Global warming leads to many environmental and biological disturbances.
A change in the births of sea turtles, for example, was recently observed in Florida (United States).
99% of newborns are now female, reports CNN.
The phenomenon will pose a problem for the preservation of the species in the long term.
Sex determined by sand temperature
The sex of baby turtles, like that of baby alligators, is not determined during fertilization but by the temperature at which the eggs develop in the sand.
The US Oceanic and Atmospheric Observation Agency has explained that below 27.7°C a male turtle egg will develop.
Above 31°C, a female turtle will be born.
However, for several weeks, the temperatures recorded in Florida have made the sand particularly hot, causing this disruption.
A 2018 study identified a similar phenomenon in Australia.
The situation would be all the more worrying in Florida as the state has experienced particularly hot summers for four years.
A matter of balance
“Without genetic diversity, you will see a dramatic drop in the number of turtles over the years,” warned Melissa Rosales Rodriguez of the Zoo Miami turtle clinic (USA).
Because although male turtles fertilize several females, a certain balance ratio is always needed to ensure mating.
At the same time, the local turtles suffer an epidemic of fibropapillomatosis, a papillomavirus which resembles herpes.
Without care, sick reptiles can die.
Although a hospital specifically dedicated to turtles exists in Florida, in Marathon in the Keys archipelago, the latter is overwhelmed.
Its director, Bette Zilkebach has also called for the opening of other establishments of this type.
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