Climate change is a serious threat to species whose sex is determined by temperature. Among these are sea turtles. Whether marine turtles are born male or female turns out to depend on the temperature of their nest during incubation.
Sea turtle nests need to be around 84.6 degrees Fahrenheit on average to produce a 50:50 sex ratio for embryos developing in eggs. If temperatures are higher, embryos predominantly become female. There is a transitional range of temperatures over which both males and females are produced. Below that range, only males are produced; above that range, only females are produced.
According to recent research published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice, sand temperatures along the Red Sea exceeded the 84.6-degree threshold in all but one of the sites studied. Some sites measured nearly 96 degrees. The Red Sea region is home to five of the world’s seven species of sea turtles, including endangered green turtles and critically endangered hawksbill turtles.
Skewing the sex distribution of a species is a serious threat to the future survival of the population.
The Red Sea findings are similar to observations around the world. In Florida, sea turtle hatchlings were born 100% female in seven out the past 10 years, and in the other three years, males only made up 10-20% of the brood. In Australia’s Raine Island, the largest green turtle nesting ground in the Pacific Ocean, the ratio of female to male turtle hatchlings in 2018 was 116:1.
Marine turtles have been around since the late Triassic period and have adapted to previous climate shifts. But the rapid pace of human-driven climate change is threatening the future survival of these creatures.
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Rising Temperatures Driving a Shift to All-Female Sea Turtle Populations
Photo, posted in October, 2005, courtesy of Frank_am_Main via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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