Tag: Nesting Beach

A study shows that the temperature of the incubation environment could influence the sexualization of the gonads (reproductive organs) in sea turtles earlier than what is currently recognized. Researchers developed a new way to integrate the effect of thermal fluctuations on embryonic sex determination and predict sex ratios with much better accuracy than prior models. By measuring the strength of masculinization or feminization of temperatures using novel parameters, they have uncovered how temperature-sensitive sex determination works. These findings could be similar for other reptiles with temperature-dependent sex determination because similar molecular determinants and enzymatic mechanisms are at play.