“What they do must be extremely important to their offspring, which they will leave behind as eggs in the sand and never see. Native predators can also threaten populations of reptiles that persist in. Remarkably, we found similar behaviours in two species of turtle that shared a common ancestor over 100 million years ago, while dinosaurs still ruled the land. “They can spend longer doing this than for any other part of the elaborate nesting process. “This may explain why, despite all the extra risks, female turtles stay on the beach away from the safety of the sea, working to enhance the safety of their eggs," said Professor Kennedy. Microplastic pollution threatens hermit crab populations Coyotes are capable of eating a tortoise without breaking its shell open.Seals use thought to prepare body for diving.Ocean plastics smell like food to turtles.
#TURTLE PREDATORS SERIES#
“Our findings strongly support the idea that they create a series of decoy nests away from the nest itself to reduce discovery of their eggs by predators. We closely followed the activity and movements of hawksbill and leatherback turtles during the final ‘sand scattering’ phase of nesting. Based on studies to date, globally, the most important predators of sea turtle eggs are ghost crabs (Ocypode spp.) and small to mid-size mammals (feral dogs. Professor Malcolm Kennedy, Professor of Natural History at the University of Glasgow, said: “Our research sheds new light on the behaviour of nesting marine turtles. However, the research, led by the University of Glasgow, now suggests that the turtles create decoy nests away from the main nest site to reduce the risk that predators will discover their eggs. Previously it was thought that this activity was a means of camouflaging the nest site from egg predators.
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