The Turtle is an ancient species, represented in the fossil record as far back as 200 million years ago. There are approximately 270 species in the world occupying all continents except Antarctica. Of these, approximately half are in need of some form of conservation action because they are threatened with extinction. The threats to turtles are habitat destruction, pollution, disease, and overexploitation by an increasingly hungry world. In the face of this onslaught, turtles face a more insidious threat: predicted global increases in temperature caused by greenhouse gases.
Even if turtles survive the possible effects of global climate change, they will still have to contend with other predicted changes. As cold-blooded animals, digestion rate, growth, reproduction and activity are all closely related to temperature. In addition, changing water levels in lakes, rivers and wetlands, could have major impacts on access to suitable nest sites and habitat. Their conservative evolutionary history suggests that they will not be able to adapt to rapid changes. Turtles may have outlived the dinosaurs, but it remains to be seen if turtles can survive in the modern world.
