Rising Temperatures Skewing Gender Balance of Sea Turtles, Study Says

Rising global temperatures may be skewing the gender makeup of marine turtles, according to
Loggerhead sea turtle
new research from Florida State University. The gender of marine hatchlings is influenced by the temperature of the sands in which they incubate, with warmer temperatures producing more females. “It’s worrying that you could have an extreme skew in gender one way,” said Mariana Fuentes, an assistant professor of oceanography at FSU. “Any changes in population structure can have real repercussions.” The scientists examined 25 years worth of data for 21 loggerhead turtle nesting beaches along the Brazilian coast, but the results are pertinent to other regions since temperature-dependent sex determination affects all turtles.