Global heating means almost every sea turtle in Florida now born female
Source: The Guardian
Global heating means almost every sea turtle in Florida now born female
Rising temperatures have made beach sand so warm that eggs incubate above 31C and are overwhelmingly born female – experts
Maya Yang
Thu 4 Aug 2022 11.00 BST
Last modified on Thu 4 Aug 2022 12.35 BST
Nearly every sea turtle born on the beaches of Florida in the past four years has been female, according to scientists.
The spike in female baby turtles comes as a result of intense heat waves triggered by a growing climate crisis that is significantly warming up the sands on some beaches, as CNN reported this week.
According to the National Ocean Service, if a turtle’s eggs incubate below 27C (82F), the turtle hatchlings will be male. If the eggs incubate above 31C (89F), the hatchlings will be female. Temperatures that waver between the two extremes will result in a mix of male and female baby turtles.
Researchers also discovered that the warmer the sand, the higher the ratio of female turtles.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/04/florida-sea-turtles-female-global-heatings
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