Turtle friendly lighting is the best way to safeguard sea turtles.
With turtle-friendly lighting, you can help protect the turtle’s habitat from depleting.
You see, our sea coasts are known for their diverse turtle species, who use the beaches for nesting and laying their eggs. And that is especially true for Florida’s beaches, as the Sea Turtle Conservancy estimates that 90 percent of America’s sea turtle nesting happens here.
But did you know that only 1 in 1000 sea turtle hatchlings survives till adulthood?
Although these losses have much to do with natural reasons, humans also share equal responsibility.
You’ll see how.
How artificial lighting affects sea turtles?
Sea turtles have an instinct to be attracted to the brightest light that they can see, and in natural conditions, it is the moonlight that guides them to the beaches. They then find a quiet and dark spot on the beach to lay eggs.
So when the sea turtles are ready to hatch out, they do that in a large group and take the cover of darkness to keep them safe from predators. And once they’re hatched, these little sea creatures use reflections of the moon and stars on the ocean water to find their way back home.
However, extensive use of artificial lighting along our beaches in homes, businesses, resorts, streets, etc., has made conditions worse for these creatures.
There are many ways artificial lights on the coastline are responsible for depleting sea turtle numbers.
Firstly, the artificial lighting that illuminates our coastal homes and beaches, among others, discourages sea turtles from coming to the beaches and laying their eggs. As a result, they end up laying eggs at a place that is not ideal for nesting; thus, very few of their offspring survive.
In fact, sea turtles are increasingly resorting to depositing their eggs on dangerous beaches and sometimes even in the ocean.
Secondly, as you saw, baby sea turtles use moonlight reflections to find a way back to the sea. But the bright artificial lights along the coast can make them disoriented.
So instead of heading towards the sea, they walk towards our towns and cities, where they are at the risk of passing away from dehydration and exhaustion. Or worse, these baby turtles may find themselves on the roads and at risk of being run over.
Turtle Friendly Lighting: A One Stop Solution To Protect Sea Turtles
Turtle lamps ensure that sea turtles aren’t disoriented
As you can see, sea turtle species are depleting fast, and as per the World Wide Fund for Nature, they might even face extinction by the year 2050.
Of course, artificial lighting along our beaches is much to blame for the crisis.
However, we can still turn the situation around and make our beaches and sea coasts safe for sea turtles using turtle-friendly lighting.
You see, a turtle lamp is designed specifically to minimize the impact that regular artificial lights have on turtles and turtle ecology, especially on the coasts and beaches.
How exactly do turtle lamps do that, you may ask?
To limit the effects of coastal lighting on sea turtles, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission guidelines mandate use of long-wavelength lights. For instance, you can take amber, orange, or red LEDs with a wavelength above 590 nanometers.
So the turtle-friendly lighting fixtures that you find in the market are manufactured by following these guidelines, as this light range is not visible to the sea turtles.
The result:
Sea turtles are no more disoriented or distracted by artificial lighting and safely make their way back to the ocean.
Further, turtle-friendly LED dimmable downlight also ensures the turtles make their nesting on safer beaches since the lighting isn’t too bright to discourage them from coming to the beach.
That sounds amazing for sure, doesn’t it?
You can install turtle-friendly lighting in your coastal home and do your bit to conserve the endangered species of sea turtles.
Even as turtle-friendly lighting can’t replace the naturally dark environment that is apt for sea turtles, they do their best to prevent the effects of bright artificial lights.
Since the light wavelength of turtle lamps isn’t visible to turtles, it is the perfect bridge between wildlife conservation and the need to illuminate homes, businesses, and public areas.
Turtle Friendly Lighting: Some Best Practices To Follow
Now that you’ve seen how turtle-friendly lighting helps protect sea turtle species let’s look at how you can use these lamps in the best way.
You see, 90 percent of sea turtle nesting in the country happens in Florida. And the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has detailed some turtle-friendly lighting guidelines. These are meant to ensure turtle nesting beaches are dark enough to prevent sea turtles from getting disoriented. So let’s have a look at them.
#1. Keep the fixtures low
To begin with turtle-friendly lighting practices, you should try and install the lighting fixtures as low as possible. However, you should mount your fixtures at a height appropriate enough to illuminate the required area of your home.
Apart from that, your turtle-friendly LED canopy fixtures should be apt for retrofitting such lamps that produce lumens within the ideal wavelength, i.e., 590 nanometres. That’s because you may not be able to fixate turtle-safe lamps in regular lighting fixtures.
And most importantly, the turtle lamps that you install should produce the lowest lumens necessary to lighten up the required area since the idea is to keep the brightness as low as possible.
#2. Keep them shielded
The turtle-safe lighting fixtures that you use for your home’s exteriors should be able to properly shield the light bulb to prevent visibility from the beaches, wildlife corridors, and protected areas. Also, you should insulate your indoor lighting and prevent them from illuminating the exteriors.
That is especially true for beachfront homes near turtle nesting beaches.
In fact, lighting laws for coastal areas allow only for “full cut-off” fixtures. That’s because these fixtures don’t let the light project in an upward direction.
You see, lights projecting upwards may appear as natural moonlight to turtle hatchlings. And that will deviate the turtles from their natural path.
#3. Keep the wavelength long
Next up comes the wavelength of your lights, which should be long and ideally above 590 nanometers. So the LED flood light fixtures that you use for your coastal home or business must accept long wavelength light bulbs.
You may wonder why exactly do you need a long wavelength lamp?
That’s because the regular short wavelength lamps commonly used across the board look similar to the moonlight reflected off the ocean. And they make the hatchlings disoriented.
On the contrary, long wavelength lamps create turtle-friendly lighting as they are the least disruptive to sea turtle habitats.
And longer wavelength lights appear red or dark yellow to humans. So they create a warm ambiance and aesthetically pleasing look in your home.
Interesting, isn’t it?
What else can you do apart from turtle-friendly lighting?
As we saw, turtle-friendly lighting goes a long way to protect the sea turtle by creating the right environment for turtle hatchlings, among others.
But you may ask, what else can be done to safeguard the endangered species of sea turtles?
So here are some tips that you can follow during the turtle nesting season:
#1. You should stay away from the sea turtle nests marked with tape and yellow stakes, as well as from seabird nesting areas.
#2. If you encounter a sea turtle hatchling or nesting, you should watch from a distance and remain quiet.
#3. If your outdoor lights are visible from the beach, shield them or turn them off if possible.
#4. If you find any holes that might entrap turtle hatchlings on the way to the sea, fill them.
#5. Most importantly, you shouldn’t use fireworks on or around the beach since it might scare the hatchlings and disorient them.
Conclusion
The sea turtle species are depleting fast, and proper turtle-friendly lighting can help prevent this to a great extent.
At Eco-$mart Inc, we have been providing expert lighting solutions for nearly three decades, focusing on eco-friendly lighting.
And our products include an extensive range of turtle-friendly fixtures and lamps to help make our coasts safe for sea turtles.
Pingback: Here’s Why Our Coastal Homes Need Turtle ...