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Kemp's ridley sea turtle

January 01, 1970

See also: Olive ridley sea turtle and Ridley sea turtle

Kemp's ridley sea turtle[4] (Lepidochelys kempii), also called the Atlantic ridley sea turtle, is the rarest species of sea turtle and is the world's most endangered species of sea turtle. It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys (the other one being L. olivacea, the olive ridley sea turtle). The species primarily occupies habitat around the Gulf of Mexico though their migrations into the Atlantic are being affected by rising temperatures.[5][6] Kemp's ridley sea turtles are currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and current conservation efforts attempt to rebuild population numbers.[7] Human activity, including but not limited to habitat destruction, climate change, and oil spills, threaten populations.[8][9]

Kemp's ridley sea turtle
Lepidochelys kempii
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Chelonioidea
Family: Cheloniidae
Genus: Lepidochelys
Species:
L. kempii
Binomial name
Lepidochelys kempii
(Garman, 1880)
Synonyms
  • Thalassochelys kempii
    Garman, 1880
  • Lepidochelys kempii
    — Baur, 1890
  • Colpochelys kempii
    — O.P. Hay, 1905
  • Caretta kempii
    — Siebenrock, 1909
  • Lepidochelys olivacea kempii
    — Mertens & Wermuth, 1955
  • Lepidochelys kempii
    — Fritz & Havaš, 2007[3]
Computed tomography-based model of a Lepidochelys kempii skull, with selected muscles highlighted.

Taxonomy edit

This species of turtle is called Kemp's ridley because Richard Moore Kemp (1825–1908) of Key West was the first to send a specimen to Samuel Garman at Harvard,[10] but the origin of the name "ridley" itself is unknown. Prior to the term being popularly used (for both species in the genus), L. kempii at least was known as the "bastard turtle".[11]

At least one source also refers to Kemp's ridley as a "heartbreak turtle". In her book The Great Ridley Rescue, Pamela Philips claimed the name was coined by fishermen who witnessed the turtles dying after being "turned turtle" (on their backs). The fishermen said the turtles "died of a broken heart".[12][13]

Description edit

Kemp's ridley is the smallest of all sea turtle species, reaching maturity at 58–70 cm (23–28 in) carapace length and weighing only 36–45 kg (79–99 lb).[14] Typical of sea turtles, it has a dorsoventrally depressed body with specially adapted flipper-like front limbs and a beak. Kemp's ridley turtle adults reach a maximum of 75 cm (30 in) in carapace length and weighing a maximum of 50 kg (110 lb).[14] The adult's oval carapace is almost as wide as it is long and is usually olive-gray in color. The carapace has five pairs of costal scutes. In each bridge adjoining the plastron to the carapace are four inframarginal scutes, each of which is perforated by a pore. The head has two pairs of prefrontal scales.

These turtles change color as they mature. As hatchlings, they are almost entirely a dark purple on both sides, but mature adults have a yellow-green or white plastron and a grey-green carapace.[15]

Kemp's ridley has a triangular-shaped head with a somewhat hooked beak with large crushing surfaces. The skull is similar to that of the olive ridley.[16] Unlike other sea turtles, the surface on the squamosal bone where the jaw opening muscles originate, faces to the side rather than to the back.[17]

They are the only sea turtles that nest during the day.[18]

Distribution edit

 
Distribution of Kemp's ridley sea turtle: red dot = primary nesting beach; green= adult male range;[19] dark blue = adult female range;[19] mid-blue = juvenile and subadult range; arrows = Gulf Stream; light blue = accidentals and vagrants (95% juveniles and subadults), black dots = verified records[20][21]

The distribution of L. kempii is somewhat unusual compared to most reptiles, varying significantly among adults and juveniles, as well as males and females. Adults primarily live in the Gulf of Mexico, where they forage in the relatively shallow waters of the continental shelf (up to 409 m deep, but typically 50 m or less),[5] with females ranging from the southern coast of the Florida Peninsula to the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, while males have a tendency to remain closer to the nesting beaches in the Western Gulf waters of Texas (USA), Tamaulipas, and Veracruz (Mexico).[19] Adults of L. kempii are rarely found outside of the Gulf of Mexico and only 2-4%[22]: 101 p.  from the Atlantic are adults.[19][22][20][21]

Juveniles and subadults, in contrast, regularly migrate into the Atlantic Ocean and occupy the coastal waters of the continental shelf of North America from southern Florida to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and occasionally northward. The time periods of these migrations appear to be growing longer due to rising sea temperatures.[6] Accidental and vagrant records are known with some regularity from throughout the northern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, where the Gulf Stream is believed to play a significant role in their dispersal. Confirmed records from Newfoundland to Venezuela in the west; to Ireland, the Netherlands, Malta in the Mediterranean, and numerous localities in between are known in the east, although more than 95% of these involve juveniles or subadults.[22]: 101 p.  Several reports from the African coast from Morocco to Cameroon involve unverified specimens and may include misidentified L. olivacea.[19][22][20][21]

In November 2021 a male was found alive on Talacre beach in North Wales. The turtle was taken to the Anglesey Sea Zoo for treatment, with the intent of eventual transportation back to the Gulf of Mexico.[23]

Feeding and life history edit

Feeding edit

Kemp's ridley turtle feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, jellyfish, fish, algae or seaweed, and sea urchins.[24] Juveniles primarily are pelagic surface-feeders, while adults are opportunistic bottom-feeders that feed primarily on crabs.[25] Research has shown that dives made by these turtles, including those made to forage, may be longer at night.[26] Comparing dietary habits of head-started turtles (turtles raised in captivity before release) and wild turtles found little difference in variance in feeding habits, but there is variability in feeding habits due to habitat differences and maturation of the turtles.[25] Variation in habitat region as well as prey availability were found to alter diet composition.[27] Regional diet compositions aid in conservation efforts through enabling predicting food sources becoming affected by major events.[27]

Life history edit

Most females return each year to a single beach—Rancho Nuevo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas—to lay eggs. The females arrive in large groups of hundreds or thousands in nesting aggregations called arribadas, which is a Spanish word for "arrivals".[28][29] Males will typically stay closer to breeding grounds.[30]

Juvenile turtles tend to live in floating sargassum seaweed beds for their first years.[18] Then, they range between northwest Atlantic waters and the Gulf of Mexico while growing into maturity.

They reach sexual maturity at the age of 10–12.[15]

This is the only species that nests primarily during the day.[31] The nesting season for these turtles is April to August. They nest mostly (95%) on a 16-mile beach in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas and on Padre Island in the US state of Texas, and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast. They mate offshore. Gravid females land in groups on beaches in arribadas[18] or mass nesting. They prefer areas with dunes, or secondarily, swamps. The estimated number of nesting females in 1947 was 89,000, but shrank to an estimated 7,702 by 1985.[32] Females nest one to four times during a season, keeping 10 to 20 days between nestings.[33] Incubation takes 6–8 weeks.[33] Around 100 eggs are in a clutch.[33] The hatchlings' sex is decided by the temperature in the area during incubation. If the temperature is below 29.5 °C, the offspring will be mainly male.[33]

  •  
    Hatchling
  •  
    Hatchling
  •  
    Juvenile turtle
  •  
    Adult turtle nesting
  •  
    Nesting female returning to sea
  •  
    Deceased adult

Conservation edit

Biologists collecting Kemp's ridley sea turtle's eggs to transport them to the Kennedy Space Center for hatching

Kemp's ridley sea turtle is currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).[7] Egg harvesting and poaching first depleted the numbers of Kemp's ridley sea turtles,[22] but today, major threats include habitat loss, pollution, and entanglement in shrimping nets. Some major current conservation efforts are aimed towards habitat protection, reduction of bycatch, rescue and rehabilitation, and reduction of killing.[7]

Efforts to protect L. kempii began in 1966, when Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Biologico-Pesqueras (National Institute of Biological-Fisheries Research) sent biologists Hunberto Chávez, Martin Contreras, and Eduardo Hernondez to the coast of southern Tamaulipas, to survey and instigate conservation plans.[34] And in the United States, Kemp's ridley turtle was first listed under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1970[35] on December 2, 1970, and subsequently under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. In 1977, an informal, binational, multiagency, the Kemp's Ridley Working Group, first met to develop a recovery plan.[34] A binational recovery plan was developed in 1984, and revised in 1992. A draft public review draft of the second revision was published by National Marine Fisheries Service in March 2010.[36] This revision includes an updated threat assessment.[37]

From 1947 to 1985, L. kempii nests experienced a sharp decline from an estimated 121,517 nests in 1947 to 702 nests in 1985 (decline of 99.4%), and have since been exponentially recovering until approximately 2011–2016, where another decline in nests occurred.[38] Nesting as of 2016 is estimated to be 9.9% of the nest estimate of 1947 .[38]

One mechanism used to protect turtles from fishing nets is the turtle excluder device (TED).[39] It is a grid of bars with an opening at the top or bottom, fitted into the neck of the shrimp trawl. It works by allowing small animals to slip through bars and get caught, while sea turtles strike the bars and are ejected through an escape hole on either the top or bottom of the device.[39] These mechanisms designs are controlled through federal regulations to ensure proper use.[39] There are multiple types of TED construction: oval grid, hooped, fixed angle, Super Shooter, Anthony Weedless, and flounder types.[39] Each design is adapted to be best suited for certain conditions/uses or vary by complexity of the design.[39]

 
Kemp's ridley nests found on the Texas coast 1985-2013
 
Kemp's ridley hatchlings. Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. 2017

In September 2007, Corpus Christi, Texas, wildlife officials found a record of 128 Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests on Texas beaches, including 81 on North Padre Island (Padre Island National Seashore) and four on Mustang Island. The figure was exceeded in each of the following 7 years (see graph to 2013, provisional figures for 2014 as at July, 118.[40]). Wildlife officials released 10,594 Kemp's ridley hatchlings along the Texas coast in 2007.[41] The turtles are popular in Mexico as raw material for boots and as food.[41]

In July 2020, five rehabilitated turtles were released back in to Cape Cod with satellite tracking devices to monitor their wellbeing.[42] A 2020 rescue mission to save 30 turtles from the freezing seas of Cape Cod was delayed by weather and technical issues, spurring a temporary rescue mission en route between Massachusetts and New Mexico. The Tennessee Aquarium offered overnight shelter and care, and the turtles were eventually released to the sea.[43] These cold-stunning events may become more common with rising sea temperatures, as juveniles linger in near-shore waters in the American Northeast and are subjected to late-season storms.[9]

 
A Kemp's ridley arribada in Rancho Nuevo beach, Tamaulipas, Mexico, in 2017

Oil spills edit

Some Kemp's ridleys were airlifted from Mexico after the 1979 blowout of the Ixtoc 1 rig, which spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.[citation needed]

Since April 30, 2010, 10 days after the accident on the Deepwater Horizon, 156 sea turtle deaths were recorded; most were Kemp's ridleys.[citation needed] Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists and enforcement agents rescued Kemp's ridleys in Grand Isle.[44][citation needed] Most of the 456 oiled turtles that were rescued, cleaned, and released by the US Fish and Wildlife Service were Kemp's ridleys.[8]

Of the endangered marine species frequenting Gulf waters, only Kemp's ridley relies on the region as its sole breeding ground.[45]

As part of the effort to save the species from some of the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists took nests and incubated them elsewhere; 67 eggs were collected from a nest along the Florida Panhandle on June 26, 2010, and brought to a temperature-controlled warehouse at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where 56 hatched,[citation needed] and 22 were released on 11 July 2010.[46]

The overall plan was to collect eggs from about 700 sea turtle nests, incubate them, and release the young on beaches across Alabama and Florida over a period of months.[46][47] Eventually, 278 nests were collected, including only a few Kemp's ridley nests.[48]

References edit

  1. ^ Wibbels, T.; Bevan, E. (2019). "Lepidochelys kempii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T11533A155057916. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T11533A155057916.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ Fritz, Uwe; Havaš, Peter. (2007). Checklist of Chelonians of the World. Vertebrate Zoology 57 (2): 149-368. (Lepidochelys kempii, pp. 168-169).
  4. ^ Rhodin AG, van Dijk PP, Iverson JB, Shaffer HB (2010). Rhodin AG, Pritchard PC, van Dijk PP, Saumure AR, Buhlmann KA, Iverson JB, Mittermeier RA (eds.). (PDF). Chelonian Research Monographs. Chelonian Research Foundation and the Turtle Taxonomy Working Group of IUCN Species Survival Commission: 85–164. doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v3.2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
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  6. ^ a b Griffin LP, Griffin CR, Finn JT, Prescott RL, Faherty M, et al. (2019) Warming seas increase cold-stunning events for Kemp’s ridley sea turtles in the northwest Atlantic. PLOS ONE 14(1): e0211503. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211503
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  19. ^ a b c d e Morreale, Stephen J., pamrls T. Plotkin, Donna J. Shaver, and Heather J. Kalb. 2007. Adult Migration and Habitat Utilization: Ridley Turtles in the Element. 213-229 pp. In Pamela T. Plotkin (editor). Biology and Conservation of Ridley Sea Turtles. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, Maryland. x, 356 pp. ISBN 978-0-8018-86119
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  23. ^ "Rare turtle washes up on UK beach 4,000 miles from home". BBC News. 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  24. ^ Burke VJ, Morreale SJ, Standora EA (1994). "Diet of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, Lepidochelys kempii, in New York waters". NOAA NMFS Fishery Bulletin. Retrieved Dec 20, 2015.
  25. ^ a b Shaver, Donna J. (1991). "Feeding Ecology of Wild and Head-Started Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles in South Texas Waters". Journal of Herpetology. 25 (3): 327–334. doi:10.2307/1564592. ISSN 0022-1511. JSTOR 1564592.
  26. ^ Gitschlag, Gregg R (1996-11-01). "Migration and diving behavior of Kemp's ridley (Garman) sea turtles along the U.S. southeastern Atlantic coast". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 205 (1): 115–135. doi:10.1016/S0022-0981(96)02602-0. ISSN 0022-0981.
  27. ^ a b meridian.allenpress.com https://meridian.allenpress.com/journal-of-herpetology/article/52/3/252/197809/Comparing-Diets-of-Kemp-s-Ridley-Sea-Turtles. Retrieved 2023-03-23. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. ^ Pritchard, Peter (1969). "Studies of the systematics and reproduction of the genus Lepidochelys ". Ph.D. Dissertation – via University of Florida, Gainesville.
  29. ^ Plotkin, Pamela (2007). Biology and Conservation of Ridley Sea Turtles. Baltimore, MD: JHU Press. p. 60. ISBN 9780801886119 – via Google Books.
  30. ^ Shaver, Donna J.; Hart, Kristen M.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Rubio, Cynthia; Sartain-Iverson, Autumn R.; Peña, Jaime; Gamez, Daniel Gomez; Gonzales Diaz Miron, Raul de Jesus; Burchfield, Patrick M.; Martinez, Hector J.; Ortiz, Jaime (March 2016). "Corrigendum to "Migratory corridors of adult female Kemp's ridley turtles in the Gulf of Mexico" [Biol. Conserv. 194 (2016) 158–167]". Biological Conservation. 195: 297. Bibcode:2016BCons.195..297S. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.01.017. ISSN 0006-3207. S2CID 87132388.
  31. ^ "Kemp's Ridleys". SEE Turtles. Retrieved 2019-06-12.
  32. ^ . National Park Service. March 9, 2010. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010.
  33. ^ a b c d Christi, Mailing Address: P. O. Box 181300 Corpus; Isl, TX 78480 Phone: 361 949-8068 This is the primary phone number for the Malaquite Visitor Center at Padre; Us, National Seashore Contact. "Kemp's ridley sea turtles - Padre Island National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  34. ^ a b Heppell, Selina S., Patrick M. Burchfield, and Luis Jaine Peña. 2007. Kemp's Ridley Recovery: How Far Have We Come, and Where Are We Headed? 325-335 pp. In Pamela T. Plotkin (editor). Biology and Conservation of Ridley Sea Turtles. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Baltimore, Maryland. x, 356 pp. ISBN 978-0-80188611-9
  35. ^ "Endangered Species Act (ESA) :: NOAA Fisheries". Nmfs.noaa.gov. 2013-08-08. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  36. ^ "Draft Bi-National Recovery Plan for the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)" (PDF). nmfs.noaa.gov. Secretariat of Environment & Natural Resources Mexico, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Interior. September 19, 1984.
  37. ^ "2010 Threats Assessment, NOAA Fisheries". 18 August 2021.
  38. ^ a b Bevan, E.; Wibbels, T.; Najera, B. M. Z.; Sarti, L.; Martinez, F. I.; Cuevas, J. M.; Gallaway, B. J.; Pena, L. J.; Burchfield, P. M. (March 2016). Parmenter, R. R. (ed.). "Estimating the historic size and current status of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle ( Lepidochelys kempii ) population". Ecosphere. 7 (3). Bibcode:2016Ecosp...7E1244B. doi:10.1002/ecs2.1244. ISSN 2150-8925.
  39. ^ a b c d e F., Mitchell, John; W., Watson, John; G., Foster, Daniel; E., Caylor, Robert (1995). "The Turtle Excluder Device (TED): A guide to better performance". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ . National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015.
  41. ^ a b "Endangered turtle nests found in Texas". The Oklahoman. Corpus Christi Caller-Times. 4 September 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  42. ^ Engl, New; Aquarium (30 July 2020). "A Safe Send-Off for Sea Turtles". New England Aquarium. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  43. ^ Fazio, Marie (2020-11-29). "Effort to Rescue Endangered Turtles Becomes a Thanksgiving Odyssey". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  44. ^ . via Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. May 31, 2007. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016.
  45. ^ Kaufman, Leslie (May 18, 2010). "Gulf Oil Again Imperils Sea Turtle". The New York Times.
  46. ^ a b Macintosh, Zoe (July 16, 2010). "NASA Rescues Baby Sea Turtles Threatened by Gulf Oil Spill". Space.com. Purch. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  47. ^ [1], centurylink.net, July 15, 2010 July 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  48. ^ "NASA's turtle egg rescue from Gulf oil spill is deemed a success". NOLA. Associated Press. September 8, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2017.

Further reading edit

  • Garman S. (1800). On certain Species of Chelonioidæ. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., Harvard College 6 (6): 123–126. (Thalassochelys kempii, new species, pp. 123–124).
  • Marine Turtle Specialist Group (1996). "Lepidochelys kempii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T11533A3292342. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T11533A3292342.en. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is critically endangered and the criteria used
  • Sizemore, Evelyn (2002). The Turtle Lady: Ila Fox Loetscher of South Padre. Plano, Texas: Republic of Texas Press. p. 220. ISBN 1-55622-896-1.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lepidochelys kempii.

January 01, 1970
kemp, ridley, turtle, also, olive, ridley, turtle, ridley, turtle, lepidochelys, kempii, also, called, atlantic, ridley, turtle, rarest, species, turtle, world, most, endangered, species, turtle, living, species, genus, lepidochelys, other, being, olivacea, ol. See also Olive ridley sea turtle and Ridley sea turtle Kemp s ridley sea turtle 4 Lepidochelys kempii also called the Atlantic ridley sea turtle is the rarest species of sea turtle and is the world s most endangered species of sea turtle It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys the other one being L olivacea the olive ridley sea turtle The species primarily occupies habitat around the Gulf of Mexico though their migrations into the Atlantic are being affected by rising temperatures 5 6 Kemp s ridley sea turtles are currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act ESA and current conservation efforts attempt to rebuild population numbers 7 Human activity including but not limited to habitat destruction climate change and oil spills threaten populations 8 9 Kemp s ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii Conservation status Critically Endangered IUCN 3 1 1 CITES Appendix I CITES 2 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Reptilia Order Testudines Suborder Cryptodira Superfamily Chelonioidea Family Cheloniidae Genus Lepidochelys Species L kempii Binomial name Lepidochelys kempii Garman 1880 Synonyms Thalassochelys kempii Garman 1880 Lepidochelys kempii Baur 1890 Colpochelys kempii O P Hay 1905 Caretta kempii Siebenrock 1909 Lepidochelys olivacea kempii Mertens amp Wermuth 1955 Lepidochelys kempii Fritz amp Havas 2007 3 source source source source source source source Computed tomography based model of a Lepidochelys kempii skull with selected muscles highlighted Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Description 3 Distribution 4 Feeding and life history 4 1 Feeding 4 2 Life history 5 Conservation 6 Oil spills 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksTaxonomy editThis species of turtle is called Kemp s ridley because Richard Moore Kemp 1825 1908 of Key West was the first to send a specimen to Samuel Garman at Harvard 10 but the origin of the name ridley itself is unknown Prior to the term being popularly used for both species in the genus L kempii at least was known as the bastard turtle 11 At least one source also refers to Kemp s ridley as a heartbreak turtle In her book The Great Ridley Rescue Pamela Philips claimed the name was coined by fishermen who witnessed the turtles dying after being turned turtle on their backs The fishermen said the turtles died of a broken heart 12 13 Description editKemp s ridley is the smallest of all sea turtle species reaching maturity at 58 70 cm 23 28 in carapace length and weighing only 36 45 kg 79 99 lb 14 Typical of sea turtles it has a dorsoventrally depressed body with specially adapted flipper like front limbs and a beak Kemp s ridley turtle adults reach a maximum of 75 cm 30 in in carapace length and weighing a maximum of 50 kg 110 lb 14 The adult s oval carapace is almost as wide as it is long and is usually olive gray in color The carapace has five pairs of costal scutes In each bridge adjoining the plastron to the carapace are four inframarginal scutes each of which is perforated by a pore The head has two pairs of prefrontal scales These turtles change color as they mature As hatchlings they are almost entirely a dark purple on both sides but mature adults have a yellow green or white plastron and a grey green carapace 15 Kemp s ridley has a triangular shaped head with a somewhat hooked beak with large crushing surfaces The skull is similar to that of the olive ridley 16 Unlike other sea turtles the surface on the squamosal bone where the jaw opening muscles originate faces to the side rather than to the back 17 They are the only sea turtles that nest during the day 18 Distribution edit nbsp Distribution of Kemp s ridley sea turtle red dot primary nesting beach green adult male range 19 dark blue adult female range 19 mid blue juvenile and subadult range arrows Gulf Stream light blue accidentals and vagrants 95 juveniles and subadults black dots verified records 20 21 The distribution of L kempii is somewhat unusual compared to most reptiles varying significantly among adults and juveniles as well as males and females Adults primarily live in the Gulf of Mexico where they forage in the relatively shallow waters of the continental shelf up to 409 m deep but typically 50 m or less 5 with females ranging from the southern coast of the Florida Peninsula to the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula while males have a tendency to remain closer to the nesting beaches in the Western Gulf waters of Texas USA Tamaulipas and Veracruz Mexico 19 Adults of L kempii are rarely found outside of the Gulf of Mexico and only 2 4 22 101 p from the Atlantic are adults 19 22 20 21 Juveniles and subadults in contrast regularly migrate into the Atlantic Ocean and occupy the coastal waters of the continental shelf of North America from southern Florida to Cape Cod Massachusetts and occasionally northward The time periods of these migrations appear to be growing longer due to rising sea temperatures 6 Accidental and vagrant records are known with some regularity from throughout the northern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea where the Gulf Stream is believed to play a significant role in their dispersal Confirmed records from Newfoundland to Venezuela in the west to Ireland the Netherlands Malta in the Mediterranean and numerous localities in between are known in the east although more than 95 of these involve juveniles or subadults 22 101 p Several reports from the African coast from Morocco to Cameroon involve unverified specimens and may include misidentified L olivacea 19 22 20 21 In November 2021 a male was found alive on Talacre beach in North Wales The turtle was taken to the Anglesey Sea Zoo for treatment with the intent of eventual transportation back to the Gulf of Mexico 23 Feeding and life history editFeeding edit Kemp s ridley turtle feeds on mollusks crustaceans jellyfish fish algae or seaweed and sea urchins 24 Juveniles primarily are pelagic surface feeders while adults are opportunistic bottom feeders that feed primarily on crabs 25 Research has shown that dives made by these turtles including those made to forage may be longer at night 26 Comparing dietary habits of head started turtles turtles raised in captivity before release and wild turtles found little difference in variance in feeding habits but there is variability in feeding habits due to habitat differences and maturation of the turtles 25 Variation in habitat region as well as prey availability were found to alter diet composition 27 Regional diet compositions aid in conservation efforts through enabling predicting food sources becoming affected by major events 27 Life history edit Most females return each year to a single beach Rancho Nuevo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas to lay eggs The females arrive in large groups of hundreds or thousands in nesting aggregations called arribadas which is a Spanish word for arrivals 28 29 Males will typically stay closer to breeding grounds 30 Juvenile turtles tend to live in floating sargassum seaweed beds for their first years 18 Then they range between northwest Atlantic waters and the Gulf of Mexico while growing into maturity They reach sexual maturity at the age of 10 12 15 This is the only species that nests primarily during the day 31 The nesting season for these turtles is April to August They nest mostly 95 on a 16 mile beach in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas and on Padre Island in the US state of Texas and elsewhere on the Gulf Coast They mate offshore Gravid females land in groups on beaches in arribadas 18 or mass nesting They prefer areas with dunes or secondarily swamps The estimated number of nesting females in 1947 was 89 000 but shrank to an estimated 7 702 by 1985 32 Females nest one to four times during a season keeping 10 to 20 days between nestings 33 Incubation takes 6 8 weeks 33 Around 100 eggs are in a clutch 33 The hatchlings sex is decided by the temperature in the area during incubation If the temperature is below 29 5 C the offspring will be mainly male 33 nbsp Hatchling nbsp Hatchling nbsp Juvenile turtle nbsp Adult turtle nesting nbsp Nesting female returning to sea nbsp Deceased adultConservation edit source source source source source source source Biologists collecting Kemp s ridley sea turtle s eggs to transport them to the Kennedy Space Center for hatching Kemp s ridley sea turtle is currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act ESA 7 Egg harvesting and poaching first depleted the numbers of Kemp s ridley sea turtles 22 but today major threats include habitat loss pollution and entanglement in shrimping nets Some major current conservation efforts are aimed towards habitat protection reduction of bycatch rescue and rehabilitation and reduction of killing 7 Efforts to protect L kempii began in 1966 when Mexico s Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Biologico Pesqueras National Institute of Biological Fisheries Research sent biologists Hunberto Chavez Martin Contreras and Eduardo Hernondez to the coast of southern Tamaulipas to survey and instigate conservation plans 34 And in the United States Kemp s ridley turtle was first listed under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1970 35 on December 2 1970 and subsequently under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 In 1977 an informal binational multiagency the Kemp s Ridley Working Group first met to develop a recovery plan 34 A binational recovery plan was developed in 1984 and revised in 1992 A draft public review draft of the second revision was published by National Marine Fisheries Service in March 2010 36 This revision includes an updated threat assessment 37 From 1947 to 1985 L kempii nests experienced a sharp decline from an estimated 121 517 nests in 1947 to 702 nests in 1985 decline of 99 4 and have since been exponentially recovering until approximately 2011 2016 where another decline in nests occurred 38 Nesting as of 2016 is estimated to be 9 9 of the nest estimate of 1947 38 One mechanism used to protect turtles from fishing nets is the turtle excluder device TED 39 It is a grid of bars with an opening at the top or bottom fitted into the neck of the shrimp trawl It works by allowing small animals to slip through bars and get caught while sea turtles strike the bars and are ejected through an escape hole on either the top or bottom of the device 39 These mechanisms designs are controlled through federal regulations to ensure proper use 39 There are multiple types of TED construction oval grid hooped fixed angle Super Shooter Anthony Weedless and flounder types 39 Each design is adapted to be best suited for certain conditions uses or vary by complexity of the design 39 nbsp Kemp s ridley nests found on the Texas coast 1985 2013 nbsp Kemp s ridley hatchlings Rancho Nuevo Tamaulipas Mexico 2017 In September 2007 Corpus Christi Texas wildlife officials found a record of 128 Kemp s ridley sea turtle nests on Texas beaches including 81 on North Padre Island Padre Island National Seashore and four on Mustang Island The figure was exceeded in each of the following 7 years see graph to 2013 provisional figures for 2014 as at July 118 40 Wildlife officials released 10 594 Kemp s ridley hatchlings along the Texas coast in 2007 41 The turtles are popular in Mexico as raw material for boots and as food 41 In July 2020 five rehabilitated turtles were released back in to Cape Cod with satellite tracking devices to monitor their wellbeing 42 A 2020 rescue mission to save 30 turtles from the freezing seas of Cape Cod was delayed by weather and technical issues spurring a temporary rescue mission en route between Massachusetts and New Mexico The Tennessee Aquarium offered overnight shelter and care and the turtles were eventually released to the sea 43 These cold stunning events may become more common with rising sea temperatures as juveniles linger in near shore waters in the American Northeast and are subjected to late season storms 9 nbsp A Kemp s ridley arribada in Rancho Nuevo beach Tamaulipas Mexico in 2017Oil spills editSome Kemp s ridleys were airlifted from Mexico after the 1979 blowout of the Ixtoc 1 rig which spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico citation needed Since April 30 2010 10 days after the accident on the Deepwater Horizon 156 sea turtle deaths were recorded most were Kemp s ridleys citation needed Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists and enforcement agents rescued Kemp s ridleys in Grand Isle 44 citation needed Most of the 456 oiled turtles that were rescued cleaned and released by the US Fish and Wildlife Service were Kemp s ridleys 8 Of the endangered marine species frequenting Gulf waters only Kemp s ridley relies on the region as its sole breeding ground 45 As part of the effort to save the species from some of the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill scientists took nests and incubated them elsewhere 67 eggs were collected from a nest along the Florida Panhandle on June 26 2010 and brought to a temperature controlled warehouse at NASA s Kennedy Space Center where 56 hatched citation needed and 22 were released on 11 July 2010 46 The overall plan was to collect eggs from about 700 sea turtle nests incubate them and release the young on beaches across Alabama and Florida over a period of months 46 47 Eventually 278 nests were collected including only a few Kemp s ridley nests 48 References edit Wibbels T Bevan E 2019 Lepidochelys kempii IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019 e T11533A155057916 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2019 2 RLTS T11533A155057916 en Retrieved 19 November 2021 Appendices CITES cites org Retrieved 2022 01 14 Fritz Uwe Havas Peter 2007 Checklist of Chelonians of the World Vertebrate Zoology 57 2 149 368 Lepidochelys kempii pp 168 169 Rhodin AG van Dijk PP Iverson JB Shaffer HB 2010 Rhodin AG Pritchard PC van Dijk PP Saumure AR Buhlmann KA Iverson JB Mittermeier RA eds Turtles of the World Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy and Synonymy PDF Chelonian Research Monographs Chelonian Research Foundation and the Turtle Taxonomy Working Group of IUCN Species Survival Commission 85 164 doi 10 3854 crm 5 000 checklist v3 2010 Archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 17 Retrieved 2015 01 07 a b Fritts T H W Hoffman and M A McGehee 1983 The distribution and abundance of marine turtles in the Gulf of Mexico and nearby Atlantic waters Journal of Herpetology 17 327 344 a b Griffin LP Griffin CR Finn JT Prescott RL Faherty M et al 2019 Warming seas increase cold stunning events for Kemp s ridley sea turtles in the northwest Atlantic PLOS ONE 14 1 e0211503 https doi org 10 1371 journal pone 0211503 a b c Fisheries NOAA 2022 09 15 Kemp s Ridley Turtle NOAA Fisheries NOAA Retrieved 2023 03 28 a b Masti Ramit June 1 2011 Nesting turtles give clues on oil spill s impact Fox News Associated Press Retrieved July 28 2017 a b Griffin LP Griffin CR Finn JT Prescott RL Faherty M Still BM Danylchuk AJ 2019 Warming seas increase cold stunning events for Kemp s ridley sea turtles in the northwest Atlantic PLOS ONE 14 1 e0211503 Bibcode 2019PLoSO 1411503G doi 10 1371 journal pone 0211503 PMC 6350998 PMID 30695074 e0211503 Beolens Bo Watkins Michael Grayson Michael 2011 The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press xiii 296 pp ISBN 978 1 4214 0135 5 Lepidochelys kempii p 139 Dundee Harold A 2001 The Etymological Riddle of the Ridley Sea Turtle Marine Turtle Newsletter 58 10 12 Retrieved 2008 12 30 Frequently Asked Questions Help Endangered Animals Ridley Turtles Gulf Office of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project Archived from the original on February 26 2009 Retrieved 2009 01 05 Philips Pamela September 1988 The Great Ridley Rescue Mountain Press p 180 ISBN 0 87842 229 3 a b Conant R 1975 A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America Second Edition Boston Houghton Mifflin xviii 429 pp Plates 1 48 ISBN 0 395 19979 4 hardcover ISBN 0 395 19977 8 paperback Lepidochelys kempi pp 75 76 Plate 11 a b Kemp s Ridley Sea Turtles Kemp s Ridley Sea Turtle Pictures Kemp s Ridley Sea Turtle Facts National Geographic Retrieved 2013 10 13 Chatterji RM Hutchinson MN Jones MEH 2020 Redescription of the skull of the Australian flatback sea turtle Natator depressus provides new morphological evidence for phylogenetic relationships among sea turtles Chelonioidea Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 191 4 1090 1113 doi 10 1093 zoolinnean zlaa071 Jones MEH Werneburg I Curtis N Penrose RN O Higgins P Fagan M Evans SE 2012 The head and neck anatomy of sea turtles Cryptodira Chelonioidea and skull shape in Testudines PLOS ONE 7 11 e47852 Bibcode 2012PLoSO 747852J doi 10 1371 journal pone 0047852 PMC 3492385 PMID 23144831 a b c Kemp s Ridley Turtle Lepidochelys kempii Office of Protected Resources NOAA Fisheries NOAA Fisheries Retrieved 2009 05 11 a b c d e Morreale Stephen J pamrls T Plotkin Donna J Shaver and Heather J Kalb 2007 Adult Migration and Habitat Utilization Ridley Turtles in the Element 213 229 pp In Pamela T Plotkin editor Biology and Conservation of Ridley Sea Turtles The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore Maryland x 356 pp ISBN 978 0 8018 86119 a b c Wilson Robert V and George R Zug 1991 Lepidochelys kempii Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles 509 1 509 8 pp a b c Iverson John B 1992 A Revised Checklist with Distribution Maps of the Turtles of the World Green Nature Books Homestead Florida 363 pp ISBN 1 888089 23 7 a b c d e Ernst Carl H and Jeffrey E Lovich 2009 Turtles of the United States and Canada 2nd ed The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore Maryland xii 827 pp ISBN 978 0 8018 9121 2 Rare turtle washes up on UK beach 4 000 miles from home BBC News 4 December 2021 Retrieved 4 December 2021 Burke VJ Morreale SJ Standora EA 1994 Diet of the Kemp s ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii in New York waters NOAA NMFS Fishery Bulletin Retrieved Dec 20 2015 a b Shaver Donna J 1991 Feeding Ecology of Wild and Head Started Kemp s Ridley Sea Turtles in South Texas Waters Journal of Herpetology 25 3 327 334 doi 10 2307 1564592 ISSN 0022 1511 JSTOR 1564592 Gitschlag Gregg R 1996 11 01 Migration and diving behavior of Kemp s ridley Garman sea turtles along the U S southeastern Atlantic coast Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 205 1 115 135 doi 10 1016 S0022 0981 96 02602 0 ISSN 0022 0981 a b meridian allenpress com https meridian allenpress com journal of herpetology article 52 3 252 197809 Comparing Diets of Kemp s Ridley Sea Turtles Retrieved 2023 03 23 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help Pritchard Peter 1969 Studies of the systematics and reproduction of the genus Lepidochelys Ph D Dissertation via University of Florida Gainesville Plotkin Pamela 2007 Biology and Conservation of Ridley Sea Turtles Baltimore MD JHU Press p 60 ISBN 9780801886119 via Google Books Shaver Donna J Hart Kristen M Fujisaki Ikuko Rubio Cynthia Sartain Iverson Autumn R Pena Jaime Gamez Daniel Gomez Gonzales Diaz Miron Raul de Jesus Burchfield Patrick M Martinez Hector J Ortiz Jaime March 2016 Corrigendum to Migratory corridors of adult female Kemp s ridley turtles in the Gulf of Mexico Biol Conserv 194 2016 158 167 Biological Conservation 195 297 Bibcode 2016BCons 195 297S doi 10 1016 j biocon 2016 01 017 ISSN 0006 3207 S2CID 87132388 Kemp s Ridleys SEE Turtles Retrieved 2019 06 12 Sea Turtle Recovery Project National Park Service March 9 2010 Archived from the original on May 28 2010 a b c d Christi Mailing Address P O Box 181300 Corpus Isl TX 78480 Phone 361 949 8068 This is the primary phone number for the Malaquite Visitor Center at Padre Us National Seashore Contact Kemp s ridley sea turtles Padre Island National Seashore U S National Park Service www nps gov Retrieved 2022 03 28 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link a b Heppell Selina S Patrick M Burchfield and Luis Jaine Pena 2007 Kemp s Ridley Recovery How Far Have We Come and Where Are We Headed 325 335 pp In Pamela T Plotkin editor Biology and Conservation of Ridley Sea Turtles The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore Maryland x 356 pp ISBN 978 0 80188611 9 Endangered Species Act ESA NOAA Fisheries Nmfs noaa gov 2013 08 08 Retrieved 2013 10 13 Draft Bi National Recovery Plan for the Kemp s Ridley Sea Turtle Lepidochelys kempii PDF nmfs noaa gov Secretariat of Environment amp Natural Resources Mexico U S Department of Commerce U S Department of Interior September 19 1984 2010 Threats Assessment NOAA Fisheries 18 August 2021 a b Bevan E Wibbels T Najera B M Z Sarti L Martinez F I Cuevas J M Gallaway B J Pena L J Burchfield P M March 2016 Parmenter R R ed Estimating the historic size and current status of the Kemp s ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii population Ecosphere 7 3 Bibcode 2016Ecosp 7E1244B doi 10 1002 ecs2 1244 ISSN 2150 8925 a b c d e F Mitchell John W Watson John G Foster Daniel E Caylor Robert 1995 The Turtle Excluder Device TED A guide to better performance a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Current Sea Turtle Nesting Season National Park Service Archived from the original on March 25 2015 a b Endangered turtle nests found in Texas The Oklahoman Corpus Christi Caller Times 4 September 2007 Retrieved 10 April 2023 Engl New Aquarium 30 July 2020 A Safe Send Off for Sea Turtles New England Aquarium Retrieved 2020 11 30 Fazio Marie 2020 11 29 Effort to Rescue Endangered Turtles Becomes a Thanksgiving Odyssey The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2020 11 30 Sea Turtles recovered from Oil Spill Gulf of Mexico via Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries May 31 2007 Archived from the original on October 23 2016 Kaufman Leslie May 18 2010 Gulf Oil Again Imperils Sea Turtle The New York Times a b Macintosh Zoe July 16 2010 NASA Rescues Baby Sea Turtles Threatened by Gulf Oil Spill Space com Purch Retrieved July 28 2017 1 centurylink net July 15 2010 Archived July 23 2011 at the Wayback Machine NASA s turtle egg rescue from Gulf oil spill is deemed a success NOLA Associated Press September 8 2010 Retrieved July 28 2017 Further reading editGarman S 1800 On certain Species of Chelonioidae Bull Mus Comp Zool Harvard College 6 6 123 126 Thalassochelys kempii new species pp 123 124 Marine Turtle Specialist Group 1996 Lepidochelys kempii IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 1996 e T11533A3292342 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 1996 RLTS T11533A3292342 en Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is critically endangered and the criteria used Sizemore Evelyn 2002 The Turtle Lady Ila Fox Loetscher of South Padre Plano Texas Republic of Texas Press p 220 ISBN 1 55622 896 1 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lepidochelys kempii Profile Archived 2015 07 24 at the Wayback Machine from the OBIS SEAMAP project of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System Turtle Trax org Kemp s ridley sea turtle Profile Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island wiki Information on Kemp s ridley sea turtle Information from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Texas Parks amp Wildlife Dept Kemp s ridley sea turtle Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kemp 27s ridley sea turtle amp oldid 1222427939, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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