Ivy Gentry (UR)- The longing question!

My current question is “How much of the temperature of the sand affects the sex of the hatchlings?” as I was doing some more research, I found out some interesting information. “Rainfall is a common environmental variable that may impact development and sex determination.” (Jena, 2017). I knew that the sex was mainly determined by the temperature of the sand, but I did not think about the other factors that are in place. I did not know that the rainfall is one of the other big factors.

Also, with this question, it can lead to even bigger questions like if the temperatures get too cold, we will have an overabundance of male sea turtles. Meaning how much does climate change affect the future of sea turtles? If the temperature increases any more than it already has the populations of sea turtles will be more biased to the female turtle. We are roughly about 1˚ C higher the rate of them being bias would be significantly more.

I also found out a rough estimate of the temperature for female and male turtles. However, with my research project, I want to test and find the best temperature for both male and female hatchlings. I am extremely excited to do this research project!

Some Chelonia mydas (Green Sea Turtle) hatchlings from back in 2018. 

The one lonesome hatchling. 

S., Kristen. “Temperature Effects on Sea Turtle Sex Ratios and the Potential Impact of Climate Change.” National Marine Life Center, 23 Sept. 2011, nmlc.org/2011/09/temperature-effects-on-sea-turtle-sex-ratios-and-the-potential-impact-of-climate-change/.

J, L. (2020). Experimental assessment of the effects of moisture on loggerhead sea turtle hatchling sex ratios. - PubMed - NCBI. [online] Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28764866 [Accessed 14 Feb. 2020].