Sea turtle survival in a changing world
University of Exeter, UK
Marine turtles occupy a range of terrestrial and marine habitats, and several aspects of their life history are tied to climatic variables that are altering due to rapid climate change. We overview the likely manifestations of climate change impacts in these species. Then, focussing in detail on three decades of research on the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta, we describe how much progress has been made to date and how future experimental and ecological focus should be directed towards key questions, including: what are the current primary sex ratios from which to measure future, climate-induced changes? What are wild adult sex ratios and how many males are necessary to maintain a fertile and productive population? What degree of plasticity for adaptation exists within the physiological and behavioural mechanisms of temperature-dependent sex determination? What is the potential for marine turtles to mitigate the effects of increasing air and sea temperatures and cope with loss of habitat? How will climate change affect turtles in terms of their distribution (range shifts), behaviour (phenology) and dietary breadth? How will these changes affect population dynamics of marine turtles?