Nicolas

= __Endangered Species Project__ =

**Leather back sea turtle**


 * 1. __My endangered species and its environment__**

niche = Leather back sea turtles eat jellyfish. They control the jellyfish populations. If there are to many jellyfish the fish populations might reduce because they eat fish larvae. This is bad for commercial fisherman. With this turtle it benefits fisheries and people.

population = There are 34,000 nesting females.

ecosystem = Leather back sea turtles are found in warmer oceans and the Mediterranean sea. organism = The adult leather back sea turtles weigh around 2000 pounds (900 kg) and baby leather back are around 45 grams. The adults are 6.5 feet (2 meters) and baby leather back sea turtles are 50- 70 centimeters. There shell is black with pinkish white spots.

community = The animals that are in the leather back sea turtle's community are : clam, krill, limpet, manta ray, lobster, shark, polyps, phytoplankton, corral, eel, octopus, seagull, algae, shrimp, jellyfish, fish, oyster, mussel, seal, seahorse, starfish, squid, stingray, whale, sea urchin, sea anemone, kelp, seaweed, sea grass, and Dolphin.

biotic and abiotic factors = The abiotic factors is the water, rocks, salt, and sea shells. The biotic factors are everything in the leatherback sea turtles community that are alive.

reference = "leatherback turtle." //WWF//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. []. if the leather back sea turtle would go extinct, the jelly fish would over populate because it does not have any other predators and will eat more fish who's population over time will go down which would cause the seagulls, humans, sharks, dolphins, starfish, and squid would rely on other prey so then the shrimp and corral would die overpopulate because there would not be as many prey and then the algae, phytoplankton, and polyps would shrink and then it would be disaster. The leather back sea turtle has a flexible shell so that it can dive deep into the water.
 * 2** __**Food web**__
 * 3** __**Special adaptations**__

They have paddle like flippers so that they can swim fast to catch their prey.

reference = Wallace, Bryan. "Deep-diving adaptations of Leatherback turtles." //deep sea news//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. . Total population of the leather back sea turtles are often unknown because juvenile and male leather back sea turtles do not come ashore and are difficult to count. Population data are usually based on the numbers of adult females that come ashore to nest. Even then, the numbers are ambituous. Some females nest every two to three years; some may nest more than once on the same beach in a season; and some visit more than one nesting beach in a season. There are about 26,000 to 43,000 adult female leatherbacks worldwide. Their numbers do not appear to be declining in the U.S. Total population figures are often unknown because juvenile and male sea turtles do not come ashore and are difficult to count.
 * 4** __**Population size**__

reference = "SEA TURTLES." //Animals//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <[]>.