Red-eared sliders are also producing more female hatchlings than males, but an ability to produce more eggs overall could offer benefits to the population, researchers found. Researchers used immunofluorescence to study the development of germ cells in red-eared slider embryos.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has classified rising sand temperatures as a threat to leatherback sea turtles ( Dermochelys coriacea) due to these conditions producing more female hatchlings. A study in 2018, for example, found that 99% of new green sea turtles ( Chelonia mydas) hatched in Australia were females. Turtle hatchling sex is determined by temperature, and warming trends are resulting in more females in many species. This is especially important as the warming climate skews many turtle species’ sex ratios, raising questions about their future reproduction. Producing more eggs “improves female reproductive potential and provides an adaptive advantage,” researchers suggest. With higher temperatures leading to more female hatchlings, and rising germ cell counts increasing the females’ egg capacity, turtle population dynamics may move into uncharted waters. The team found that there was an increase in the number of germ cells-a type of cell that provides embryos with the future ability to produce sperm or egg-under warmer temperatures. In a recent study published in the Journal of Current Biology, researchers analyzed red-eared slider ( Trachemys scripta) eggs under different incubation temperatures to see how the increase in temperature affects the reproductive potential of females. Researchers know that climate change is causing turtles to produce more females, but for some turtles, it may also cause them to produce more eggs.
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