Sea turtle
Ecology
citation needed] Sea turtles use beaches and the lower dunes to nest and lay their eggs. Beaches and dunes are a fragile habitat that depend on vegetation to protect against erosion. Eggs, hatched or unhatched, and hatchlings that fail to make it into the ocean are nutrient sources for dune vegetation.[citation needed] Along a 30-kilometre (20 mi) stretch of beach on the east coast of Florida sea turtles lay over 68,000 kg (150,000 lb) of eggs in the sand.[citation needed] Dune vegetation is able to grow and become stronger with the nutrients from sea turtle nests. Stronger vegetation and root systems help to hold the sand in the dunes and help protect the beach from erosion.
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