Abstract
While most studies assessing the ecological impacts of climate change have examined impacts from warming temperatures, less attention has been given to other parameters such as increased rainfall events. At a nesting rookery in the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, we used data loggers to examine the impact of heavy rainfall and shade on the nest temperatures for green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) turtles clutches, which have temperature-dependent sex determination. In the middle of the nesting season (December–March), on 21 January 2019, 125 mm of rain fell over two days, causing the temperature to initially decrease by an average of ~ 3.6 °C in hawksbill turtle nests (n = 18) and ~ 3.5 °C in green turtle nests (n = 9). For shaded clutches during the 20-day cooling period after the rainfall event, we report average nest temperatures of ~ 27.9 °C and ~ 28.2 °C for hawksbill and green turtle clutches respectively, falling well into the male-producing range for sex determination. This was profoundly cooler than the average nest temperatures of clutches without shade and prior to the heavy rainfall, which was ~ 31.3 °C for both species. Extreme rainfall events are predicted to increase around Australia due to climate change but may help counteract impacts of atmospheric warming on sea turtle offspring sex-ratios. Our results also show the potential for artificially cooling nests by applying a combination of shade and irrigation, to counter the expected increases in the feminisation of sea turtle hatchling production worldwide.
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adapted from the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (https://www.bom.gov.au), which provided the average monthly maximum for air temperature, and the accumulated monthly rainfall. Maximum air temperature data were averaged over four months of the nesting season (blue lines), and the cumulative sum of rainfall for the four months of the nesting season each year are shown (black bars). The 25-year average for the maximum air temperature of the nesting season is shown as the blue dashed line. Respective values for the 2018–2019 season (when the current study was conducted) have been highlighted in red. Error bars represent the std. error calculated for maximum air temperature reported for each of the four months in each season
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Data Availability
Nest temperature data used in this study is available via The University of Queensland’s (UQ eSpace) database with mediated access (by request).https://doi.org/10.14264/c90b3d0
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank I. Bell, A. Freeman, K. Woodcock and J. Karam for assistance in logistical planning, transport, and day-to-day practices for the field component of this project. We would also like to thank the dedicated volunteers that assisted with data collection and building shade structures on Milman Island, as well as the World Wide Fund for Nature – Australia and partner Koala.com for their financial contributions and assistance in undertaking this study as part of the ‘Turtle Cooling Project’. We would also like to extend our thanks to I. Tibbetts for providing editorial feedback on the final manuscript. We would like to acknowledge that this research was conducted on Gudang and Yadhaykenu Country.
Funding
This study was in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia (WWF-Australia), the University of Queensland, Deakin University and the Sea Turtle Foundation (STF). The project funds were almost entirely supported by WWF-Australia through their partnership with Koala.com, and partly by STF.
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G.C. Hays and M.N. Staines conceived the study. M.N. Staines, C.A. Madden Hof and D.T. Booth collected field data. M.N. Staines and C.A. Madden Hof planned fieldwork logistics. M.N. Staines assembled rainfall and temperature data from the mobile weather station, temperature data loggers and the BOM database and conducted the analyses for the study. M.N. Staines and G.C. Hays led the writing with input from and all other authors.
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The research conducted for this project was undertaken with the authority and supervision of I. Bell as a Queensland Department of Environment and Science conservation officer (under the Nature and Conservation Act 1992). Access to the conservation pink zone (Milman Island, Queensland), the relocation and manipulation of sea turtle eggs and interaction with nesting sea turtles (endangered and vulnerable species) for research purposes were covered by permits held by I. Bell (GBRMPA Permit G19/38535.1). This research was also conducted above the low tide line on Milman Island and on state land. This study was approved by the University of Queensland Animal Ethics Committee in the August 2018 meeting (AEC Approval Number: SBS/332/18).
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Staines, M.N., Booth, D.T., Madden Hof, C.A. et al. Impact of heavy rainfall events and shading on the temperature of sea turtle nests. Mar Biol 167, 190 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03800-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-020-03800-z