90% Of Loggerhead Turtles In Florida Female, Thanks To Warming - 2C Rise = No More Males

[hatrack]

Male loggerhead turtles could entirely disappear from the beaches of Florida – one of the most important nesting grounds in the US – if the temperatures there rise by 2°C, according to a new study. This gender imbalance means female turtles in Florida will be increasingly reliant on male turtles migrating from North Carolina, hundreds of miles up the Atlantic coast, in order to breed. And as the coast warms, the northern male turtle population will find it harder to meet such breeding demands, the researchers fear.

The gender of marine turtle offspring is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated: high temperatures lead to a higher proportion of females. In Florida, 90% of offspring are females, while in North Carolina, female turtles make up a more balanced 58% of the population. Brendan Godley at the University of Exeter, UK, and colleagues, analysed 26 years of data to see if fluctuations in temperatures had an influence on sex ratios of turtles in North Carolina. They found no significant trends, but when they put the data into computer models and simulated a rise in temperature – as predicted through global warming – the results were striking.

A 2°C rise in temperature in the Cape Canaveral colony in Florida would entirely wipe out male offspring according to the models. It would take a 5°C rise to cause the same effect in Bald Head Island in North Carolina, at which stage the higher temperatures would already be causing more than 75% of deaths among the all hatchlings in Florida. "We are stunned by these results," Godley says. "This is a major issue for nesting populations further south, in Florida, for example, where males are already in short supply."

Researchers believe that some males may already be travelling south from North Carolina to reproduce, bolstering the populations there. With a 2°C temperature rise, "males from northern populations might become essential" to Cape Canaveral, one of the most important nesting grounds in the US, says Godley.

EDIT

http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11227-male-turtle-populations-crashing-in-the-heat.html

[nam78_two]

1. K&R.nt

[Benhurst]

2. Recommended #2

[Jackpine Radical]

3. But think of the lucky surviving males...

It's an ill wind--

[Bombtrack]

4. It's like being a Vassar guy in 1970

[LiberalEsto]

5. Could this happen with humans?

(already picturing a world without football, pro wrestling and other testosterone-laced activities, where all toilet seats would remain permanently in the DOWN position...)

;-)

[Jackpine Radical]

6. What, "Esto"

some kinda code word for estrogen?

[LiberalEsto]

10. Estonian, actually nt

[Jackpine Radical]

11. (I knew that. Just a little joke.)

[OneBlueSky]

7. the collective story of species in danger of extinction due to global warming . . .

and other problems is part of the single greatest news story in the history of humankind -- the destruction of the environment that is taking place all around us at an increasing rate . . .

while the magnitude and consequences of the environmental crisis are generally ignored by the corporate media, among the things we need to be concerned about are:

"Overpopulation, destruction of the ozone layer, global warming, extinction of species, loss of genetic diversity, acid rain, nuclear contamination, tropical deforestation, the elimination of climax forests, wetland destruction, soil erosion, desertification, floods, famine, the despoliation of lakes, streams, and rivers, the drawing down and contamination of ground water, the pollution of coastal waters and estuaries, the destruction of coral reefs, oil spills, overfishing, expanding landfills, toxic wastes, the poisonous effects of insecticides and herbicides, exposure to hazards on the job, urban congestion, and the depletion of nonrenewable resources."

The Vulnerable Planet: A Short Economic History of the Environment
by James Bellamy Foster

http://monthlyreview.org/vulnplnt.htm

http://www.amazon.com/Vulnerable-Planet-Economic-Environment-Cornerstone/dp/158367019X/sr=1-1/qid=1171877636/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-6405060-2683341?ie=UTF8&s=books

the planet is going to be a lonely place without honeybees, turtles, polar bears, and the hundreds of other species currently severely stressed and in danger of extinction . . .

[The2ndWheel]

8. But other than that though, we're pretty solid right?

The best thing is there isn't a damn thing we can do about any of it. Interesting phrase I read today; the progress trap.

[BeFree]

12. That's a myth

That we can't do anything about it.

There is a lot we can do, but we ain't gonna do it. Why ain't we? Because we want more.

We're progressing: progressing right over the edge. But hey, it has been fun, eh?

[Straight Shooter]

9. I think turtles are magnificent creatures. A very sad K&R. n/t