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Relating Climate Change To The Nesting Phenology And Nest Environment Of Marine Turtles

Ectotherms (including marine turtles) being especially sensitive to climate, are at risk to the accelerated rate of human-driven climate change. This study addresses two concerns associated with marine turtles and climate change – the relationship between the timing of marine turtle nesting and sea surface temperature; and the concern over the feminization of marine turtle populations due to rising sand temperatures. Previous studies of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) have documented the relationship between sea surface temperatures and nesting phenology. Earlier nesting behaviors in both species have been associated with warmer sea surface temperatures. Also, sex determination for marine turtles is temperature-dependent. Due to current sand temperatures, it is estimated that loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nests along the Atlantic coast of Florida already produce over 89% female hatchlings. Using shade to reduce nest temperature and increase the proportion of male hatchlings is one option for mitigating the impacts of climate change on marine turtle sex ratios. In this study, a 21- year (1988-2008) dataset of hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U. S. Virgin Islands was analyzed in a similar manner to previous studies. It was found that warmer sea surface temperatures were associated with longer nesting seasons and later median nesting dates. Additionally, a preliminary sand shading study was conducted in the first field season (2011) with a subsequent loggerhead nest shading study in the following field season (2012). Although hatching success was not significantly impacted, temperatures were significantly reduced in the majority of shaded nests. This practice may not be immediately applicable as a means of managing sex ratios, but it could be used to reverse the temperature effects of nest relocation

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-3785
Date01 January 2013
CreatorsSchwoerer, Monette
PublisherSTARS
Source SetsUniversity of Central Florida
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceElectronic Theses and Dissertations

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