Turtle Race: Boys vs. Girls

[tttaylorrr]

it's raining women! because of climate change.

the sex of a sea turtle is not determined by chromosomes, but by incubation temperature! as climate change continues to warm most of the planet, its impact is having a huge effect on sea turtle populations and resulting in lots of female babies:

Out of a population of about 200,000 turtles, scientists found that 99.1 percent of juveniles were female, 99.8 percent of subadults and 86.8 percent of the entire population was female. Southern populations of turtles in Australia, which live on cooler beaches, show much lower impact. There, researchers found the ratio was about 65 to 69 percent female turtles.

this isn't going to have a huge impact on turtle populations, but scientists say it can!

But eventually, there may be consequences. “Oh yes, there are a few males remaining, and there will be for decades to come,” sea turtle researcher David Owens, professor emeritus at College of Charleston tells Guarino. “But they will eventually die off. I predict that very soon the [northern Great Barrier Reef] population will start to see reduced fertility at the nesting beach if it is not already happening.”

link: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...les-180967780/