Interdependence
- Populations:
- Males mate with females offshore, and then the female goes onshore to lay her eggs.
- Sea turtles that have just hatched from their eggs immediately make their way towards the water, where they begin their life, independently.
- LSTs mainly hunt by themselves, except to gather around large amounts of jellyfish, which is one of their primary food sources.
- Community:
- LSTs feed almost exclusively on jellyfish.
- LSTs have very few predators once they reach adulthood
- Most do not make it to adulthood
- They live alone and don’t really interact within the community
- Ecosystem:
- LSTs are Pelagic, which means they live in the open ocean.
- They can dive down up to 4000 feet, as they are more adaptable to the cold than other reptiles.
- The Pelagic Zone is comprised of phytoplankton, who are the producers; zooplankton such as jellyfish, nekton, who are bony fish, and the occasional reptile, such as the LST.
- Based on how far they can dive, the LST would live in the mesopelagic sector of the pelagic ecosystem, with an occasional visit to the bathypelagic sector.
- Biome:
- All LSTs live in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, which are both part of the Marine biome.
- The biome is composed of saltwater.
- One of the most bio-diverse biomes in the world
- LSTs are some of the most long-living, most viable animals in the biome
- Comprised of organisms as small as phytoplankton, and as large as whales
- Different organisms live in different depths of the ocean based on their needs
- Autotrophs live towards the top because they need sunlight, and some organisms use chemosynthesis to make their food on the bottom of the ocean.