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Why 99% Of Sea Turtles Now Give Birth To Female Offspring, New Research Explained

Recent heat waves have caused the sand on the beaches to become so burnt that almost all of the sea turtles hatched there are female.

Author:Rhyley Carney
Reviewer:Paula M. Graham
Aug 07, 20221.6K Shares32.3K Views
Scientists attribute the fact that 99% of sea turtlesare born female to global warming. Recent heat waves have caused the sand on the beaches to become so burnt that almost all of the sea turtles hatched there are female.
Even though this is a worldwide issue, Florida's beaches were particularly affected. When the weather is quite warm, pregnant sea turtles crawl to the shore and dig a nest to deposit their eggs.
In a process known as Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination, the sex of eggs placed in the sand is entirely dependent on the sand's temperature. Warmer sand results in more females being hatched, whereas cooler sand results in more males.
The previous four summers in Florida have been the warmest on record, according to Bette Zirkelbach. The previous four summers in Florida have been the warmest on record, according to Bette Zirkelbach, administrator of the Turtle Hospital in Marathon.
In the four years that scientists have been looking at sea turtle hatchlings and eggs, they have only found female sea turtles,
she said. The trend is just one of many signs that the climate crisis is upsetting the natural ecosystems of the planet and moving too fast for many species to adapt. She also said that Australian research on the subject revealed similar findings and that "99% of newborn turtles are female."

Climate Change Is Affecting Biodiversity

Climate change is impacting the biodiversity of our planet, and animals are struggling to adapt to these unnatural changes quickly enough. Most animals determine their sex during fertilization, but alligators and sea turtles exhibit unusual behavior.
When female sea turtles lay their eggs in the sand, the temperature of the sand along the beach determines sex. These turtle eggs will nest for around two months, and their sexes are identified by a 7-degree difference.
When sea turtles incubate at temperatures below 81.86 degrees Fahrenheit (27.7 degrees Celsius), only male offspring will be produced.
The offspring of sea turtles who incubate at temperatures above 88.8 degrees Fahrenheit or 31 degrees Celsius will be female. Melissa Rosales Rodriguez, a sea turtle keeper at the Miami zoo's turtle hospital, emphasized her worry by stating, "Over the years, you'll see a precipitous drop in their number due to the lack of genetic variety." "We lack the ratio of males to females required for successful breeding operations.

Conclusion

Zirkelbach understands the need to conserve as many turtles as possible and build new rehabilitation centers due to the influence of climate change and illness on the future of turtles.
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Rhyley Carney

Rhyley Carney

Author
Paula M. Graham

Paula M. Graham

Reviewer
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