatherback turtle, so make the track as big and symmetrical as possible.

Green Turtle The green turtle track is created in the same manner, but with feet spread about two-thirds the distance apart as in Step 1 (leatherback). Skip Step 2 (Greens and Hawksbill Turtles do not have this part in their tracks) and complete Steps 3 and 4. Hawksbill Turtle You will use the same procedure as for the Green Turtle. However, your A marks will be placed in an alternating fashion, rather than symmetrically (see diagram below). This asymmetrical pattern, and smaller track size will indicate that this track be-longs to a hawksbill track. NOTE: If real tracks are available ask a local beach patroller or wildlife officer to ex-plain who reported the tracks.


69

ACTIVITY

1. Start the lesson by taking a short walk

on the beach looking for tracks in the sand. Have the students determine who the tracks belong to: are they ani-mal or human? how many different tracks did you find?

2. Explain to the students that you heard

that a sea turtle nested on their beach earlier this morning. When you come across the tracks (that you made ear-lier), have the students determine which species the tracks belong to.

3. Next ask them to determine what activ-

ity the turtle was engaged in: did she actually nest? did she return safely to the sea?

EXTENSION

1. Inform the students that YOU actually

made the turtle tracks. Demonstrate how you made them, and have the stu-dents make their own turtle tracks in the sand.

* Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Sea Turtle Conservation Guidelines (2002)

Successful Nest*

Hatchling tracks

Nest Attempts*


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Day 3

________________________________________________________

Natural Threats to Sea Turtle Survival


71

Fun with Food WebsFun with Food WebsFun with Food Webs

OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Learn about food webs and food chains • List 3 life stages of sea turtles • Discuss the interactions between sea turtles,

their natural predators and the marine envi-ronment

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Write the names of the creatures and the

other items in the story (see “Members of the Marine Community on page 72) on index cards and have the students choose one.

2. Using the materials provided, students will

create puppets or pictures of the creatures and the other items in the story. Ask the stu-dents to write the name of their creature or item on their drawing or puppet.


20 minutes

♦ Activity Time:



Lunch size paper bags, drawing or construction paper, markers or cray-ons, scissors, tape or glue, ball of yarn or string, cotton balls

♦ Setting:


♦ Subject Areas:

Ecology Fine Arts

♦ Skills:

Drawing Connections, Group Coop-eration, Listening, Observation, Role Playing

♦ Vocabulary:

Food chain Food web Life stage Predator

SUMMARY Through role play, students will make connections and explain the cause-and- effect relationship between actions of sea turtles and their natural predators, and the delicate balance of the marine envi-ronment.

DAY 3: Game


72

NOTE: If time is limited, students could simply color the images included in this les-son and in “It’s Tough being a Sea Turtle” on page 86. 3. Each student assumes the role of one

member of the marine community de-scribed below. The corresponding pic-tures will serve as the name tag for the characters in the story and should be hung around the students’ necks with yarn, taped to their shirts, or, if a pup-pet, worn on one hand.

Members of the Marine Community

Sun, Air, Beach, Ocean, Sargassum Sea-weed, Phytoplankton, Sea Turtle Eggs, Sea Turtle Hatchling, Juvenile Sea Turtle, Adult Sea Turtle, Beach Predator* (Crab, Mon-goose, Dog, Ant), Sea Bird* (Frigate Bird, Sea Gull), Bait Fish, Reef Fish* (Jack, Cat-fish, Barracuda, Grouper), Shark* (Tiger, Great White), Orca Whale NOTE: An * indicates additional characters that could be used if the class size exceeds 15 students. At least 1 character for each of the * characters must be used. For lar-ger classes, all * characters can be used. However, the instructor will need to incor-porate the additional characters into the story. For smaller classes, students can double-up and have more than one role. 4. The students will sit on the floor in a

circle in random order. The teacher will stand, holding the ball of yarn or string, and narrate the story, passing the ball to each student when his/her charac-ter’s name appears in bold capital let-ters in the script. The yarn is only passed to each student once, when his/her character’s name is first mentioned.

5. The students remain seated on the floor

throughout the story. They will grasp the yarn when it comes to them, keep-ing their hands close to the floor so the yarn will lie flat inside the circle. This will allow the teacher to walk over the yarn as s/he passes the ball from stud-

ent to student, and the criss-crossing yarn inside the circle will gradually form a complex “web.”

ACTIVITY

1. The instructor should read the following

to the Students: “Imagine that you’re no longer in the class-room but outside on the beach, surrounded by the smells and sounds of the ocean. Imagine you are becoming part of the ocean, taking the form pictured on your nametag. I’m going to read a story about this ocean. The story is designed to show how impor-tant each member of the community is to all the other members. The first time I mention your part, I will pass a ball of yarn to you. Take hold of the yarn, then give the ball back to me so that I can pass it to the next person. Don’t let go of your part of the yarn, but hold it down on the floor so I can walk around inside the circle and pass the yarn to the next person.” 2. The instructor reads the following story:

The Dangerous Life of a Sea Turtle (to be read with lots of expression!)

Our story begins on a quiet beach. It is just before dawn, and a nest of sea turtle EGGS is beginning to stir. The eggs have been incubating in the sand for about 60 days and now they are ready to hatch. One small HATCHLING pokes her head out of the sand and takes her first breath of fresh AIR. Her brothers and sisters quickly follow, and they all race toward the open OCEAN. But they are not alone on the beach! As they crawl toward the water they encounter a number of beach predators. A GHOST CRAB with big strong claws snatches one of the slower hatchlings. The other hatch-lings continue toward the ocean,


73

but some are eaten by a hungry DOG. Back at the nest, a MONGOOSE happily snacks on eggs that never hatched and were left exposed when the hatchling tur-tles departed. The SUN slowly rises into the sky, as the hatchlings enter the ocean. Our marine community grows healthy and strong with the light of the sun. PHYTOPLANKTON are tiny plants that use the light of the sun to make their food. Other marine animals, such as small BAIT FISH and clams, can not make their own food and must eat the plankton. Reef fish eat any creature smaller than themselves. After a meal of bait fish, a hungry CATFISH gobbles up one of the hatchlings in a single bite! Once in the open ocean, young JUVENILE sea turtles tend to hang out in floating beds of seaweed, attempting to hide from preda-tors. But the FRIGATE BIRD flying high above swoops down to snag a quick bite of sea turtle. SARGASSUM SEAWEED, a favorite treat for the sea turtle, also uses the energy of the sun to make its food. Nudibranchs, jellyfish and many other in-vertebrates - as well as many fish - find food and shelter in the sargassum. As sea turtles grow up, they swim faster, dive deeper, and their shells grow stronger. Fewer predators can eat ADULT sea tur-tles. Only predators with strong jaws and sharp teeth can cut through their hard shells. The GREAT WHITE SHARK has no trouble at all eating an adult sea turtle. In the Caribbean Sea, TIGER SHARKS eat many sea turtles. Sea turtles face many natural threats during their lifetime, and it is amazing that any sur-vive to adulthood, but they do! One warm summer night, an adult female sea turtle crawls up the BEACH to lay her eggs. She clears the area of debris using her front flip-pers and then begins to dig the nest cavity using her hind flippers. Quietly she depos-its 100 pearly, white eggs.

with sand. Exhausted, she returns to the ocean, and the cycle of life begins again.

3. Have the students look at how the web has grown and how many strings over-lap. Discuss the importance of the rela-tionships within the marine community.

4. Ask the students what would happen if

the plants were taken out of our food web? [Instruct the student who has plankton to give his/her string a gentle pull.] Who feels this pull?

5. What if there were no bait fish? [Have

that student pull his/her string.] Who feels this? What if pollution filled the sky and the sun disappeared? Con-tinue to discuss what happens when “links” are removed from the food web and what it might mean for the rest of the marine community.

EXTENSION

1. Students can recreate the web in the

form of a collage by mounting their character on a chalkboard or wall, and then showing connections by either drawing lines or pinning yarn between the items pictured. What items makes the most connections? The least? How do local fisheries affect the web? How does coastal development affect the web?


74


Sun Air

Sargassum Seaweed

Phytoplankton

Bait Fish

Beach


75


Sea Turtle Eggs

Juvenile Sea Turtle

Ocean

Sea Turtle Hatchling Adult Sea Turtle


76

OBJECTIVES Students will:

• Name 3 natural predators of sea turtles • Name 3 life stages of sea turtles • Discuss food webs and each players impor-

tant role in the ecosystem








10 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

30-45 minutes



♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology

♦ Skills:


SUMMARY Students will identify the many natural predators sea turtles face during differ-ent life stages, how weather and ero-sion can destroy nests, and how natural disease may affect sea turtle survival.


Natural ThreatsNatural ThreatsNatural Threats


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[1]

[2]

[3]

[1] Introductory comments at the discretion of the speaker. Many animals take advantage of the seasonal abundance of small turtles. Due to their small size, hatchlings are ex-tremely vulnerable from the moment they emerge from the nest. During this presenta-tion, you will learn about the variety of natu-ral predators that prey on sea turtles at dif-ferent life stages.

[2] This is a picture of a food web. Can some-

one explain to me what this means?

A food web is a series of organisms related by predator-prey and consumer-resource interactions, in other words, the entirety of interrelated food chains in an ecological community. A predator is an animal that hunts and eats other animals. Simply put, a food web is where bigger carnivores (meat eaters) eat smaller carnivores, smaller car-nivores eat plants (or sometimes even smaller carnivores!), and plants make their own food from the sun’s energy. That’s why we call plants “primary producers” and why the world could not function without plants – they “translate” the energy of the sun into food that eventually nourishes all life.

[3] Here is an example of a sea turtle’s food

web. Can someone tell me what kind of sea turtle this is? Correct, a Loggerhead! The Loggerhead eats crabs and sometimes fish; crabs also eat fish; larger fish eats smaller fish; but who eats the sea turtle?

ACTIVITY


78

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[4] Let’s start at the beginning. Sea turtles be-gin their lives on land as eggs.

[5] About 60 days after being laid in the sand,

they emerge from their nest as hatchlings. What predators do you think could harm sea turtles while they are still in their eggs? What predators eat hatchlings crawling on the beach?

[6] Ghost crabs eat both eggs and hatchlings.

The nest of sea turtle eggs is burrowed into by beach crabs, such as the common ghost crab shown here. The ghost crab breaks into the nest and may only feast on a few eggs. However, the crab has left the nest exposed and provided easy access for other predators. Hence, the nest is probably doomed.

[7] Ghost crabs are also known to snatch

hatchlings as they make their way to the ocean, using their large front claws. Crabs are a very important part of the circle of life. They often eat dead animals, for example, and therefore are necessary for keeping our environment clean.


79

[8]

[9]

[10]

[8] Other predators of eggs and hatchlings are shore birds, such as the night heron. Since these birds are nocturnal (meaning that they are active at night), they are present when the sea turtles emerge from the nest. Her-ons and other shore birds are known to walk up and down the beach, listening for the sound of emerging hatchlings digging up and out of the nest. They can “hear” this vibration with their feet and know just where the baby turtles will come to the surface! Some of the larger birds can swallow a hatchling in one gulp!

[9] The mongoose is an introduced species,

meaning that it was brought to the region from foreign lands. This species is a real problem for sea turtle nests throughout the Caribbean. Mongoose have a strong sense of smell and are able to seek out the nests. Hawksbill nests are especially vulnerable because they are often laid near vegetation, and, because the Hawksbill is a rather small turtle with rather small flippers, the nest hole is not as deep as it is for a Green turtle or a Loggerhead.

[10] Can you guess what else might eat eggs

and hatchlings? Would you have guessed “insects”? Probably not. But fire ants, for example, are also an introduced species that cause many problems. How can some-thing smaller than an egg or hatchling be a problem? Ants will swarm a slow hatchling on its way to the water, attack a hatchling that has been flipped over by beach debris, and will also feed on exposed eggs and/or dead hatchlings.

A series of natural stresses can actually lead to the loss of an entire nest! Remem-ber back to the first predator we talked about, the ghost crab. Imagine the ghost crab burrows into the nest and abandons it. Since it is already exposed, flies enter the burrowed opening and lay their eggs amongst the broken turtle eggs. The fly eggs hatch and the hungry larvae feed on the decaying eggs left by the crab. The lar-vae also crawl on the healthy eggs, spread-


80

[10] continued [11]

[12]

[13]

ing fungus that may lead to the failure of otherwise healthy eggs. As the majority of eggs and embryos start to decay, the result-ing stench rises up through airspaces in the sand, eventually reaching the beach and attracting small mammals, such as mon-goose, to the site.

[11] Feral animals and unleashed pets are not

part of the natural ecosystem and are often the direct result of human settlement. Thou-sands – sometimes tens of thousands – of hatchlings are eaten by roaming dogs on a nightly basis at some Caribbean beaches.

[12] Once in the water, there is another set of

predators that consume the frantically swim-ming hatchlings. As they grow larger they gain protection from ocean predators, but until they are about the size of a dinner plate they are very vulnerable. What do you think eats turtles when they are very small?

[13] Sea birds use their powerful eyesight to

spot hatchlings and snatch them up. Hatch-lings are very active and must frequently surface to breathe, making them an easy target from above. However, being small is also an advantage in that hatchlings can find shelter in floating seaweed and under objects adrift at sea. Can someone remem-ber the special kind of coloration that some hatchlings have? Right, “counter-shading”! This is where the top side is darker than the lighter underside. This helps to camouflage them from airborne predators, such as sea birds.


81

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[14] The lighter underside of a sea turtle hatch-ling helps to protect them from predators below, such as reef fish. There are a num-ber of species, such as catfish and jacks, that wait within the coral reef to feed on the tiny hatchlings. Research shows that many if not most hatchlings are lost within the first hour after they enter the sea. But what about when they reach the size of a dinner plate? Does their life become easier?

[15] Very young sea turtles spend the majority of

their time in the open sea, hundreds or even thousands of miles from shore, away from coastal predators. As they grow they be-come stronger swimmers and eventually they return to coastal waters where they fall prey to larger fish, including sharks. Tiger sharks actively feed both day and night, and young sea turtles are among their favorite prey.

[16] Once they have reached full maturity, an

adult’s large size means fewer predator at-tacks. Their hard carapace (top shell) and plastron (bottom shell) give them protection from most predators, but not all.

[17] Orca whales are the largest of the dolphin

family and are known to hunt in packs. They have powerful jaws full of highly spe-cialized teeth that are able to cut through the hard shell of the adult sea turtle. Leath-erbacks have also been found in the stom-achs of orca whales in the Caribbean Sea.


82

[18]

[19]

[20]

[18] Sharks are predators that prey on all sea turtle life stages. They have teeth that are perfectly designed to cut through the hard carapace and plastron of an adult sea turtle, but only the largest sharks can successfully hunt a fully grown sea turtle. An adult sea turtle can turn its carapace like a shield to-ward the shark, and in this way prevent a fatal wound.

[19] Predators are not the only cause of death in

sea turtles. Sea turtles get sick, just like we do. First seen in Green sea turtles in the USA, theses tumorous growths are known as fibropapillomas and they are found in nearly all sea turtle species. The tumors grow both externally and internally, includ-ing on the flippers, the neck, mouth and eyes. Sometimes they greatly inhibit the sea turtle’s ability to seek shelter, find and eat food, and move about. Scientists cau-tion fishers never to eat a turtle that has be-come sick.

[20] Environmental conditions can also result in

death to sea turtles or their eggs. Nest loss to erosion due to heavy rains or high tides can cause nest failure. As mentioned ear-lier in the week, sea turtle embryos breathe through porous eggshells. If the nest was to get inundated with water, the eggs would drown. If sand piles up on top of the nest due to natural processes (like wind), it can be difficult for hatchlings to successfully climb to the surface. Unusual heat or cold, root growth, and bacterial invasions also pose threats.


83

[21]

[22]

[23]

[21] Sometimes biologists move eggs from high risk areas, but this must be done within 24 hours of the eggs being laid. After that time, the very, very tiny embryo attaches to the shell in order to breathe during its develop-ment …. and then moving the egg can kill the embryo (basically it drowns in its own fluids). Only trained biologists should han-dle or move sea turtle eggs, so if you find a nest at risk you should always contact a fisheries or wildlife officer.

[22] In conclusion, it is estimated that only 1 in

1,000 eggs survives to a mature turtle. This is the natural cycle, for all living things must eat to survive and the selection process en-sures that only the strongest turtles will eventually produce eggs of their own. To counter high levels of natural mortality in young turtles, the turtles that live to adult-hood must live a long time and a female must lay thousands of eggs in her lifetime.

[23] One thing is clear—the most important sea

turtles to protect and care for are the large adults. One of the reasons our sea turtles are endangered is that far too many adult turtles have been killed, including nesting females. When this happens, there are not enough adults left to produce the eggs or the next generation of sea turtles. Any questions?


84

EggEggEgg---cellent Nest Protectorscellent Nest Protectorscellent Nest Protectors

OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Learn how difficult it is for sea turtles to lay

their eggs • Name 2 adaptations that sea turtles have for

nesting • List 2 ways female sea turtles protect their

eggs from predators

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Prepare the pudding as directed on the pack-

age, making enough so that each student re-ceives at least 1/2 cup of pudding.

2. Place the graham crackers, one full cracker

per student, in a Ziploc bag. Crush them by applying pressure with your hands.

NOTE: Be sure to check that the students partici-pating in this game are not allergic to any of the ingredients used in this activity!


30 minutes

♦ Activity Time:


♦ Setting:

Outdoors or indoor space


Instant Jello pudding (any flavor) Graham crackers

Mini-marshmallows Whipped cream Styrofoam plates Paper towels

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology Food Science

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Drawing Connections

**NOTE: This activity involves food! Make sure students are not allergic to the ingredients used in this game.**

SUMMARY Students will learn about the egg lay-ing process by participating in an ex-ercise where they become a nesting female and must hide their eggs in the sand (this game involves food).

DAY 3: Game


85

ACTIVITY 1. Ask the students how nesting females

dig their nest. Do they have hands to help them dig their nest? No, they use their hind flippers. Are they able to see the hole they are digging? No, they rely on their instincts. After laying their eggs, do they immediately return to the sea? No, first they cover their eggs.

2. Explain to the students that they will be

acting as nesting females in this game. They will have to bury their Eggs (marshmallows) in the Sand (pudding, whipped cream, and graham crackers) only using their mouths. They can not use their hands!

NOTE: Some students may not want to participate in this game. Encourage all stu-dents to give it a try but if they decide not to involve them in cheering on their class-mates. 3. Provide each student with a plate and a

napkin. Give each student 5 marshmal-lows, and have them place them on their napkin.

4. Next, give each student one-half cup of

pudding, followed by some graham cracker crumbs and lastly some whipped cream, on the plate.

5. Have all participating students stand in

front of their nesting materials with their hands behind their back.

6. When given the signal, the students be-

gin to move their Eggs (marshmallows) from their napkins into the Sand (pudding, graham cracker crumbs, and whipped cream), one at a time. They must continue to move the Eggs and bury them until all Eggs are safely cov-ered in the Sand.

7. After fully covering 5 Eggs, ask the stu-

dents to raise their hand to signal that they are done. A staff member will check the nest to determine if the Eggs are fully protected or if they need to keep covering.

8. The first Turtle to successfully cover all

her Eggs wins! 9. As the students enjoy their “nest”, dis-

cuss with them their experience. Was it easy or hard to bury the Eggs in the Sand? What if the Sand was harder? Was it hard just using your mouth? What if you had to do it with your eyes closed? Would it have been easier if you could have used your hands? Would it have been easier if you could have used your feet?

10. After the students have finished their

“nest”, have them wash their faces, and then wash and save their plates. Have the students write their names on the back of their plate. The plates will be reused on Day 4 in “Sea Turtle Prints.”


86

It’s Tough being a Sea Turtle!It’s Tough being a Sea Turtle!It’s Tough being a Sea Turtle!

OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Name 3 natural predators of sea turtles • List 3 life stages of sea turtles • Discuss the odds of a sea turtle survival from

hatchling to adulthood

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Copy and cut out the Predator Cards and the

Turtle Tags. Place each Predator Card on a string. Print enough Turtle Tags so that each student has 5. Cut them out individually and place a rolled piece of tape on the back of each.

NOTE: If possible, laminate all cards/tags for pro-tection and to enable future use. 2. Set up the playing area by creating a 40 m by

20 m rectangle with rope or chalk, or by draw-ing a line in the sand/soil. Clearly mark the Start and Finish Lines, one on each short (20 m) side (see picture on following page).


20 minutes

♦ Activity Time:



Provided Predator Cards Provided Turtle Tags Tape, String

♦ Setting:

Outdoors or large indoor space

♦ Subject Areas:

Ecology Math Physical Education

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Team Building Observation

♦ Vocabulary:

Hatchling Life Stage Predator Survival

SUMMARY Students will simulate the natural mortality rate of sea turtles as they leave the nest, grow up in the ocean and return to the beach to lay eggs.

DAY 3: Game


87

ACTIVITY

Organize the students into two groups: Tur-tles and Predators. The total size of the class will determine how many students are in each group. A minimum of 5 Predators is required and there can be a maximum of 14 Predators. With a smaller group, 5 stu-dents can play the role of multiple preda-tors. With a group larger than 40, the in-structor should duplicate the set of Predator Cards. The remaining students will be Tur-tles. Round 1: Get to the Water! 1. Distribute 1 of the “Eggs/Hatchlings”

Predator Cards to each of the students representing predators. Five (5) Turtle Tags should be given to each student representing a Turtle. The Turtle Tags should be worn on the students’ chest.

2. The Turtles have just hatched out of

their nest and have to make it across the beach to the ocean. Have the Tur-tles (hatchlings) line up in a “crab walk” position (bellies up, balancing on their hands and feet) at the Start Line (the nesting beach). The Predators will wear their cards around their necks and line up on the Finish Line (the ocean).

3. When the signal is given, the Turtles

“crawl” toward the ocean as fast as they can. Meanwhile, the Predators race

from the other side and begin grabbing the Turtles’ Tags one at a time. The Predators CAN NOT “attack” a Turtle two times in a row, they must move on to another Turtle, and continue remov-ing one Turtle Tag at a time.

4. Continue until all Turtles cross the Fin-

ish Line. Turtles who still have one or more Turtle Tags move onto the next round; those without go to “Turtle Heaven” and sit the rest of the game out. How many Turtles (hatchlings) sur-vived? Was it easy for the hatchlings to get to the ocean? What about the Predators? Was it easy to get a meal?

Round 2: Into the Ocean Blue

1. The Turtles have just entered the ocean

where even more predators are waiting to gobble them up! Now, the Turtles must begin their dangerous journey from coastal waters into the open ocean. Surviving Turtles go back to the Start Line (coastal waters). “Juvenile” Predators line up at the finish line (open ocean). “Juvenile” Predators can be students that were not in Round 1, or they can be previous Predators and play again.

2. Turtles must “swim” (walk slowly with

arms acting like flippers) toward the


88

open ocean. When the signal is given, Predators will again attempt to take the tags away from the Turtles, “attacking” a turtle only once and removing only one Turtle Tag at a time.

2. Round 2 ends when the all Turtles have crossed the Finish Line into the open ocean. Students with Turtle Tags will participate in the final round, and those without Turtle Tags join the hatchings in “Turtle Heaven.” Ask the students: Tur-tles, how did your experience in Round 2 differ from the first round? Was it harder to survive?

Round 3: Where’s my Nesting Beach? 1. Now the Turtles are adults. They must

travel from the open ocean back to the beach where they were born in order to lay their eggs.

2. Predators will switch their cards one last

time, to those from the “Adult” category. Adults will swim (run with arms acting as flippers) from the Start Line (open ocean) to the Finish Line (nesting beach). Predators will try to remove the remaining Turtle Tags.

3. Once the Turtles have crossed the Fin-

ish Line, the game is over. Bring the students together to discuss the results of the game. Have the Turtles that sur-vived all 3 rounds sit together, and those that ended up in “Turtle Heaven” sit together. Compare the numbers.

4. How many turtles survived? Explain to the students that only 1 sea turtle egg out of 1000 lives to adulthood. What does that mean for conservation of the species? Discuss what happens to the population when a turtle is removed at each life stage: eggs/hatchling, juvenile, adult.

HINT: Remember what you learned in the PowerPoint Presentation. 5. Ask the Predators about their experi-

ence. Which Round was the easiest for them and why? In which Round did they collect the most Turtle Tags? Why are there fewer predators as turtles grow up and get bigger?

EXTENSION 1. Repeat the entire game, only this time

have Turtles in “Turtle Heaven” return to the game as human associated threats, such as fishing line and nets, buildings on the beach, lights, garbage or hunt-ers/poachers.

2. The hunters/poachers chase after the

Turtles like the natural Predators did. Students representing the other threats must choose a place and stand still. They can only catch Turtles by reaching with their arms. How does this affect the Turtles at each life stage? How many survived? Did the Predators ex-perience a difference? How many hatchlings could a single light disorient (kill) each night? What would happen to the Predators if there were fewer Tur-tles to eat?


89

Predator Cards: Eggs and Hatchlings

Ghost Crab

Night Heron


90


Mongoose

Ants


91


Sea Birds - Frigate Birds

Predator Cards: Hatchlings at Sea

Dogs


92


Sea Birds - Sea Gulls

Reef Fish - Jacks


93


Reef Fish - Catfish

Reef Fish - Barracuda


94


Reef Fish - Grouper

Sharks - Tiger


95

Predator Cards: Adults

Orca Whales

Sharks - Great White


96

Turtle Tags (Duplicate so each “Turtle” receives 5 Turtle Tags)


97

Sandy Sea TurtlesSandy Sea TurtlesSandy Sea Turtles


♦ Learn to distinguish sea turtle species based on tracks, diet and/or habitat

ACTIVITY

1. Have the students work in pairs or individually

to create sea turtles in the sand, keeping in mind that others will be trying to guess what species it is. Encourage them to incorporate clues into their work- turtle size, diet, habitat, or the shape of its tracks.

2. After about 20 minutes, have half the students walk around and try to guess what species of sea turtle their classmates have made. Then switch and let the other students do the same.

4. Discuss with the students why they chose their species. What particular “clues” were most often used? Tracks? Scutes? Size of head?

5. Invite a local reporter to cover this unusual art exhibition, giving the students a chance to talk about what they have learned.


10 minutes

♦ Activity Time: 20 minutes


Sandy Beach

♦ Setting:

Outdoors, Beach

♦ Subject Areas:


♦ Skills:

Communication Creative Skills Team Building Observation

SUMMARY Students will create sea turtles in the sand, recalling and demonstrating species specific characteristics learned in previous lessons.

DAY 3: Craft


98

Day 4 _____________________________________________________________

Human-Associated Threats to Sea Turtle

Survival


99

Sea Turtles PrintsSea Turtles PrintsSea Turtles Prints

OBJECTIVES Students will: • Learn how to use recycled materials to make

sea turtle prints. • Discuss how recycling and reusing materials

can reduce human-caused threats to sea tur-tles and increase their survival.

ACTIVITY 1. Give each student their Styrofoam plate from

yesterday and a piece of paper. Instruct them to cut the sides off the plate so that that they have a flat piece of Styrofoam. Ask them to trim their piece of paper to the same size as the flat piece of Styrofoam.

2. Using a pencil, have the students sketch an

image of a sea turtle, designing their own or selecting an image from a book or magazine, on the piece of paper.

3. When the sketch is complete, tape it to the

plate. Each student should retrace their sketch on the plate, pressing hard enough to indent the Styrofoam, but not puncturing it all


15 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

40 minutes


White copier paper Pencils Styrofoam plates from Day 3 Scissors Tape Paint Paint brushes Books/magazines with pictures of

sea turtles

♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:


♦ Skills:

Creative Skills Decision Making Observation

SUMMARY Students will sketch an image of a sea turtle, create a printing block, and make a color print.

DAY 4: Craft


100

the way through. In this way, each stu-dent has created a printing block.

4. Instruct the students to remove the pa-per, and assess their printing block (plate). If they didn’t press hard enough, they may need to retrace the sketch into the plate.

5. After choosing a paint color, ask the

students to spread a thin, even coat of paint on the printing block (plate).

6. Instruct the students to place a clean

piece of paper on top of the printing block and smooth over it with their hands to transfer the ink from the block to the paper. Have them slowly peel the paper off the printing block to reveal a sea turtle print.

NOTE: If the student used too much paint on the printing block, the print may come out smudged. Remove some of the paint and repeat as necessary.

Printing Block (Styrofoam plate)

Sea Turtle Print

Reuse

Reduce

Recycle


101


• Name 2 ways humans harm sea turtles on land and at sea

• Learn how garbage in the water harms sea turtles








10 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

30-45 minutes



♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology

♦ Skills:


SUMMARY Students will learn how humans nega-tively impact sea turtles on land and at sea. In addition to direct harvest, human have damaged or eliminated many Car-ibbean nesting and feeding grounds.


HumanHumanHuman---Associated ThreatsAssociated ThreatsAssociated Threats


102

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[1] Introductory comments at the discretion of the speaker. Many of the reasons sea tur-tles are endangered have to do with how we as humans treat and use both marine and coastal environments. Human impacts have caused once thriving populations of sea turtles to plummet. Human-associated threats can be either direct (done intention-ally) or indirect (done accidentally).

[2] What do you notice about this picture? Do

you see that the house is right on the wa-ter? The owners built a wall to protect the property from the sea, but as a result the beach washed away. As more and more people develop and live in coastal areas it is becoming increasingly difficult for a sea tur-tle to find a dark, quiet sandy beach to lay her eggs. Coastal development often re-moves natural vegetation from the beach. Can you remember which sea turtle prefers to nest in or very near to vegetation? (Hawksbills) Vegetation also helps to hold the sand in place and prevent erosion, and it moderates the temperature of the beach, preventing the sand from becoming blister-ing hot.

[3] During construction heavy machinery is of-

ten right on the beach, causing compaction (reducing air space between sand grains) and possibly trapping hatchlings in the sand. Heavy machinery can also crush nests and kill embryos and hatchlings hid-den beneath the sand. Finally, sand com-paction can result in a very hard beach sur-face, making it impossible for nesting fe-males to successfully dig a nest.

[4] This is an extreme case of coastal develop-

ment found in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. What do you notice about this picture? No vegetation, tall buildings with lots of win-dows. Why might lots of windows be a problem for sea turtles?

ACTIVITY


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[5]

[6]

[5] Photopollution, or the presence of detrimen-tal artificial light in the environment, can be disorienting to nesting females and lethal to recently emerged hatchlings. As previously discussed, sea turtles use subtle visual cues to orient themselves down the beach to the surf line. Lights from hotels, restau-rants, homes, tennis courts and even beachgoers (with flashlights) can mislead hatchlings, causing them to head inland, away from the sea. Both adults and hatch-lings use precious energy stores wandering around on land, decreasing their chances of survival. Researchers have reported adult female turtles trapped in swimming pools, and hatchlings crushed on road surfaces.

[6] Beach “nourishment” is not common in Car-

ibbean islands, but it could become more so as coastal development and erosion in-crease. Beach nourishment is a costly process where sand is brought in from an-other source to replace sand that has been lost to erosion on the developed beach. From the picture you can see how the width of the beach is being increased, using lots of heavy machinery. The new sand is often of different grain size, and in some cases is incompatible with incubation. Sand is usu-ally taken from an offshore source through a dredging process, and the dredge can also do a lot of damage as it moves along the ocean floor much like a large vacuum, suck-ing up sand, rocks, plants and sometimes animals, even large sea turtles.

What do think happens when the new sand is a different color? Do you remember what we said about how sex is determined in sea turtles? Warmer temperatures produce fe-males, while cooler temperatures favor males. Think about when you go out on the beach wearing a dark color … you feel really hot because dark colors absorb sunlight, while light colors reflect it. Think about what darker colored sand would mean for sand temperatures. Darker sand used to replenish the beach raises the incu-


104

[6] continued [7]

[8]

bation temperature, perhaps altering the sex ratios of sea turtle populations by producing mostly females. Although beaches are dy-namic and through seasonal changes in currents, for example, sand is washed away, Nature has a way of bringing it back. It is only when humans alter the coastline that this natural process is disturbed and artificial “nourishment” is needed.

[7] Tourism activities often lead to the destruc-

tion of habitats. Boats drop their anchors without thinking about the damage caused, breaking off pieces of coral and leaving deep trenches through sea grass beds. In-experienced snorkelers and scuba divers also damage important marine habitats by standing, kicking and touching, in addition to removing shells, coral and other marine animals as souvenirs.

[8] Coastal development is often a direct result

of tourism pressure. To accommodate growing numbers of tourists, hotels and res-taurants are built, usually on the beach. Attractions like snorkeling and scuba diving invite tourists to view sea turtles up close and personal. Although most operations stress the importance of giving these crea-tures their space, some tourists go right up to the turtles, touching them and in some cases trying to catch a ride. This can se-verely stress the sea turtle!

Activities such as boating also cause a

number of problems for sea turtles. Propel-ler strikes and vessel collisions can cause severe head and body injury. As recrea-tional boating and marine tourism activities increase, the potential for sea turtle injury from these activities also increases.


105

[9]

[10]

[11]

[9] Increased development along coastlines also increases the amount of pollution that enters our waters. This could be in the form of liquids (oil and gasoline), gases (air pollu-tion that eventually rains down into the sea) or solid waste like plastic, glass, and metal.

[10] Marine debris is a fancy way of describing

garbage in the water. Would you want to swim in this water? No way! And neither does marine life! There are two ways that marine debris harms sea turtles.

[11] The first is through ingestion, or consuming

(eating) the garbage. Can you remember what Leatherback sea turtles eat? That’s right, jellyfish. To a sea turtle, these plastic bags and latex balloons floating in the water look like jellyfish. Consuming this garbage can cause choking, and the bags some-times block passage to the stomach or lungs so that the turtle is unable to eat or breathe. They can also fill the stomach with garbage, causing the animal to think it’s full when in fact it’s slowly dying of starvation. Aluminum foil, fish hooks and Mylar bal-loons can resemble small “sparkly” surface fish. These materials, once ingested, can cut stomach and intestines, causing internal infections and even death.


106

[12]

[13]

[12] The other way that marine debris can harm sea turtles is through entanglement – mean-ing that the turtle is caught and tangled up. Sea turtles do not have fingers like you and I, and they cannot untie themselves if they get caught in a submerged net or fishing line. As we mentioned on the first day, sea turtles are air breathing reptiles and must come to the surface to breathe. If they get entangled underwater and are unable to return to the surface, they will drown. Sometimes the entanglement will not com-pletely incapacitate the sea turtle, but over time the fishing line or other garbage cuts into their soft tissues and may amputate a limb. Heavy nets can increase drag, mak-ing it more difficult for sea turtles to move around or escape predators.

[13] We have seen that when fishers leave nets

and fishing line in the water, sea turtles and other marine life can become entangled in them. Another way in which fishers acci-dentally harm sea turtles is through bycatch, or the incidental capture of species not in-tended to be caught. For example, you are trawling for shrimp but you also catch bot-tom feeders, like Loggerhead sea turtles or sand sharks, then the turtles and the sharks are known as “bycatch”. Sometimes sea turtles are actually attracted to the bait, for example squid used in long-line fisheries, and they get caught on the baited hook or entangled in the line. Some estimates are that hundreds of thousands of sea turtles in our region are wasted due to their death as bycatch every year.


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[14]

[15]

[16]

[14] In contrast to the issue of bycatch, in some countries it’s legal to catch sea turtles di-rectly. Many cultures throughout the Carib-bean consume sea turtle meat and eggs, and when sea turtles were plentiful that was less of a problem than it is today. The goal of sea turtle management is to harvest these animals sustainably. What does “sustainable” mean? How might a sustain-able harvest be achieved? [Discussion: Perhaps by quotas so that fishers don’t take too many turtles, by protecting the mother turtles and their eggs, and by making sure that important habitats, like sandy beaches and coral reefs, are kept safe from pollution. Can you think of other ways we can ensure there will always be sea turtles in our wa-ters?]

[15] Sea turtle are sometimes harvested for their

shells to be used as decorations. The scutes of the Hawksbill turtle are used to make crafts and jewelry. Leatherback oil was once used for a wide variety of pur-poses, from varnishing boats to medicinal uses. Centuries ago these products were essential to life in the Caribbean region. Native cultures used sea turtles not only for meat and oil, but also to fashion fishing hooks and other tools, make leather, and rock babies (in large carapaces)! Today most Caribbean countries protect their sea turtles, and it’s against international law to carry sea turtle parts or products across na-tional borders.

[16] In conclusion, although human-caused

threats pose major problems for sea turtles all over the world, there is a growing aware-ness of the important role these creatures play in the ecology and economy of tropical countries and that depleted populations are in need of greater protection. It is not too late! We can all play a role in sea turtle sur-vival. Can you name some ways in which you could change your behavior in order to help sea turtles and other marine creatures survive? We’ll talk more about this subject tomorrow! Any questions?


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Garbage in the Water Garbage in the Water Garbage in the Water

OBJECTIVES

Students will: • Learn how humans contribute to pollution • Learn how humans can help prevent/solve

the problem of marine debris

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Collect and assemble the following items in

sufficient quantity to ensure that each student has at least one item. Some items (oil, soil, baking soda, instant coffee) can be placed in labeled film canisters or plastic bags.

Oil (soy sauce) Plastic bags Fishing Net (hair net) Fishing line (dental floss) Soil Barnyard (instant coffee) Food scraps Fertilizer (baking soda) Newspaper Styrofoam Soapy water Toy boat Glass bottle Aluminum can Aluminum foil Apple core Factory waste (diluted red food coloring) Marine life toys (small plastic fish, sea stars, tur-tles, crabs, etc.)


30 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

Activity 30 minutes


A clear gallon tub of water, plastic film canisters (canister are often available for free at film processing stores), labels or masking tape, can-ister ingredients (listed in the activ-ity), optional– plastic marine life toys (fish, sea turtles, sharks, etc.)

♦ Setting:

Classroom or Outdoors

♦ Subject Areas:

Ecology

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Discussion Group Cooperation Observation Role Playing

♦ Vocabulary:

Marine Debris

SUMMARY Through role play, students will simulate how humans contribute to pollution of the marine environment. This example dem-onstrates that just as we each contribute to the problem, we can also each be part of the solution.

DAY 4: Game


109

2. Fill a clear, gallon tub or container 3/4

full with clean water.

ACTIVITY 1. Provide each student with at least one

item and ask them to sit on the floor in a circle around the water tub.

2. Explain to the students that the tub of

water sitting in front of them is going to represent the Ocean. Ask the students, how does the water look? Would you want to swim in it? What else would you expect to see in the Ocean?

3. Have each student with a marine life toy

come up, one at a time, announce to the class what they have, what they use the Ocean for, and place the toy in the Ocean.

4. One at a time, have the students with

the garbage items do the same. Before pouring the item into the Ocean, have the class discuss where it came from and the harm it might cause. Continue until every student has poured their container (or placed their item) in the Ocean.

5. After everyone has “disposed” of their

item, have the students take a close look at the Ocean. How does it look now? Would they want to go swim-ming? Do you think a tourist would want to come here? What happens if tourists stop coming to this area?

6. Have the students that represented the

marine life toys discuss how this (the polluted water) affects each of them.

7. Ask the students what should be done

next. Should we leave it like this? Have each student think about the pol-lution they “disposed” of in the Ocean. What could each of us do to prevent this from happening or reduce the amount?

8. Ask the students to discuss how to

clean the Ocean. Then instruct them to remove their item, if possible. Is it eas-ier to prevent pollution, or to clean it up later?


110

Sea Turtle SurvivorSea Turtle SurvivorSea Turtle Survivor

OBJECTIVES Students will: • Name 3 natural threats to sea turtle survival • Name 3 human-associated threats to sea

turtle survival • Learn how sea turtles, at different life stages,

are affected by humans

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. The class will be divided into teams of 4 to 5

students. Photo copy the Turtle Tokens, Sea Turtle Survivor game board, and Turtle Trivia cards so that each group has one game board and a full set of Trivia cards, and each student has a unique Turtle Token.

ACTIVITY

1. Divide the class into teams of 4 to 5 students

and give each team a game board, full set of Turtle Trivia Cards, and a die. Give each stu-dent a unique Turtle Token. If dice are not available, you can use two coins. If the coins both land “heads” up, that is 1, mixed is 2, and both landing on “tails” is 3.


20 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

Warm Up 30-45 minutes Activity 70 minutes


5-10 Copies of Sea Turtle Survivor Board (provided)

5-10 copies of Turtle Trivia Cards (provided_

Dice (or coins) 5-10 of the Turtle Tokens (provided)

♦ Setting:


♦ Subject Areas:

Ecology

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Drawing Connections Group Building Role Playing

♦ Vocabulary: Natural Threats Human-Associated Threats

SUMMARY Students will learn the threats that face sea turtles as they journey in the water and on land.

DAY 4: Game


111

NOTE: To adapt this to an outdoor envi-ronment, simply draw the game board in the sand or on a paved surface using chalk. 2. Explain the following rules to the stu-

dents. • Everyone should roll the dice to de-

cide who goes first. The highest roll goes first, the game proceeds clock-wise.

• Each player places their Token on the START space.

• The first player rolls a die and moves their token the number of paces the die indicates. When a player lands on a space, he/she must follow the instructions on that space.

OUTDOOR OPTION: If this is being done outdoors, 1 member of the team will repre-sent the Turtle Token and will move along the board.

• If the space is a Turtle Trivia, the player is asked a question from the Turtle Trivia Cards. The player to his/her right draws the top card and reads it aloud. If the player answers correctly, he/she rolls again, if incor-rect, he/she remains in place, and the die is passed to the next player.

OUTDOOR OPTION: If the student lands on a Turtle Trivia space, a card is drawn and the rest of the team must answer the question.

• Play until one player reaches the end and correctly answers the Turtle Trivia question.

3. After the students have played the

game, lead a discussion about how diffi-cult it is for hatchling sea turtles to sur-vive. Have the students list the man-made and natural threats that they en-countered during the game. Which do the students think are the most impor-tant survival threats in the area?

4. Make a list of the threats encountered

by the students. Have the students pro-pose solutions to the man-made threats.

5. Discuss with the students how each of

them (and their families) could change their behavior in some way in order to help sea turtles.

6. Invite a local fisheries officer or policy-

maker to talk to the students about laws that protect sea turtles and their habi-tats, why these laws are important, and who enforces them.


112

Sea Turtle Sea Turtle Sea Turtle

SurvivorSurvivorSurvivor


113

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia


114

What is the largest sea turtle in the Car-ibbean Sea? Answer: Leather-back

Do sea turtles have gills or lungs? Answer: Lungs

What do sea turtles drink? Answer: Sea water

True or False: Sea Turtles can breath underwater. Answer: False

How many species of sea turtles are found in the Caribbean Sea Answer: 6

What sea turtle is the most endan-gered (has the small-est population) of all the turtles in the Caribbean Sea? Answer: Kemp’s Ridley

How do sea turtles rid themselves of ex-cess salt in their bodies? Answer: By shed-ding tears

A sea turtle is a(n):

A. Insect B. Amphibian C. Reptile D. Mammal

Answer: C

Adult female leather-back sea turtles weigh about:

A. 20-40kg B. 100-200kg C. 350-550kg D. 700-1000kg

Answer: C


115

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia


116

True or False: Sea turtles cry only dur-ing nesting. Answer: False

True or False: A sea turtle can pull its head and limbs into its shell for protection. Answer: False

Instead of teeth, sea turtles have:

A. Gums B. Incisors and

molars C. Canines D. A strong beak

and jaws Answer: D

Where do sea turtles sleep? A. On the beach B. In reefs or “sleeping

holes” on the ocean floor, or floating at the surface

C. In the forest behind the beach

D. In the “Turtle View” Condominiums

Answer: B

Green sea turtles are:

A. Herbivores B. Carnivores C. Omnivores

Answer: A

Which of the following is NOT a food source for sea turtles?

A. Jellyfish B. Coconuts C. Seaweed D. Small crabs

Answer: B

Which of the following is NOT a predator of sea turtles?

A. Ghost crabs B. Humans C. Sponges D. Sharks E. Sea gulls

Answer: C

When do hawksbill sea turtles nest?

A. At night B. During the day C. Only during the

full moon D. Only after a

storm Answer: A

True or False: A fe-male sea turtle will lay, on average, about 100 eggs per nest. Answer: True


117

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia

Turtle

Trivia


118

What determines whether a sea turtle will hatch out as a male or female? Answer: Tempera-ture of the sand dur-ing incubation

Could lights shining on the beach cause hatchling sea turtles to crawl in the wrong direction, away from the ocean? Answer: Yes

Does the bright open horizon over the sea attract sea turtle hatchling to the ocean? Answer: Yes

Approximately how many sea turtle eggs make it to adulthood?

A. Every one B. One in ten C. One in 100 D. One in 1000

Answer: D

Can residential and commercial develop-ment along the coast reduce good nesting habitat? Answer: Yes

Sea Turtle lay their eggs on:

A. Rocky Shores B. Sandy Beaches C. Coral Reefs D. Fishing Piers

Answer: B

Sea Turtle eggs usually hatch after approximately:

A. 2 days B. 10 days C. 60 days D. 1 year

Answer: C

True or False: Fe-male sea turtles re-main with the nest to incubate their eggs. Answer: False

Where is it thought hatchling sea turtles spend the first years of their life?

A. Floating in sea-weed mats at the ocean surface

B. Buried on the ocean floor

C. In the sand dunes Answer: A


119

Turtle Tokens


120

Sea Turtle

Survivor

Adapted from:

Bland, S. 2001. Sea Turtle Trek. Hammocks Beach State Park. Swansboro, North Carolina.


121


122

TTT---HHH---RRR---EEE---AAA---TTT

PROCEDURE

Warm up 1. Make copies of the Threat Boards. Depend-

ing on the size of the class, students may need to work in pairs. There are 25 different Threat Boards included on the CD, so plan accordingly.

2. Cut the 25 threat “pieces” from one board and place them in an envelope. Collect a suffi-cient number of playing chips; theses might be small shells, rocks, etc.

ACTIVITY

1. The students may work in pairs or individu-ally; give each 1 Threat Board and 15 playing chips.

2. The instructor will choose 1 Threat and read it aloud. If the students have it on their playing board, they cover it with a playing chip. Once 5 threats in any direction (up and down, side to side, or diagonal) are covered, the student must raise his or her hand and shout THREAT! The instructor will confirm that the board is properly covered, and ask whether the threat is natural or human-associated.

3. Continue to play as time allows.


15 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

20 minutes


Threat Boards (provided) Playing chips (small shells, bingo

chips or coins)

♦ Setting:

Indoor space

♦ Subject Areas:

Ecology

♦ Skills:

Comprehension Team Building Listening Observation

SUMMARY Students will play a version of BINGO that illustrates the many threats that sea turtles face.

DAY 4: Game


123

Threat Board


124

Day 5 _____________________________________________________________

How People Can Help Sea Turtles


125

Salty Sea TurtlesSalty Sea TurtlesSalty Sea Turtles

OBJECTIVES Students will: • Create biodegradable sea turtle ornaments • Decorate a pre-selected destination to in-

crease public awareness of conservation is-sues

PROCEDURE

Warm up 1. Prepare the sea turtle ornament dough as

directed below.

♦ Mix 1 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of water together to form a ball. Divide dough into smaller pieces. If desired, sprinkle dough with drops of food dye until the ideal color is attained. Roll out the dough or press it flat with the palm of your hand. Form dough into shape using cookie cutters or the Sea Turtle Pattern provided. Make a small hole near the top of the ornament for hanging. Bake at 350o F for 20 minutes or until hard. Let sit 10 minutes, or until cool.


30-45 minutes

♦ Activity Time:



1 cup flour 1/2 cup salt 1/2 cup water Food dye (optional) Markers Recycled yarn or string Sea turtle cookie cutter or the Pro-

vided Sea Turtle Pattern

♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Fine Arts

♦ Skills:

Communication Comprehension Listening

♦ Vocabulary:

Biodegradable

SUMMARY Students will make biodegrad-able sea turtle ornaments and decorate a designated area to increase sea turtle conserva-tion awareness.

DAY 5: Craft


126

2. Establish a partnership with a local or-ganization or charity such as a library, community center, dive shop, bank, etc., to display the sea turtle ornaments- along with a conservation message- when the activity is complete.

ACTIVITY

1. Lead a discussion of human-associated

threats to sea turtle survival, the focus of yesterday’s lessons. Highlight the threat of pollution.

2. Explain to the students that they are

going to make biodegradable sea turtle ornaments and that “biodegradable” is material that, left to itself, will be broken down by natural processes.

3. Give each student an ornament to

decorate with markers. Make sure they write their name on one side of the or-nament.

Sea Turtle Pattern 4. As the students finish decorating, ex-plain that, as a class, they will be tem-porarily donating their ornament to [X] organization, along with some addi-tional information about sea turtle con-servation. Establish a time (perhaps 2 weeks later) when the students will pick up their ornaments from [X] or-ganization. The students will be re-sponsible for retrieving their own orna-ments. The objective is to share some of the knowledge gained over the past week with the community, and to increase awareness.

NOTE: Since the ornaments are made of non-toxic, biodegradable materials, they can be hung outside, and they will disinte-grate with the next rain. Be sure to return to pick up the string unless it, too, is biode-gradable (e.g., hemp string)!


127


• Name 3 different types of people who can help sea turtles

• Name 2 things that they themselves can do to help turtles

• Learn about local sea turtle conservation ef-forts

PROCEDURE

Warm up 1. Set up the projector and load the “Introduction







10 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

30-45 minutes



♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology

♦ Skills:


SUMMARY Students will learn how people of all ages can participate meaningfully in sea turtle conservation, ensuring the survival of a valuable natural asset for future generations.


How People can Help Sea TurtlesHow People can Help Sea TurtlesHow People can Help Sea Turtles


128

[1]

[2]

[3]

[1] Introductory comments at the discretion of the speaker. Yesterday we talked about the human-associated stresses that sea turtles face. Today we are going to discuss how ordinary people, including youth, can help sea turtles.

[2] First, researchers help sea turtles by collect-

ing information important for management purposes. For example, how many turtles are there? Are they healthy? Where do they feed and/or nest? This information is used to help policy makers develop rules and regulations that promote recovery of sea turtle populations and protect their habi-tats. Researchers also might measure the turtle, count her eggs, and mark the turtle with a uniquely numbered tag. If the turtle is later found in another country (because tur-tles are long-distance swimmers), the tag will indicate how far the turtle has traveled. Sometimes a “high tech” tag is used, like a satellite transmitter that can track a turtle across the ocean!

[3] Sometimes researchers are actively in-

volved in protecting sea turtles. In this ex-ample, a wire mesh (screen) has been placed in the sand above incubating eggs to prevent predators – like crabs, dogs or mon-goose – from burrowing into the nest. Yet the holes in the metal screen are big enough for emerging hatchlings to pass through. Clever!

ACTIVITY


129

[4]

[5]

[6]

[4] It is important for researchers to report what they have learned. There are people doing sea turtle research all over the world, gath-ering an enormous amount of data. It is im-portant that they share this with each other. Researchers may have discovered answers to questions that can help other people, even in distant countries. The Wider Carib-bean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) helps scientists, conservation-ists, fishers, educators and others can share information throughout the Caribbean re-gion, making it easier for everyone to help sea turtles survive.

[5] So far we’ve talked about researchers con-

tributing information to managers, but what is “management”? Management is where sea turtles and people meet. Management of one kind or another is needed when peo-ple and sea turtles conflict – for example when people use the coastal zone in ways that could potentially harm sea turtles. Managers, like fisheries or marine park offi-cers, help protect sea turtles and other ma-rine life by enforcing laws and regulations.

[6] Even if you’re not a scientist or a manager,

you can help sea turtles by voting for politi-cians who are committed to protecting the environment. Where does your favorite candidate sit on issues that are important to you? On pollution? On education? On healthy fisheries? On parks and green spaces?


130

[7] [7] Often a good politician is one who’s willing to “think outside the box”. For example, our country can be committed to sustainable use of sea turtles, but how are they to be used? Do they have to be killed? Can sea turtle bring income into local communities in other ways? Let’s do a little math! Let’s say that a fisher can make US$3 per pound for sea turtle meat. The fisher catches a 100 pound Hawksbill. How much money would the fisher make if he sold the meat? US$300.

Now let’s assume that the fisher’s commu-nity organizes a “turtle watching” program where tourists pay a trained guide to walk with them along the beach, learn about sea turtles, and see a nesting female or some hatchlings. There are programs in place right now that charge anywhere from US$10 to US$50 per person to do this. Let’s as-sume that the guide brings 10 people (at $10 each) to watch that same Hawksbill lay-ing her eggs on the beach. How much money would that raise? US$100. Be-cause the turtle lives through the experi-ence, she returns 14 days later to nest again. This time the guide brings 24 visitors to the beach, earning US$240. A single Hawksbill typically nests 4-6 times every 2 or 3 years. Every nesting season, the tour guiding business might raise US$1000 from that turtle, whereas the fisher would raise only $300. What do you think, could we be more creative in our use of local sea turtles?

What is it worth to us to have sea turtles swimming in the sea, performing their natu-ral jobs? Leatherbacks eat poisonous jelly-fish, Green turtles keep seagrass healthy (an important nursery ground for commer-cial fishes), and Hawksbills help keep coral reefs healthy (reefs stabilize our shoreline, support tourism, and enhance our fisheries). What might happen to our ecology, and our economy, if sea turtles went extinct?


131

[8]

[9]

[10]

[8] How do you think the police can help sea turtles? That’s right, they enforce the laws that Government makes. They arrest peo-ple for illegally taking sea turtles or selling their products out of season. They also as-sist if a sea turtle is in trouble (for example, trapped in a swimming pool or wandering across a road).

[9] Conservation organizations also work hard

to protect endangered species. They often involve many different countries and many different individuals all working toward a common goal. Conservation groups sup-port research, promote environmental edu-cation, and think creatively about ways in which people can live happily without de-stroying the environment. Can you name a conservation organization active in your area?

[10] What can fishers do to help sea turtles?

Fishers obey the law, including respecting closed seasons, quotas and size limits. A good fisher also uses appropriate gear. The left picture shows two different types of fish-ing hooks used in long-line fishing. The top hook is called a “circle hook’, the other a “J hook”. Research has shown that sea turtles are less likely to be caught and harmed by circle hooks.


132

[11]

[12]

[13]

[11] This picture shows a trawl using a Turtle Excluder Device (TED) designed by shrimp fishers to reduce the number of sea turtles caught in shrimp trawls. It allows larger species like sea turtles to escape if they are caught in the net. Turtles, shrimp and fish are all funneled through the large, open end of the trawl. Halfway through the net they come in contact with the TED, a barred grate. Smaller creatures are forced through the bars by the forward movement of the trawl but when a sea turtle hits the grate, it cannot get through and instead is pushed out through an opening in the net and re-leased.

[12] Fishers can also help turtles by checking

their nets frequently and not discarding net or fishing line at sea.

[13] How can teachers help sea turtles? By pro-

viding important information about sea tur-tles to children and adults. It is an educa-tor’s goal to provide enough information so that students can form their own opinions on important subjects, and to expose them to information and issues that maybe the stu-dent had not thought about before.


133

[14]

[15]

[16]

[14] How do journalists help sea turtles? They also provide information about sea turtles, but not in the classroom. A journalist usu-ally educates through newspaper and magazine articles, radio shows, and televi-sion programs. Can you name the journalist or reporter in your town that usually covers environmental issues for your local newspa-per?

[15] Hoteliers and other beachfront proprietors

can do many important things to help sea turtles survive. For example, they can leave natural vegetation in place, turn off unnec-essary lights, avoid building directly on the beach, dispose of waste properly, promote responsible mooring offshore, and become more knowledgeable about coastal issues.

[16] Each of us, even youth, can make a differ-

ence by not purchasing turtle products at home or when we travel. If there is no de-mand for sea turtle meat, eggs or shell, then there is no money to be made from them and fewer animals are likely to be killed.


134

[17]

[18]

[19]

[17] What about garbage and pollution? Youth can be especially important in reducing lit-ter. Even if you don’t throw your garbage into the sea, it may end up there. How is this possible? Think about if you litter on the road or on a hillside and then it rains. Where do you think the garbage is going to end up? Everything eventually flows to the sea!

[18] Who wants to be rich when they grow up?

If you are so lucky, you might consider do-nating some of your money to environ-mental causes that you feel strongly about. Even if you don’t have a lot of money, you can save your pennies or participate in a fund-raising event. You could also volun-teer your time, which can be even more valuable than money.

[19] Youth groups can also help plant vegetation

to stabilize the sand and prevent erosion, participate in beach clean-ups, remove gar-bage from the beach and the water, report littering and pollution to the authorities, and sponsor local projects involving alternative energy, public awareness campaigns, or sea turtle nest protection projects.


135

[20]

[21]

[22]

[20] We as humans also need to make smart decisions about where we build our homes. This home was mostly likely not built on the cliff edge as it appears now. However, building on the coast and near the water, one takes the risk that natural erosion is in-evitable and may cause you problems in the future.

[21] Mostly importantly, educate yourself! Do

your own library research, pay attention in school, and talk to people in the community who are really knowledgeable about sub-jects that most interest you.

[22] We all have a responsibility to protect natu-

ral resources for our own benefit and for the benefit of future generations. Sea turtles are magnificent creatures that have been around a lot longer than we have, let’s do what we can to conserve them. The turtles will thank you, the environment will thank you, and your children will thank you some-day!


136

Let’s do Our PartLet’s do Our PartLet’s do Our Part

OBJECTIVES

Students will:

♦ Learn the different types of marine debris found on local beaches

PROCEDURE

Warm up 1. Consult a local conservation organization to

inquire about a beach that is facing marine debris problems. They should be able to rec-ommend a site for you and your students to clean up.

2. The location of the clean up site may ulti-

mately depend on accessibility and/or trans-portation. If transportation is not available, perform the beach clean up on site or at a location within walking distance.

Note: Please consider the age and/or fitness level of your students; you do not want to exhaust them by having them walk a long distance.


10 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

30-40 minutes

♦ Setting:

Indoor Space, Beach


Garbage bags Plastic gloves Provided Data Sheets Drawing or construction paper Marker

Crayons Pencils or pens

♦ Subject Areas:

Fine Arts Physical Education

♦ Skills:

Communication Decision Making Team Building Observation

SUMMARY Students will do their part to help out the marine environment by conducting a beach cleanup and creating educa-tional signs for their community.

DAY 5: Craft


137

3. Be sure to consider waste disposal be-

fore your clean up. Contact the local sanitation department to ask them if they will pick up the trash you collect and inquire about recycling.

4. Establish a partnership with a local or-

ganization or charity such as a library, community center, dive shop, bank, etc., to display the sea turtle educa-tional signs. This should be the same location chosen for the Salty Sea Tur-tles.

ACTIVITY

1. Working in groups of 3 to 4, students

will be responsible for cleaning up a designated area of the beach. Have the students decide on a Team Name.

2. Give each group two large garbage

bags, a pair of latex gloves for each stu-dent, a Data Sheet, and pencil or pen.

NOTE: Be sure to talk to your students about health and safety. They should NOT pick up anything sharp or potentially dan-gerous! Instruct them to let you know if they find something, and YOU will dispose of it properly. 3. After about 20 minutes, bring the stu-

dents together and pile their garbage in a central location. Discuss what they found: What was the most popular item? What was the strangest thing you found? Discuss what residents (and tourists) can do to reduce garbage on the beach.

4. Now, students will create educational

signs using the materials provided (paper, marker and crayons). Working in the same groups, assign each of them one of the 5 topics presented dur-ing Sea Turtle Camp: facts about sea turtles, nesting behavior and tracks, natural threats, human associated threats or how people can help.

5. These signs will be displayed with the

sea turtle ornaments created earlier. Both will serve to increase public awareness about sea turtle conserva-tion.


138

Marine Debris Data Sheet Date: Name of Beach: No. of people in Survey Team: Team Name: Comments/Notes:

ITEM NUMBER OF ITEM(S)

Aluminum Cans

Balloon

Cardboard

Cigarette/ Cigar

Cigarette Lighter

Clothing/ Shoes

Fishing gear (buoy, hook, line, lures, nets)

Food Waste

Glass

6-Pack Ring

Metal

Plastic

Plastic Bag

String/Rope

Styrofoam

Toys

Other:

Other:

Other:


139

Sea Turtle JeopardySea Turtle JeopardySea Turtle Jeopardy

OBJECTIVES Students will: • Recall important sea turtle facts from earlier

lessons

PROCEDURE Warm up 1. Make five columns on the blackboard or oak

tag. Label the columns as follows: Turtle Facts Adaptations Nesting Predators Helping Out

Make five rows so that are five squares in each column. Label the 5 rows with point val-ues (see chart on page 138).

2. Photocopy and cut apart the Sea Turtle Jeop-

ardy Cards. These questions are for the in-structor to use so that she/he can read the questions aloud to the class.


30 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

Warm Up 30-45 minutes Activity 70 minutes


Provided Sea Turtle Jeopardy Cards Large piece of oak tag, or black-

board

♦ Setting:

Classroom

♦ Subject Areas:

Anatomy Ecology

♦ Skills:

Analysis Comprehension Decision Making Team Building

SUMMARY Students will demonstrate their sea turtle knowledge by playing Sea Turtle Jeopardy.

DAY 5: Game


140

ACTIVITY 1. Reproduce the table above on the

blackboard or a large piece of paper in the front of the classroom.

2. Split the class into teams of 3 or 4 stu-

dents and have each team stand in a line facing the board. Have a staff member keep score.

3. Give the students in front of each line

an object to make noise (a whistle, a coin hitting a can, clapping, etc.) so they can “ring in.”

4. The students in the front of the line play

first. Choose a number between 1 and 20 and have the students guess what it is. The team that comes closest, gets to choose the first question. The first student chooses a category. Explain to the students that the questions get more difficult as the point value in-creases (500 is the hardest).

5. The instructor starts with the lowest

point value and reads the question. The first student to “ring in” must an-swer the question correctly to earn the points. If he/she cannot answer the question, the second student to “ring in” has a chance to answer it. The stu-dents cannot get help from their team.

(Ask the other students to keep their an-swers to themselves.)

6. After students answer a question, they

go to the back of the line, passing their noise maker to the next person in line. Now it is that student’s turn to play. The team that answered the previous ques-tion correctly gets to choose the cate-gory, answering the question with the next lowest point value.

NOTE: There are 3 Bonus questions in this game. If a student answers the question where the Bonus appears correctly, they are read the Bonus question. The Bonus is worth the same point value as the question it appeared with. Answering the Bonus question can be a team effort. 7. After all the students have played at

least twice, or as long as time allows, the highest scoring team wins!

Turtle Facts

Adaptations

Nesting

Predators

Helping Out

100 100 100 100 100

200 200 200 200 200

300 300 300 300 300

400 400 400 400 400

500 500 500 500 500


141

100 100

200

300

100

200 200

300 300

Adaptations Nesting Turtle Facts


142

Question: Sea turtles have special adaptations in order to live where? Answer: Underwater.

Question: True or False: All sea turtles leave the same track pattern in the sand. Answer: False.

Question: What do Green sea turtles eat? Answer: Sea grass and algae.

Question: What is the av-erage incubation period of sea turtle eggs? Answer: Approximately 60 days, or 2 months.

Question: True or False: the Loggerhead sea turtle gets its name because its mouth is shaped like a bird beak. Answer: False, this state-ment describes the Hawks-bill. The Loggerhead gets its name from its large head and strong jaws.

Question: Name 2 adap-tations sea turtles have for swimming Answer: Paddle-like flip-pers, streamlined shell, large chest muscles, able to breath-hold for extended periods of time, quick-turning (agile movements), back flippers used as rud-ders.

Question: Name 2 ways to tell tracks apart. Answer: The size (width) and whether the flipper marks are symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Question: What species of sea turtle nest here (on this island)? Answer: Depends on the island.

Question: Are sea turtles closer related to tortoises or whales? Answer: Tortoises since they are also reptiles; whales are marine mam-mals.



143

400 400*

500

400

500 500


*Bonus


144

Question: Adaptations help an organism to do what? Answer: Survive and re-produce in a particular en-vironment.

Question: What deter-mines the sex of a baby sea turtle? Answer: Temperature during nest incubation.

*Bonus*

Question: Which sea tur-tle has the farthest migra-tion and dives the deepest? Answer: Leatherback.

Question: Name 2 ways to identify a species of sea turtle. Answer: Number of scutes, shape of beak, hard-shelled versus Leath-erback, over-lapping scutes (or not), number of pre-frontal scales.

Question: A Hawksbill’s shell (color) pattern helps it blend into its coral reef en-vironment. What is this called? Answer: Camouflage.

Question: How do hatch-lings find their way to the ocean? Answer: They crawl to-ward the lighter ocean hori-zon.


BONUS– Nesting

400 points Question: True or False: during incubation, cooler temperatures produce fe-males, while warmer tem-peratures produce males. Answer: False, the oppo-site is True.


145

100

200*

100

200

300 300

Helping Out Predators

*Bonus


146

Question: True or False: People other than re-searchers can help turtles. Answer: True! There are many ways to help turtles.

Question: Name 3 natural predators that eggs and hatchling face, on the beach. Answer: Mongoose, Dogs, Ants, Birds, Crabs.

*BONUS*

Question: True or False: A hatchling’s journey across the beach is very easy. Answer: False, they face many predators and obsta-cles.

Question: Name 2 jobs where a person might help sea turtles. Answer: Researcher, Fisheries Officer, Conser-vationist, Teacher, Veteri-narian, Fisherman, etc.

Question: True or False: sea turtles face fewer predators as they grow lar-ger. Answer: True.

Question: How can a school teacher help turtles? Answer: By teaching stu-dents ways to help turtles and protect their habitats, and by setting a good ex-ample.


BONUS– Predators

200 points Question: Sea turtles face many threats to their sur-vival, but most of these are caused by the activities of _____. Answer: Humans (people)


147

400

500

400

500*


*Bonus


148

Question: Name 2 ways that fishermen can help sea turtles. Answer: Abide by the laws (for example, don’t catch or sell turtle if it’s ille-gal), don’t kill more turtles than the population can handle, check nets fre-quently (turtles drown!), don’t litter, etc.

Question: Name 3 ways that humans impact the survival of sea turtles. Answer: Over fishing, building on the beach, poaching eggs and nesting females, removing vegeta-tion from the beach, etc.

Question: How many sea turtle eggs per 1000 sur-vive to adulthood? Answer: 1 in 1000

Question: Someone who doesn’t have any money to donate to conservation or-ganizations can still help by donating their _____. Answer: Time!

*BONUS*


BONUS- Helping Out

500 points

Question: When one do-nates his or her time to a cause, such as helping tur-tles, it is called _____. Answer: Volunteering


149

Sea Turtle Camp Certificate CeremonySea Turtle Camp Certificate CeremonySea Turtle Camp Certificate Ceremony

PROCEDURE

1. Photocopy the Sea Turtle Camp Certificate pro-vided on page 148 (or create your own Certifi-cate). Fill in the student’s name and the organi-zations that hosted camp. Print the certificates using Cardstock, and ask staff members to sign them.

2. Prior to the ceremony, obtain a small gift for

each student. Consult a local sea turtle conser-vation group and/or local business(es) and in-quire about donations. If available, the gift should be related to sea turtles.

ACTIVITY

1. Inform the students they have all successfully

completed Sea Turtle Camp. Remind them how much they have learned this week. It is now their responsibility to share this knowledge with friends and family. Camp may be over, but their commitment to sea turtles continues!

2. Call each student up individually, shake their

hand, and present them with their Certificate and gift. Encourage the class to clap for their classmates as they receive their Certificates.

3. Explain to the students that they are now Junior

Members of the local conservation organization. This means they can assist with local monitor-ing efforts (consult the conservation group first to make sure this is ok with them)! Provide the students with the contact information for the conservation group, as well as other contact information, such as the Fisheries office.


20 minutes

♦ Activity Time:

20 minutes


Provided Sea Turtle Camp Certificate Cardstock Small gift (example: stickers)

♦ Setting:


DAY 5: Closing Ceremony


150

Certifica

te of Completion

This certifica

te is presented

to

For successfu

l completion of

Sea Turtle C

amp

Signature

Signature

This ___ day of ____________


151

RESOURCES AND REFERENCES

American Forest Foundation. 2003. Project Learning Tree: Environmental Education PreK-8 Activity Guide. Bozeman, Montana. Anon. 2004. Project Wet Curriculum and Activity Guide. The Watercourse, Montana State University. Bland, S. 2001. Sea Turtle Trek. Hammocks Beach State Park. Swansboro, North Carolina. Council for Environmental Education (ed.). 1992. Aquatic Project Wild K-12 Activity Guide. Project Wild, USA. Crutchfiled, Fran. 1993. Tracks in the Sand. Jockey’s Ridge State Park. Nags Head, North Carolina. Eckert, KL (ed.) et al. 1999. Research and Management Techniques for the conservation of Sea turtles, IUCN.SSC. Marine Turtle Specialist Group Publication no. 4. Eckert, KL and TD Honebrink. 1992. WIDECAST Sea Turtle Recovery Action Plan for St. Kitts and Nevis. CEP Tech. Report No. 17. UNEP Caribbean Environment Pro gramme, Kingston, Jamaica. Xiii + 116 pp. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2002. Sea Turtle Conservation Guide lines. http://myfwc.com/seaturtle/Guidelines/MarineTurtleGuidleines.htm Gulko, DA and Eckert KL. 2004. Sea Turtles: An Ecological Guide. Mutual Publishing, Hono lulu, HI. 128 pp. Harold, Sera and Karen L. Eckert. 2005. Endangered Caribbean Sea Turtles: An Educator’s Handbook. Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (WIDECAST) Technical Report 3. Beaufort , North Carolina. 176pp. Lutz, PL and Musick, JA. 1997. The Biology of Sea Turtles. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. Lutz, PL, John A. Musick, and Jeanette Wyneken. 2003. The Biology of Sea Turtles Volume II. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. North American Association of Environmental Educators. 2006. Nonformal Enviromental Education Programs: Guidelines for Excellence. <http://www.naaee.orgprograms- and-initiatives/guidelines-for-excellence/materials-guidelines/nonformal-guidelines>. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and North Carolina Division of Marine Fisher ies. 2000. North Carolina Project CATCH. Division of Conservation Education. Ra leigh, North Carolina. Population Connection Education Program. Washington, DC. Ripple, J. 1996. Sea Turtles. Voyageur Press, Inc. Vancouver, B.C. Spotila, JR. 2004. Sea Turtles: A Complete Guide to their Biology and Conservation. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.


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Chris McCandish: pg 31 (Slide 2) http://www.biology-blog.com/images/blogs/green-sea-turtle-22190.jpg: pg 30, pg 31 (Slide 1) S.A. Eckert (WIDECAST): pg 14, pg 30 (Slides 6, 7), pg 34 (Slides 10, 11), pg 35 and 43 (Slides 12, 13—Loggerhead, 14), pg 36 (Slides 15, 17), pg 37 (Slides 18, 19– Hawksbill, 20), pg 38 (Slide 22), pg 39 (Slides 24, 26), pg 40 (Slides 27, 28), pg 43, pg 46, pg 50 (Slides 2, 3, 4), pg 51 (Slide 7), pg 53 (Slide 1), pg 54, pg 55 (Slide 13), pg 56, pg 57 (Slide 18), pg 60, 67, 69, 70, pg 78 (Slide 6, 7), pg 80 (Slide 11), pg 82 (Slide 20), pg 89, 91, 98, pg 102 (Slide 2, 3), pg 104 (Slide 7), pg 107 (Slide 14, 15), pg 108 (garbage), 109 (Slide 8– Jet ski and wind surfer), pg 122 (crab and hatch-ling), pg 128 (Slide 2), pg 132 (Slide 11, 12), pg 133 (Slide 14), pg 134 (Slide 19– beach cleanup), pg 135 (Slide 21) http://www.oceansofkansas.com/Turtles/ARCHEO6.jpg: pg 31 (Slide 3) Robert VanDam: pg 31 (Slide 4), pg 36 (Slide 17), pg 75 EI Juvenile) http://www.desertgold.com/park/pics/turtle.jpg : pg 32 (Slide 5a) pg 41 http://www.rfadventures.com/images/Animals/Reptiles/turtles%20tortoise/turtle%20box%20turtle%20bg.jpg: pg 32 (Slide 5b) http://www.barbudaful.net/images/dscf15101.jpg: pg 32(Slide 5c)

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS http://www.geo.arizona.edu/SGE/Hawaii_page/day7/day7-Images/2.jpg: pg 33 (Slide 8) Natasha de Lima: pg 34 (Slide 9), pg 39 (Slide 25), pg 51 (Slides 5, 6), pg 52 (Slides 8, 9), pg 64 (Slide 7), pg 65 (Slides 10, 11), pg 78 (Slide 4), pg 83 (Slide 22) http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/f/f9/Conch_shell_2.jpg: pg 35 (Slide 13 , Conch) http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/images/turtles/green_seagrass_rpvandam.jpg : pg 36 (Slide 16) http://www.sciencedaily.com/im-ages/2005/08/050819094409.jpg: pg 37 (Slide 19, Sponge) Peter Meylan http://tolweb.org/tree/ToLi-mages/01076turtle1.300a.jpg: pg 38 (Slide 21– Olive ridley), pg 53 (Slide 5) pg 58 (Slide 5), pg 61, pg 62 (Slide 1) http://www.squaretailoutfitters.com/flies/bait05.jpg: pg 38 (Slide 21– Fish), pg 77 (slide 3), pg 74 http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/02sab/logs/aug10/media/squid_600.jpg : pg 38 (Slide 21– Squid) http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/BIS/turtles/pictures/l%20kempii%20overview.jpg: pg 38 (Slide 23– Kemp’s ridley) http://www.newsday.com/media/photo/2003-03/6967347.jpg: pg 38 (Slide 23– Clams)

http://www.chinanews.cn/news/2004/2005-05-27/_1117183203_crabs.JPG: pg 38 (Slide 23– Crabs), pg 77 (Slide 3) http://www.seaturtlehospital.org/hatchlings1004.jpg : pg 49 (Slide 1), pg 50 David Southall (2006): pg 55 (Slide 15) Robson G. Santos (2004): pg 57 (Slide 19) http://www.fieldtripearth.org/repository/1570/t_loggerhead_track.jpg: pg 63 (Slide 3) http://www.nbbd.com/npr/fcr/brochure/leatherbacktrack.jpg: pg 64 (Slide 6), pg 65 (slide 9) http://www.ioseaturtles.org/UserFiles/Image/10_hawksbillTracks-rev.jpg: pg 65 (Slide 9) Jenny Freestone: pg 55, 66 (Slide 14, Slide 12), pg 78 (Slide 5) Kate Mansfield ©1997, pg 66 (Slide 13) Florida Fish and Wildlife Con-servation Commission (2002): pg 69 www.arctic.noaa.gov: pg 72 (Slide 2) http://www.freedive.net/images/whiteshark.jpg: pg 74 (Slide 18) Ursula Keuper-Bennett/Peter Bennett, www.turtles.org: pg 74 (Slide 19)


153

http://www.camacdonald.com/birding/PeterWallack/F-5.jpg: pg 79 (Slide 8), pg 89 http://wfcb.ucdavis.edu/www/Faculty/desley/mongoose1a.jpg : pg 79 (slide 9), pg 90 http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/~amanda/fire_ants.jpg : pg 79 (slide 10) http://www.ecuador-travel.net/galsite-postoffice8.jpg: pg 80 (Slide 13), pg 91 http://www.theoceanadventure.com/JSIE/JS8.html : pg 81 (Slide 14), pg 92 http://new-brunswick.net/new-brunswick/sharks/species/pics/tiger1.jpg: pg 81 (Slide 15) http://www.eccoblue.org/wildlife.htm: pg 81 (Slide 17) http://www.naturalsciences.org/education/deepsea/images/sargassumL.jpg: pg 82 http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/NGSPOD05/112372~A-Close-View-of-Marine-Phytoplankton-Posters.jpg: pg 82 Zoe Bass: pg 90 http://www.thewebnewsroom.com/newsroom/media/1/20060322-catfish-az.jpg : pg 93

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS http://away.com/images/photography/photo_feature/barracuda.jpg : pg 93 http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2006/february22/gifs/acorals_-grouperCMYK.jpg: pg 94 http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/08/Dubai3_600x391.jpg : pg 102 (Slide 4), pg 133 (Slide 15) Blair Witherington, pg 103 (Slide 5) http://www.marine.rutgers.edu/geomorph/oceancityfill.jpg : pg 103 (Slide 6) http://www.nevisbythesea.com/Tigh-Na-Mara_12.jpg: pg 104 (Slide 8– Boat) http://www.usdivetravel.com/HeronIslandSnorkelers.jpg : pg 104 (Slide 8– Snorkelers) http://www.reeftrip.com/images/scuba_dive003_lge.jpg : pg 104 (Slide 8– Scuba diver) http://www.lizasreef.com/HOPE%20FOR%20THE%20OCEANS/Images%20HFTO/galves-ton_bay_pollution_1.jpg : pg 105 (Slide 9) CMC pg 103 (Slide 10), pg 131 (Slide 17) http://www.greenbagsales.com/turtle.gif : pg 105 (Slide 11– Sea Turtle), pg 109

http://www.oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/media/coral09b_480.jpg : pg 105 (Slide 11– Plastic bag) T. Dellinger (2001): pg 105 (Slide 12– Loggerhead) Unk: pg 105 (Slide 13) ANAI: pg 107 (Slide 16), pg 122 (EI bracelets), pg 133 (Slide 16) The Turtle Hospital: pg 109 (Oil tarbaby) Mariana Malaver– CICTMAR: pg 127 (Leatherback) Alan Rees (2003) pg 126 (Slide 3) BVI CFD (2003): pg 130 (Slide 7) http://www.eurocbc.org/7034TED_2-med.jpg : pg 131 (Slide 10-Ted) http://www.oceanwatch.org.au/newsletter/imagesAug2006/CirclehookleftJhookright-for.jpg : pg 131 (Slide 10– Hooks) http://thestar.com.my/archives/2005/8/30/lifefocus/f_16g_participants.jpg : pg 134 (Slide 19– planting mangroves) http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/globalwarming/slideshow/gallery/4_shismaref.jpg : pg 135 (Slide 20)

*All un-cited photographs

were taken by and belong

to the author, Alicia B.

Marin.

sun, sand and sea turtles - duke university

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