Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Photo: Kevin Bryant · CC BY-NC-SA

Hawksbill turtles are abundant around the Isle of Pines reefs, where they navigate complex coral formations with remarkable agility to reach sponges growing in tight crevices. Sponges contain siliceous spicules and toxic secondary compounds that deter virtually all other predators, making hawksbills the primary check on sponge populations — without this predation pressure, sponges would outcompete corals for space across large sections of these reefs.