Leatherback sea turtles are the largest living species of turtle, including land and ocean species, and are unique among their oceanic brethren for the lack of a hard carapace, having instead a leathery, ridged skin which lends itself to the species name. Found throughout every tropical and subtropical region of the Atlantic, as well as the western and eastern Pacific, these majestic reptiles are some of the deepest diving marine animals, with individuals having been recorded diving as deep as 4,200 feet on a single dive. Curiously, leatherback sea turtles can maintain a high body temperature through the use of metabolically generated heat. Studies have shown that they use less than 0.1 percent of their day resting, allowing their core body temperature to remain as much as 32F higher than the surrounding water temperature!
Sadly, these amazing creatures are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). As mature adults, they face little in the way of natural predators, although, like other sea turtles, they are victim to unintentional bycatch by fishing vessels. They can also suffer greatly from intestinal blockages brought on by the consumption of plastic waste at sea that resembles jellyfish, one of their main food sources. Chemical and other pollution take a toll on their reproductive cycles, while their eggs and young face predation by all manner of creatures, including humans, with the exploitation of leatherback sea turtle nests cited as the most significant factor in the species’ decline worldwide.
But one of the biggest obstacles they face is destruction of their nesting grounds, which happens almost entirely by human hands. Commercial and residential development of these vital areas continue to put populations of leatherback sea turtles at risk across the globe, which has led to the rise of many conservation programs that aim to curb development and retain crucial breeding grounds for this rapidly depleting species. One major effort that has seen recent triumph is the establishment of Puerto Rico’s Northeast Ecological Corridor (NEC), aimed specifically at protecting leatherback sea turtles.
The NEC comprises an area of roughly 5.4 square miles along the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico. Within this region is a diverse array of habitats, including forests, beaches, coral communities, wetlands, and a bioluminescent lagoon, all of which are home to 866 species of flora and fauna. The beaches of the NEC are important nesting grounds for the leatherback sea turtle, whose season begins every year in April. Because of these features, conservationists have long been fighting developers to have the area designated as a nature reserve, beginning as a grassroots movement in the late 1990s. The culmination of a series of legal battles over the course of 15 years to prevent the construction of hotels, resorts, and golf courses was the establishment of the NEC in late June 2012, in which all public lands within its boundaries were designated as a nature reserve.
In addition to protecting leatherback sea turtles, the NEC will also provide safe haven for the West Indian Manatee and the Puerto Rican Boa, each of which are also listed as endangered species. These three are part of a group of 54 that are considered to be endangered, threatened, rare, or endemic species of Puerto Rico, and therefore critical elements of the region. Although there will certainly be significant work ahead to ensure these and all other species located within the NEC are properly protected under the new laws designed to do so, we must take our hats off to the tireless work already done by the caring people of the Coalition for the Northeast Ecological Corridor and the lengths they have gone to in protecting leatherback sea turtles.
