Climate change is warming ocean water and changing weather patterns. Sea turtles who have strong nesting site fidelity are vulnerable to changing conditions. The temperature of the nest during the incubation period can determine both the sex and the survival of the embryos. A 1:1 sex ratio is achieved at the optimal incubation temperature. Climate change has the potential to seriously disrupt sea turtle sex ratios which could cause a sex ratio imbalance and a further decline in sea turtle populations. This study focused on the impact of shade and heavy rainfall on nest temperature of hawksbill and green sea turtles. The study found that heavy rainfall and shade reduced the nest temperature by a few degrees which was able to tip the temperature scale into a male dominated range for both species. While a male dominated sea turtle population could cause a severe decline in sea turtle populations, the researchers ended the study with an optimistic outlook. There is potential for shading and irrigation of sea turtle nests to offset the effects of rising global temperatures. While sea turtles are threatened by human-induced climate change, well informed intervention could help to mitigate the detrimental effects on sea turtles.
Source: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00227-020-03800-z.pdf
1 comment:
Really interesting! Do you think this could be a practical way to help correct sea turtle sex ratios? Is there potential for too many males?
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