Why are turtles important — Turtles Kingston

Indicating changes in the environment 

Turtles are a great source of data for monitoring the health of the ecosystem they live in. This is because of their longevity; scientists can tell if there is a new component affecting the wetland by monitoring the changes in turtles and their behaviour over the course of years. 

Did you know?

Turtles stop aging once they reach maturity! In other words, turtles do not die of old age. This makes them the perfect study subject for understanding how changes in aquatic environments impact the animals living there. This also makes it hard to determine the age of a turtle, because after reaching maturity they do not develop any visible characteristics to identify their age, not even their size!

In conclusion

When we help turtles, we are helping the environment! Without turtles, harmful waste would build up in wetlands from decaying plant and animal matter, energy and nutrients would lose an important link between land and water, and the soil would not have the calcium and nutrient levels it does today. Remember that when you help turtles and turtle populations, you are saving a keystone species that keeps our ecosystems healthy and functioning at their best.