Sea turtles – Home Design, Garden & Architecture Blog Magazine https://goodshomedesign.com Interior Design, DIY Creative Ideas, Craft, Home and Garden Ideas | GoodsHomeDesign Thu, 20 Jun 2024 19:04:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 Hawaiian Teen Wins $10,000 for Research on Mysterious Outbreak Killing Sea Turtles https://goodshomedesign.com/hawaiian-teen-wins-10000-research-mysterious-outbreak-killing-sea-turtles/ https://goodshomedesign.com/hawaiian-teen-wins-10000-research-mysterious-outbreak-killing-sea-turtles/#respond Thu, 20 Jun 2024 19:04:02 +0000 https://goodshomedesign.com/?p=66783

Maddux Alexander Springer, a dedicated Hawaiian teen, has made significant strides in understanding a mysterious disease affecting sea turtles. Unlike many high school students who may shy away from long-term projects, Springer devoted nearly three years to researching fibro papillomatosis (FP), disease-causing cauliflower-like tumors on green sea turtles. These tumors, while not directly fatal, can severely hinder the turtles’ ability to breathe and eat, leading to tragic outcomes. Springer first encountered the afflicted turtles during his free dives in Kāneʻohe Bay, Oahu, during the pandemic. Alarmed by the lack of extensive research on this issue, he took it upon himself to explore the disease’s prevalence and triggers. Despite initial setbacks, such as being denied permits to biopsy the tumors, Springer creatively utilized underwater motion-sensing cameras to survey the turtle population, uncovering that FP was widespread and possibly linked to the turtles’ diet of an invasive algae species, graciliaria salicornia.

Springer’s persistence paid off when he discovered that this invasive algae, which the turtles were consuming in large quantities, absorbed significantly more sewage compared to native algae species. Given Hawaii’s severe sewage leakage issue, with over 52 million gallons of untreated sewage entering the ground daily, Springer hypothesized that the algae’s high nitrogen content, converted to the amino acid arginine, was triggering FP in turtles. His innovative research, though not yet peer-reviewed, earned him the top prize in the animal sciences division at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, along with the prestigious Peggy Scripps Award for Science Communication, netting him $10,000. As Springer prepares to study marine biology at Oregon State University, he hopes his work will raise awareness of the urgent need for government intervention to address Hawaii’s wastewater management crisis. With the state aiming to replace all cesspools by 2050, Springer’s advocacy underscores the importance of timely action to protect both marine life and human health.

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Man Buys Sea Turtles At Market And Releases Them https://goodshomedesign.com/man-buys-sea-turtles-at-market-and-releases-them/ https://goodshomedesign.com/man-buys-sea-turtles-at-market-and-releases-them/#respond Wed, 25 May 2022 00:37:58 +0000 http://goodshomedesign.com/?p=58685

Saving the turtles is this next man’s favorite activity, and thank God that there are still people like him out there.
Aaron Culling lives in Papua New Guinea, and he first spotted turtles at a local market while he was shopping there.
The sea turtles were up for sale for $50, and Cunning didn’t even hesitate to buy them. The next thing he did was to drive straight to the shore and release them back into their natural habitat.

Since then, Culling has teamed with his friend Mark and managed to save and release 10 sea turtles that they bought from local markets. He also posted about his rescuing mission on Facebook, and his post was reposted more than 55,000 times. This is such an amazing story and one which most definitely restores faith in humanity.
Sea turtles should not be sold at markets, as they belong in the sea together with the rest of their peers.
Kudos to Aaron and Mark for their brave initiative and hopefully after reading about this story, more people will follow their way.

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