noun, Cell Biology. 1. a network of tubular membranes within the cytoplasm of the cell, occurring either with a smooth surface (smooth endoplasmic reticulum) or studded with ribosomes (rough endoplasmic reticulum) involved in the transport of materials.
The most widely distributed of all sea turtles; found in the Gulf of Alaska and south of the Bering Sea in the northeastern Pacific to Chile in the southeastern Pacific. In the Barents Sea, Newfoundland and Labrador in the North Atlantic; around Argentina and South Africa in the South Atlantic.
NATURAL HISTORY. Globally, leatherback turtles are a critically endangered species; their numbers are only a quarter of what they were 20 years ago. The world population is estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 nesting females in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.cientists estimate that commercial fisheries in the Pacific caught 4,200 leatherback sea turtles in 2000 alone. Until alternate fishing gear such as circle hooks are in widespread use, the most effective way to help turtles is to avoid buying seafood caught using fishing methods that place leatherbacks at risk.