Temperature-dependent Sex Determination: Current Practices Threaten Conservation of Sea Turtles
Morreale SJ, Ruiz GJ, Spotila JR, Standora EA. 1982. Temperature-dependent Sex Determination: Current Practices Threaten Conservation of Sea Turtles. Science. 216(4551):1245-1247
Temperature determines the sex of hatchling green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) produced from eggs incubated in a beach hatchery under different temperature environments. Temperatures of nests below 28o C. produced less than 10% female hatchlings whereas temperatures above 29.5o C. produced almost all female hatchlings. Because control of temperature in the incubation of sea turtle eggs is given little concern in park hatcheries, conservation practices may be producing significant differentials between male and female hatchlings.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Morreale, Stephen; Ruiz, Georgita; Spotila, James; Standora, Edward
- Units
- GUIS
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Eggs, Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas), Gulf Islands National Seashore FL - MS., reptiles (Reptilia, Sea Turtles (Cheloniidae & Dermochelyidae), sex differentiation