The Takeaway Message:

Florida turtles already face numerous threats, including the illegal wildlife trade, coastal development, hotter sand temperatures and marine debris entanglements. Now, research reveals new hazards on the horizon: A new deadly virus, and floating plastic that smells just like food.

What’s going on?

A new virus is spreading throughout Florida, killing and sickening hundreds of freshwater turtles. The virus was first detected in the St. Johns River in 2018, but as of 2020, infected turtles have been reported as far south as the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, roughly two hours south of Orlando.

To learn more about the virus, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission started a collaborative investigation with statewide wildlife rehabilitation centers to collect samples from turtles for testing. So far, they’ve discovered the disease is affecting three species of freshwater turtles: the softshell, the peninsula cooter, and the Florida red-bellied cooter.

Sea turtles in Florida are also facing many threats, like rising temperatures. This is because the temperature of the sand is what determines the sex of a sea turtle hatchling. Hotter sand temperatures can lead to more female-dominant nests, altering natural sex ratios.

New research has also found that to sea turtles, ocean plastic smells like food. A team of researchers exposed 15 loggerhead sea turtles on Bald Head Island in North Carolina to various smells. While the turtles ignored clean plastic, they reacted to ocean-soaked plastics as they would to their natural food sources.

The accumulation of algae, microbes and small plants on plastic can give off the same aroma as food to the turtles. When a turtle eats ocean plastic, its ability to properly digest and absorb food is inhibited. Sea turtles also lack the ability to vomit and get rid of the items they’ve eaten. This forces the plastic they’ve swallowed to either pass through their system, or become lodged within their intestines.

Why it matters.

Turtles play key roles in their ecosystems. Some sea turtles help maintain seagrass beds through their grazing, and some freshwater turtles help control vegetation overgrowth. The nutrients left behind from deceased sea turtle hatchlings can also help coastal vegetation grow.

Through their scavenging, freshwater turtles help maintain the health of rivers and lakes. Turtle populations around the globe have diverse feeding habits, making them important players in ecosystem food webs. Some species even disperse seeds of numerous plant species.

According to the FWC, Florida is a hot spot for many sea and freshwater turtles: “The southeastern United States is one of the richest areas in the world for turtle diversity. Florida is among the top states in turtle species numbers, with over 30 native turtle species, most of which are freshwater turtles,” reads the FWC website. 

What can I do?

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