Caption
A Costa Rican researcher monitors the temperature in the developing Olive Ridley sea turtle nests at Ostional beach, Costa Rica, November 2009. ^^^ Sea turtles have, like many other reptiles, temperature-dependent sex determination during egg development. At a pivotal temperature of about 30 °C the sex ratio of the hatchlings will be balanced, at higher temperatures more females and in colder nests more males are produced. Temperatures below 25 °C and above 35°C are considered lethal. Any anthropogenic increase in water and atmospheric temperature would affect sea turtles by altering conditions at nesting and foraging habitats.
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