Singapore — Rising temperatures at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef are causing more green turtles to be born female, which could lead to the species dying out, a new scientific study has found. As the gender of green turtles is determined by temperature, the hotter weather caused by climate change induces warmer incubations of eggs, and that has led to a greater number of female hatchlings. The study published last week revealed that more than 99% of the juvenile and sub-adult population on the northern part of the reef were female, and 69% were female on the southern reef. The two populations were genetically distinct. "We’re now seeing on those northern beaches virtually no males being born," said Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman. "That really rings alarm bells for the long-term survival of those northern green turtle population." The study was carried out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California State University, and WWF Austr...
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