Effect of climate change on Turtles

More Than 99 Percent Of Baby Sea Turtles Are Being Born Female In One Part Of Australia

Climate change was a hot topic in 2017 (pun not intended), and is bound to be a huge topic of discussion throughout 2018. Despite the current administrations' comments about global warming, the majority of scientists have asserted that climate change is very real. From the Great Barrier Reef to the Amazon Rainforest, the detrimental effects of climate change have been documented across the planet. Now, most recently, scientists are reporting the effects on sea turtles, and it’s not good: Over 99 percent of baby sea turtles in Northern Australia were born female because of climate change.

According to the study, which was published on Jan. 8 in the journal Current Biology, global warming is having a detrimental effect on green sea turtle populations (yes, like Crush from Finding Nemo), and the sex of their offspring. The researchers conducted their study right off the coast of Australia, in the Northern Great Barrier Reef area — a large breeding ground for this species of sea turtle. After examining the sex and blood tests of young green sea turtles, the scientists determined that 99.1 percent of “juvenile” green sea turtles in this region were female, while 86.8 percent of adult turtles were also female. The study revealed the ever-so-slight increase in...Read more...

Back to Environment