Sea turtles play many important roles in marine ecosystems. Try identifying some in the image below:

A cartoon image of a beach with sea turtles. A racoon is holding sea turtle eggs from a nest. A pelican is holding a baby sea turtle in its beak as it flies away. A sea turtle is eating a coral from a reef. A separate sea turtle is eating seagrass from the bottom of the sea.

Seagrass Health

By grazing seagrass, sea turtles help keep it short and healthy. Healthy sea grass provides food and shelter for other fish and other small sea creatures.

A cartoon sea turtle at the bottom of the ocean with seagrass in its mouth.
A cartoon sea turtle at the bottom of the ocean eating a piece of coral from a reef.

Coral Reef Biodiversity

Sea turtles help coral reefs! They eat fast-growing sponges, which makes room for other slow-growing species to thrive, increasing reef biodiversity.

Transport

Sea turtles carry smaller organisms on their shells and help transport them to different parts of the ocean as they undergo long migrations.

A cartoon sea turtle swimming with a small organism on its back.
A cartoon of a beach with a hole of sea turtle eggs in it. There is grass and vegetation surrounding the nest.

Beach Vegetation

When sea turtles lay their eggs in the sand, the hatched eggs provide nutrients that help beach plants grow. This vegetation prevents the shoreline from eroding and provides food for herbivores!

Prey

Sea turtle eggs and hatchlings are prey to other animals like rats, racoons, foxes, coyotes, and seabirds.

A cartoon of a racoon holding a sea turtle egg from a nest on the beach.
A cartoon of a pelican with a baby sea turtle in its mouth flying away.

Predator

Finally, some species of sea turtles are jellyfish predators. By eating jellyfish, they help keep the population under control.

THINK-PAIR-SHARE

Think about the many roles sea turtles play in their ecosystems.

What do you think might happen if sea turtle populations declined? Be specific.