Global heating means almost every sea turtle in Florida now born female


Maya Yang
Thu, August 4, 2022

Photograph: Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters

Nearly every sea turtle born on the beaches of Florida in the past four years has been female, according to scientists.

The spike in female baby turtles comes as a result of intense heatwaves triggered by a growing climate crisis that is significantly warming up the sands on some beaches, as CNN reported this week.

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According to the National Ocean Service, if a turtle’s eggs incubate below 27C (82F), the turtle hatchlings will be male. If the eggs incubate above 31C (89F), the hatchlings will be female. Temperatures that waver between the two extremes will result in a mix of male and female baby turtles.


Researchers also discovered that the warmer the sand, the higher the ratio of female turtles.

“As the Earth experienced climate change, increased temperatures could result in skewed and even lethal incubation conditions, which would impact turtle species and other reptiles,” the National Ocean Service said.

In a statement to Reuters, Bette Zirkelbach, manager of the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida Keys, said: “The frightening thing is the last four summers in Florida have been the hottest summers on record.”

She added: “Scientists that are studying sea turtle hatchlings and eggs have found no boy sea turtles, so only female sea turtles for the past four years.”

The uneven male-to-female ratio is a growing concern among scientists who worry that the sea turtle population will eventually become stunted.

Melissa Rosales Rodriguez, a sea turtle keeper at the Miami Zoo’s recently opened Sea Turtle Hospital, told Reuters, “Over the years, you’re going to see a sharp decline in their population because we just don’t have the genetic diversity… We don’t have the male-to-female ratio needed in order to be able to have successful breeding sessions.”

In addition to facing an increasing number of female turtles, the Sea Turtle Hospital is also currently working to address fibropapillomatosis, a potentially deadly disease among sea turtles that causes cauliflower-like tumors to develop on the body including the eyes and mouth. The tumors could also form in internal organs.

“The Turtle hospital was the first. But, sadly … there’s a need all throughout Florida,” Zirkelbach said in regard to a growing need for more rehabilitation centers across the state.

• This article was amended on 4 August 2022. An earlier version quoted Melissa Rosales Rodriguez telling Reuters that saying “sadly and fortunately” there was a need for more rehabilitation centers, which the Guardian understands as a mishearing of her words.


Sea Turtles Born in Florida Are All Females Due to State's Rising Temperatures, Scientists Say


Anna Lazarus Caplan
Thu, August 4, 2022 

Baby turtle doing her first steps to the ocean.

Getty

Only female sea turtles have hatched on Florida's coasts over the past four years, according to animal experts.

Bette Zirkelbach, manager of the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida, says higher temperatures are to blame for the concerning trend.

"Scientists that are studying sea turtle hatchlings and eggs have found no boy sea turtles, so only female sea turtles for the past four years," Zirkelbach told Reuters.

The discovery is not limited to Florida. Zirkelbach told the news organization that researchers in Australia have also documented similar findings, with an estimated 99% of the country's turtles born female over the past few years.


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In turtles, sex is determined after fertilization, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The temperature of developing eggs is what determines whether the offspring hatch as males or females. The occurrence is known as temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD).

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If a mother turtle's eggs incubate below 27.7° Celsius (81.86° Fahrenheit), the turtle hatchlings will be male, according to NOAA. But if the eggs incubate above 31° Celsius (88.8° Fahrenheit), the hatchlings will be female.

When temperatures fluctuate during incubation, a sea turtle nest might hatch a mix of males and females, according to the organization.

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Sadly, the noted disparity between the sea turtle sexes correlates to an uncertain future for the species.

"Over the years, you're going to see a sharp decline in their population because we just don't have the genetic diversity," Melissa Rosales Rodriguez, a sea turtle keeper, told Reuters. "We don't have the male-to-female ratio needed in order to be able to have successful breeding sessions."


Dozens of sea turtles get lost in dark and head to Florida hotel’s bathroom and pool

Mark Price
Wed, August 3, 2022 

A Florida hotel was overrun with adorable baby sea turtles after an estimated 50 hatchlings got lost in the dark and headed toward the pool instead of the Gulf of Mexico.

It happened before dawn Tuesday, Aug. 2 at the Sirata Beach Resort in St. Pete Beach, and an overwhelmed security guard resorted to calling the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. The beach is about 30 miles southwest of Tampa.

“Sea turtle hatchlings ... had gotten very lost while making their maiden voyage out to the ocean,” the sheriff’s office reported in a Facebook post.

“The security guard had collected about 15 of the sea turtles before he called PCSO for reinforcements. Deputies found baby sea turtles all over the area including in the hotel’s pool, in the bushes, in the bathroom, and even in the storm drain.”

Deputies brought the turtles to the edge of the Gulf of Mexico around 5 a.m. and pointed lights at the water to keep the “little dudes” going in the right direction.

It’s not clear if hotel guests encountered the turtles in awkward places.

Sergeant Jessica Mackesy and deputies Jasmine Lopez and Zachary Wheeler played hide-and-seek with the turtles, collecting them in a big bucket.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Commission instructed the deputies “to release the turtles at the water’s edge and let them go towards the water on their own.”

The release happened around 5 a.m. and the deputies pointed their flashlights at the water to keep the “little dudes” going in the right direction. However, at least two turtles tried going back to the hotel, the video shows.

Video of the release racked up 14,000 views and 130 comments in 17 hours, including some who said they “cried a little” at the sight of the turtles heading out to sea.

“Thanks to that security guard and officers!” Chandler Burke posted. “I imagine that was a funny phone call. “911!! I’ve got a bunch of baby sea turtles that are lost!”

The nonprofit Sea Turtle Tracker also lauded the deputies and noted their “quick response saved a lot of little lives.”

“Thank you also to the Sea Turtle Trackers Volunteers who went out after sunrise to find more of them and help them get home,” Sea Turtle Trackers wrote on Facebook.