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Summary
Nitrogen-rich runoff from sewage and farms is causing a rise in invasive seaweed that, when eatten by Hawaiian green sea turtles, may trigger an otherwise dormant herpes virus. This virus causes cauliflower like tumors that grow on a turtle's eyes, mouth, joints, and internal organs. The virus has contributed to declines in the 4 foot-long turtles. Several non-native seaweed species have been introduced into the ocean either accidentally or deliberately to be harvested for food crops and have "escaped" cultivation and spread into the wild. These non-native seaweeds absorb nitrogen from farm run-off and sewage and convert it into an amino acid called arginine. When turtles eat the seaweed with this arginine it awakens dormant herpes viruses in the turtles' bodies that cause the tumors. Because Hawaiian green sea turtles now rely on the invasive seaweed for food because of decline in their native foods, scientists suspect the animals ingest the tumor-causing amino acid at every meal. The scientist, Aguirre said “he suspects other factors, such as water temperature, and possibly additional viruses, are at play.”
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/101108-green-sea-turtles-tumors-pollution-science-environment/
Opinion / Reflection
I think what is happening to the Hawaiian sea turtles is a terrible thing. I would have thought that I would have heard more about this because sea turtle are creatures that people all over the world adore. They are one of the reasons that many people go to the tropics. I think that the only reason people haven’t heard about this is because it might hurt tourism to Hawaii.
Questions
1. Where are the locations of the cauliflower like tumors?
2. What does the seaweed convert the nitrogen into?
3. What type of sea turtle is being affected by this?
