Turtles are friendly amphibians that depend on the sea, not only to find food but also to multiply. However, a study by WWF has revealed that the increase in ocean temperatures that is experiencing the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef in eastern Australia is contributing to the decline in the green turtle population Australian.
The reason? The incubation temperature of the eggs: the higher it is, the more females there will be, and that is precisely what is happening.
There are about 200.000 breeding female turtles, but there are fewer and fewer males. And all due to an increase in temperatures linked to climate change. The scientists captured green turtles in northern Queensland (Australia) to identify their sex and where they nest, as well as genetic and endocrinology tests. So, they learned that 86,8% of the northernmost population of green turtles were female, while on the southern beaches, which are colder, the percentage of females is between 65 and 69%.
The most worrying thing is that the situation does not seem to change in the short term. According to Dr. Michael Jensen, one of the study's authors, Green turtles in the northern Great Barrier Reef have been producing more females than males for more than two decades, so that this population could self-extinguish due to the changes that the climate is experiencing.
This study is very important, since allows us to understand the extent to which rising temperatures affect Australian green turtles, and in general to those of the whole world. Scientists may well have to carry out breeding programs to save them, but then at least we wouldn't see them go extinct.
You can read the study here.
Hello, I wanted to comment that turtles are far from being amphibians, but they are reptiles.