Most like muddy bay bottoms, although some species prefer the clearer waters farther out to sea. Those in Florida bays dine on small fish and bottom-dwelling invertebrates. The loggerhead was listed as a threatened species in 1978, and its female population in the Southeast continues to decline. More than 90 percent of the turtles' nesting sites in this country are in Florida, and the state accounts for a third of the global loggerhead population. The turtles are listed as endangered worldwide, according to the federal government.
People are a major threat to loggerheads.
Many of the turtles die in fishing nets, from pollutants or through destruction of their natural habitat and nests. However, loggerheads over the years have been decimated by the lobe-shape Fibropapilloma tumor, which infects the soft portion of the reptile's body, its eyes and internal organs. Researchers also fear a lethal ailment that strikes the turtle's nervous system, but they aren't sure whether the culprit is a virus or a parasite that burrows into the spinal column and brain. Numerous necropsies have revealed parasite infestations. Loggerheads mate from March to June, but little is known about their reproductive habits.