Why Are Sea Turtles Endangered

LED Lightings: Saving the Lives of Sea Turtles

Sea turtles are one of the great wonders of the seas. They are actually large, air-breathing reptiles inhabiting the subtropical and tropical seas all around the world. However, the main problem today is that 6 of the 7 species of sea turtles are actually classified as endangered or threatened because of human lifestyles and actions.

The Underlying Problem

Many nesting turtles once actually had no any problem about discovering a quiet and dark area on which they can nest. Today, sea turtles need to compete with businesses, coastal residents and tourists for places to lay their eggs. Many beaches, popular with turtles and humans alike, are already lined with seaside hotels, houses and condominiums. The problem with it is that lights from all of these developments are discouraging female turtles from nesting. If turtles fail to nest after some multiple false crawls, they will resort to deposit their eggs in the ocean. In this case, the outlook for survival for the hatchlings is really slim.

Apart from that, an excessive lighting from these hotels and buildings can draw hatchlings toward the land and if this happens their lives will be endangered. They might be preyed by some predators, run over or even be drowned in pools.

Also, lightings near the shore can cause those hatchlings to wander inland and disoriented, where they usually die because of predation or even dehydration. According to scientists, hatchlings have their inborn tendencies that would lead them in bright directions, often from the moonlight that reflects off of the ocean. Many hatchlings are crawling towards the sources of artificial light and this would often lead them astray.

Though it seems that this is quite a complex problem to be tackled, an estimated 1/3 of the entire lightings in US is actually wasted and the cost of these wasted lighting is tantamount to almost two billion dollars every year.

The Necessary Solution

One of the most essential solutions to solve this problem is the use of LED lights in those buildings near the seashore. LED lights are actually less intrusive to hatchlings and to those nesting sea turtles as compared to the traditional lighting sources. Also, to solve the problem in wasted lightings, LED lights are also the best thing to consider because it is important to note that these lights are more energy and cost-efficient compared to those conventional sources of lighting.

Furthermore, the reduced amount of conventional light that is really visible from the nesting beaches is really important to also reduce the light pollution affecting a lot of sea turtles. As a matter of fact, a lot of coastal communities worldwide have passed essential ordinances requiring those residents to turn off the beachfront lights when it is the nesting season of the turtles.

A lot of activities of humans have really tipped the scales against the sea turtles’ survival. Almost all of the species of these amazing ancient mariners are actually classified as endangered. With the use of LED lights, people can make great action to protect and save the lives of these sea turtles.