April Wamhoff

Ok, not gonna lie to y’all, this year the old lady from the island has ended up in Texas for a couple of months. To be sure, the weather is better, but it ain’t all lying on the beach in old lady swimsuits. As I write this earlier this month, it’s in the 40s and it’s been raining for three days. And the winds. Oh, the winds! Off the bay and the ocean are at a sustained 15-20 mph with, and may I say frequent, gusts up to 50 mph.
But, and here’s the gig, every place has their own weather casualties and here it’s the sea turtles. I learned about the winter plight of sea turtles at the turtle sanctuary, Sea Turtles, Inc. All kinds of cool stuff about sea turtles and even some ambassador turtles to check out. Turtles that, for one reason or another, can’t be released back into the ocean.
“Texas” sea turtles live in the Gulf of Mexico (ocean side) and the Laguna Madre which separates mainland Texas from South Padre Island. It is an approximately 130-mile long salt water lagoon. It is four to six miles wide and is on the average only about three-and-a-half feet deep. Sea turtles go there because of its food sources, but it gets cold. Too cold for sea turtles. At water temperatures below 50 degrees, the turtles get “cold stunned.” They become lethargic and unable to swim. If they float, they become vulnerable to predation and boat strikes. They can also drown if they become unable to lift their heads to draw a breath.
The sanctuary staff, members, volunteers and the public come together to the aid of the stunned sea turtles by patrolling the shores on foot and by boat. When they’re found they are transported to the sanctuary first and when that fills, they are brought to any available warm environment.I thought a volunteer told me that on one particularly bad year, sea turtles recovered at the community center.
While I was there, the first cold stun event happened and they rescued and released over 175 turtles. When they “come to” and are deemed fit, they are released into the Gulf side of the island where the water temperatures don’t fluctuate nearly as much. It’s all pretty cool...
But it got me to thinkin,’ what do our northern turtles do? Fifty degrees! Our poor little turtles would barely notice that, I think.
Well, what I learned from the all-knowing internet is, our 11 species of turtles survive by retreating to cold but unfrozen water-under the ice. They don’t eat and their metabolism is slowed greatly, with only about four heartbeats per minute.
But wait, says I, how do they get oxygen? Like under the water? And the answer is this.
Most turtles get oxygen from the oxygen in the water as it passes over, well, their butts. They, apparently, have lots of blood vessels there and in their mouths and they have the ability to absorb oxygen, through their skin, from the water. Sounds fishy, doesn’t it?
They can also switch to a process called “anaerobic respiration.” It’s a process which produces energy without the need for oxygen. Problem with this one is it creates a lactic acid build-up which, for all you non-biology stars like me, gives them cramps, and other bad stuff. Best not to rely on this one too much.
So, wow! Our own little turtles have developed the ability to survive much colder temperatures without the need for human intervention. Now that is super cool stuff! Gotta love them all!