Green Sea Turtle
Green sea turtles
are ocean travelers, journeying up to 1,600 miles between their nesting beaches and feeding grounds. Females use magnetic clues as a map back home. Under the cover of darkness, the mother climbs onto the beach to lay close to 100 eggs. She then buries them under a sandy blanket and returns to the sea.
Sea turtles, which can live to be 80 years old, face challenges as oceans warm and sea levels rise, making it difficult to find food, mates and nesting beaches. And rising temperatures could change the balance of male and female turtles. Warmer eggs become females, while cooler eggs become males. If beaches get too warm, scientists worry there could be too many females—and not enough males to fertilize their eggs.