All eight species of sea turtles are threatened or endangered, primarily because of the destruction of their breeding grounds, poaching of their eggs for food, and marine pollution. Sea turtles spend almost all their lives at sea, but like all reptiles, the females must lay their eggs on land. When they come on shore, sea turtles have to contend with predators, poachers, and loss of their breeding beaches to seaside hotels and resorts. In some places, coastal pollution has destroyed their food supply of shallow water grasses and seaweeds.

In the ocean, adult sea turtles have only two enemies, sharks and people. Many are accidentally tangles in fishermen's drift nets and long lines. These air breathers drown when they cannot reach the surface. Some sea turtles swallow floating pieces of plastic, mistaking them for jellyfish. The plastic blocks other food from getting into their stomachs, and the turtles starve. Some sea turtles have been found with tumors growing on their bodies, possibly a result of marine pollution.

Many islands and coastal areas now protect breeding sea turtles, but to sustain their populations we need to be able to protect them throughout their range. Yet little is known about their habits and migration routes. Radio tags on some sea turtles allow them to be tracked by satellites.

"A Wonderful bird is the pelican, His mouth can hold more than his belly can ..."
Dixon Lanier Merritt

One of Florida's largest and most engaging birds, the eastern brown pelican lives exclusively in coastal environments and is the only pelican that sky-dives for food. It eats fish, mostly menhaden and other herring, using its pouch like a cast-net to catch them.

Adult pelicans have a grayish-brown body with a darker belly and a white head and neck. During breeding season the hind-neck becomes deep chestnut and a yellow patch appears at the base of the front-neck. Juveniles are a buffy brown above with lighter underparts. The irises of pelican eyes are sky-blue with pink eye-rings.

If the legend is true that when old anglers die, they come back in the form of pelicans, then places in the U.S. have seen a comeback of anglers. In the late 1950s and '60s, the Louisiana population of brown pelicans was extirpated due to the use of DDT and Endrin, toxic pesticides. The bird was listed as a federal endangered species in 1970, two years before DDT was banned, but by 1980 the Louisiana population was re-established using young Florida pelicans. In 1985 the brown pelican was federally delisted but in Florida it is still listed as a species of special concern by the FWC. In 2002 the estimated population of eastern brown pelicans in Florida was 25,600 - 32,000.

Egg-laying in eastern brown pelicans generally happens from December through February (through May on Pelican Island). Brown pelicans breed in colonies, mostly on small islands along the Intracoastal Waterway. Pelicans pair up for one year, and both help brood and rear the young, which fledge in about 76 days.

Dolphins frequently ride the bow wake or the stern wake of boats. They have been seen jumping as high as 4.9 m (16 ft.) up from the surface of the water and landing on their backs or sides, in a behavior called a breach.

Both young and old dolphins chase one another, carry objects around, toss seaweed to one another, and use objects to invite each other to interact. Such activity may be practice for catching food.

Bottlenose dolphins often cooperate when hunting and catching fish. In open waters, a dolphin pod sometimes encircles a large school of fish and herds them into a tight ball for easy feeding. Then the dolphins take turns charging through the school to feed. Occasionally dolphins will herd fish to shallow water where they are easy prey.

Bottlenose dolphins don't dive very deeply to catch food. Most bottlenose dolphins dive to depths of 10-150 ft. They are, however, capable of diving to some depth. Under experimental conditions, a trained dolphin dove 1,795 ft.

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