Vocab­u­lary for your turtle adventure

Sea turtles are considered messengers for the protection of marine worlds. With their long flippers, they have been gliding alongside colorful fish through the seagrass regions of the world for millions of years. There are seven species of sea turtles in the world, all of which are endangered and strictly protected. If you have landed on this article, then you also want to protect these elegant sea creatures and are considering participating in a conservation project, or you may have already booked one of our volunteer projects in the Seychelles, Greece, or Latin America.

The project language in all our sea turtle projects is English. For an overall great experience for our project in Latin America we would recommend you to learn some spanish or brush up if you already know some. The locals know some English and will try their best to communicate with you, but if you know a few Spanish words, it will help you to make the most of your experience abroad. With this blog post, we want to encourage you not to give up on your dream of sea turtle conservation due to lack of language skills.

Different kinds of turtles

First, we would like to point out that not all turtles are the same; they are classified in their taxonomic order Chelonia. There are tortoises, terrapins, and sea turtles. But what is the difference?

1) Tortoises (Tortuga terrestre)

Tortoises are land dwellers typically found in the drier and hotter regions of the world. Our projects in the Seychelles or the Galapagos Islands, for example, focus on their protection as well as the sea turtles. Unlike their relatives, they have padded feet with claws to move on land. Their shells are rounder, and they can retract into them for protection. Tortoises are mainly vegetarian, feeding on leaves, fruits , and low-hanging shrubs.

2) Terrapins (Galápago)

Terrapins live partially in water. They are often seen basking on larger animals, rocks, or tree trunks to warm up in the sun. In Spanish, this behaviour is called "tomar el sol" They have webbed feet between their toes, perfectly adapting them to life in freshwater. Terrapins are omnivorous and also known as scavengers. Therefore, they have a sharp beak and claws.

3) Sea Turtles (Tortuga marina)

Sea turtles have evolved entirely for life in the sea. Instead of feet, they have developed flippers and cannot retract their heads into their shells for protection. They live mainly in the water and come ashore only to reproduce. Despite their lifestyle, sea turtles, like all reptiles, have lungs and need to come to the surface to breathe. However, they can hold their breath for 4-7 hours, unlike humans. Sea turtles are mostly carnivores, focusing on crustaceans.

Sea turtle conservation with Natucate

In our sea turtle conservation projects (conservación de tortugas marinas), we collect various data on their behavior (comportamiento). We gather information about their social behavior and strive to learn as much as possible through observations (observaciones) on patrols (patrullas).

Our conservation projects focus on the following four of the seven sea turtle species:

• Loggerhead Turtle - Tortuga boba
• Hawksbill Turtle - Tortuga carey
• Green Sea Turtle - Tortuga verde
• Leatherback Turtle - Tortuga laúd

Vocabulary related to sea turtles

General:

Shell, carapace - Caparazón

Scales - Escamas

Flipper - Aletas

Lifespan - Esperanza de vida

Life cycle - Ciclo de vida

Mating - Apareamiento

Tracks - Huellas

Antagonistic behavior - Comportamiento hostil

Co-dependency - Codependencia

Nutrient - Nutriente

Nitrogen - Nitrógeno

Propulsion - Propulsión

Chasing - Persecución

Sparring - Ritual de combate

Foraging - Forrajeo

Sea urchins - Erizos de mar

Jellyfish - Medusas

Underwater world - Mundo submarino

Depth measurements - Mediciones de profundidad

Reintroduction - Reintroducción

Endemic - Endémico

Invasive plants - Plantas invasoras

Survey - Censo

Monitoring - Monitoreo

Ecosystem - Ecosistema

Indicator species - Especies indicadoras
(Indicator species reflect the health of an ecosystem. Besides turtles, frogs or spiders can also be indicator species, as they are very sensitive to changes in their habitat.)

Different Seasons

Sea turtles have different seasons concerning their reproductive status and when they are most likely to be observed on land. There is a mating season (temporada de apareamiento), followed by a nesting season (temporada de anidación), and then the long-awaited hatching season (temporada de eclosión).

Here is a list of useful vocabulary :

1) Nesting season

Nesting female - Hembra anidando

Attempt - Intento

Non-attempt - No intento

Body pit - Fosa corporal
(the hollow a turtle makes before digging an egg chamber)

Egg chamber - Cámara de huevos

Fertilize - Fertilización

Breeding - Cría

Incubation - Incubación

Clutch - Puesta

Sand mound - Montículo de arena

Escarpment - Escarpe

Ridges - Crestas

Sand clumps - Grumos de arena

Camouflage - Camuflaje

Predators - Depredadores

Light pollution - Contaminación lumínica

Nest protection - Protección de nidos

Relocation - Reubicación

2) Hatching season

Hatchlings - Crías

Emergence - Emergencia

Hatchling success rate - Tasa de éxito de las crías

Dipping - Inmersión

Trench - Trinchera

Rescue - Rescate

Threats to sea turtles

All seven species of sea turtles on our planet are endangered (en peligro de extinción). For this reason, Natucate, together with local organizations, is committed to their protection (protección). But where do the threats (las amenazas) come from? Here is a list of threats to sea turtles:

• Poaching - Caza furtiva
• Illegal trade - Comercio ilegal
• Light pollution - Contaminación lumínica
• Environmental pollution - Contaminación ambiental
• Entanglements in fish nets - Enredos en redes de pesca
• Habitat destruction - Destrucción del hábitat
• Climate change - Cambio climático

Sea turtle conservation

As a volunteer in one of our turtle conservation projects in Central America, Europe, and Southern Africa, you have the opportunity to actively contribute to the protection and preservation of these fascinating reptiles and thus experience an unforgettable stay abroad dedicated to species and animal conservation. We hope this blog post has helped ease your language-related uncertainties.