Tag: Sex Ratios

FAU Sea Turtle Experts Provide ‘Best Practices’ During Nesting Season

sarah JonasFeature Expert

Three internationally renowned FAU researchers provide “best practices” and answer some of the most frequently asked questions to help protect Florida’s nesting sea turtles and their hatchlings.

New Critical Period of Embryonic Sex Determination in Sea Turtles Identified

sarah JonasResearch Results

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.

Scientists Develop New Way to Identify the Sex of Sea Turtle Hatchlings

sarah JonasResearch Results

Scientists have developed a new minimally invasive technique that greatly enhances the ability to measure neonate turtle sex ratios. This is the first time that differences in sex-specific protein expression patterns have been identified in blood samples of hatchlings with temperature-dependent sex determination. The technique is a crucial step in assessing the impact of climate change on imperiled turtle species and will enable more accurate estimates of hatchling sex ratios at a population level and on a global scale.