Sea turtles inhabit all the oceans of the world except the Arctic, and they therefore have a broad range of habitats and diets. Each species has uniquely evolved to different environments and available food. The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is one of the most abundant sea turtle species, recognized for its relatively small size and unique feeding habits.
General Information About Olive Ridley Sea Turtles
The olive ridley gets its name from the olive green color of its heart-shaped shell. This species is among the smallest, but the most widespread and abundant of the world’s sea turtles. Adult olive ridleys tend to live in the open ocean with a broad omnivorous diet. The olive and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are the smallest species, growing only to about 70 cm in shell length and weighing up to 45 kg.
Olive ridleys are found throughout the world primarily in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. The olive ridley is mainly a pelagic (open ocean) sea turtle, observed by trans-Pacific ships over 2,400 miles from shore, but they are also known to inhabit coastal areas. Olive ridley turtles prefer tropical and subtropical waters, but they can be seen in colder waters as well.
Dietary Habits of Olive Ridley Turtles
Olive ridleys are omnivorous, meaning they consume both plant and animal matter. Adult olive ridleys tend to live in the open ocean with a broad omnivorous diet. Their diet includes crabs, mollusks, algae, jellyfish, and shrimp. They are also known to eat fish, showing opportunistic feeding behavior. They are equipped with powerful jaws.
Algae is a source of food if their usual preferred diet items are in short supply. The varied tastes and habitats occupied by olive ridleys also put this species at grave risk of accidental capture.
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Feeding Behavior and Habitat
Olive ridleys occupy a wide range of habitats to suit their omnivorous diet. Post hatchlings and young juveniles are most commonly observed in surface waters of open oceans.
Olive ridleys often migrate great distances between feeding and breeding grounds. Using satellite tags, scientists have documented both male and female olive ridleys leaving the breeding and nesting grounds off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica and migrating out to the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Threats to Olive Ridley Turtles
The varied tastes and habitats occupied by olive ridleys also put this species at grave risk of accidental capture. Olive ridleys chasing bait become hooked and entangled in various types of fishing gear. A primary threat to olive ridleys is their unintended capture in fishing gear, which can result in drowning or cause injuries that lead to death or debilitation (for example, swallowing hooks or flipper entanglement). The term for this unintended capture is bycatch.
Olive ridleys may ingest marine debris such as fishing line, balloons, plastic bags, plastic fragments, floating tar or oil, and other materials discarded by humans which they can mistake for food. They may also become entangled in marine debris, including lost or discarded fishing gear, which can lead to injury or death.
Conservation Efforts
NOAA Fisheries and our partners are dedicated to protecting and recovering olive ridley populations worldwide. We use a variety of innovative techniques to study, protect, and recover these threatened and endangered populations.
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The major recovery actions for olive ridley turtles include:
- Protecting sea turtles on nesting beaches and in marine environments.
- Protecting nesting and foraging habitats.
- Reducing bycatch in commercial and artisanal fisheries.
- Reducing the effects of entanglement and ingestion of marine debris.
- Reducing vessel strikes in coastal habitats.
Role in Marine Ecosystems
Sea turtles have many recognized roles in the evolution and maintenance of the structure and dynamics of marine ecosystems; they are an integral part of the interspecific interactions in marine ecosystems as prey, consumer, competitor, and host.
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