• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

Rain or shine? How rainfall impacts size of sea turtle hatchlings

by
September 6, 2025
in Biology
Reading Time: 4 mins read
0
Sea Turtles and Hatchlings
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Female sea turtles lay their eggs, cover the nest with sand and then return to the ocean, leaving them to develop and hatch on their own. From nest predators to rising temperatures, odds of survival are bleak. Once hatched and in the ocean, about one in 1,000 make it to adulthood.

Female sea turtles lay their eggs, cover the nest with sand and then return to the ocean, leaving them to develop and hatch on their own. From nest predators to rising temperatures, odds of survival are bleak. Once hatched and in the ocean, about one in 1,000 make it to adulthood.

Hatchling size matters. Larger hatchlings, which move faster, are more likely to survive because they spend less time on risky beach sands.

Research shows that both air and sand temperatures crucially impact sea turtle hatchlings. Cooler temperatures produce larger, heavier hatchlings with more males, while warmer temperatures accelerate hatching and offer predator protection. For endangered loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles, cooler and moister conditions result in stronger hatchlings. However, rising temperatures might shorten incubation periods, and erratic rainfall can disrupt growth, potentially affecting survival.

Balancing temperature and moisture is vital for the health of these vulnerable sea turtles. Too much moisture can be deadly for embryos.

An internationally collaborative study by Florida Atlantic University and led by the University of Tübingen in Germany, delves into how fluctuating rainfall impacts the development of sea turtle hatchlings, revealing that it has a more profound effect than changes in air temperature.

The research, which spans data from 37 beaches worldwide – a longitudinal study in Florida, and experimental studies on the Cape Verde Islands – shows that precipitation plays a crucial role in determining hatchling body size. Rainfall cools the beach surface and enhances the moisture needed for egg development, making it a better predictor of body size than temperature.

Results of the study, published in BMC Ecology and Evolution, reveal that the impact of rainfall varies between species. For loggerhead turtles, heavier rainfall results in hatchlings with smaller carapaces (shell) but greater weight, while green turtle hatchlings grow smaller carapaces without a change in body mass.

“Findings from our study highlight the need for more localized data on how regional weather influences incubation and hatchling development,” said Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., co-author and professor, Department of Biological Sciences, FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. “These data are essential for refining conservation strategies to protect sea turtles amidst global warming.”

The study started with data from Boca Raton, comparing hatchling size (length, width, and mass) with local climate factors.  Next, data were collected from 19 beaches with loggerhead hatchlings and 17 beaches with green turtle hatchlings. A third part of the study looked at hatchlings in Cabo Verde after a few days of rain during their dry season to see how precipitation affected their size.

In the Mediterranean, particularly on the beaches of Cyprus and Turkey, the dry season brings very little rain from the North Atlantic. For green turtles in these drier areas, the effects of precipitation become noticeable only after the dry season ends. In Florida, however, precipitation levels stay fairly consistent throughout the nesting season due to local weather patterns, though droughts and heatwaves typically occur in July and October.

“It’s not clear exactly how rain affects hatchling size,” said Wyneken. “One idea is that rain cools the nests, which can change the temperature and impact the sex ratio of the hatchlings. This could lead to differences in hatchling size and shape, similar to how male and female hatchlings of other turtles, like the giant river turtle, have different shell shapes.”

As climate change shifts rainfall patterns – making wet areas wetter and dry areas drier – the impact on sea turtle nesting sites suggests that global conservation strategies for loggerhead and green sea turtles likely need to be updated.

“Effective management units for conservation should focus on regularly updating and including important nesting sites, highlighting the importance of local conservation efforts,” said Wyneken. “Analyzing local data from various nesting sites is crucial for understanding sea turtle nesting patterns. These local databases should be made more accessible and widely shared to improve our knowledge and support local conservation efforts.”

Study co-authors are first author Omar Rafael Regalado Fernández, Ph.D., University of Tübingen; Parima Parsi-Pour, The Humboldt University of Berlin; John A. Nyakatura, Ph.D., The Humboldt University of Berlin; and Ingmar Werneburg, Ph.D., University of Tübingen.

The research is supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft WE 5440/6-1).

– FAU –

About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students across six campuses located along the southeast Florida coast. In recent years, the University has doubled its research expenditures and outpaced its peers in student achievement rates. Through the coexistence of access and excellence, FAU embodies an innovative model where traditional achievement gaps vanish. FAU is designated a Hispanic-serving institution, ranked as a top public university by U.S. News & World Report and a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.

 



Journal

BMC Ecology and Evolution

DOI

10.1186/s12862-024-02290-7

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Correlations between local geoclimatic variables and hatchling body size in the sea turtles Caretta caretta and Chelonia mydas

Article Publication Date

15-Aug-2024

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Edo Cattle Market Study: High Tick Diversity Observed

Edo Cattle Market Study: High Tick Diversity Observed

October 7, 2025
Brain-on-a-Chip Technology Uncovers Mechanisms of Brain Damage in Sepsis and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Brain-on-a-Chip Technology Uncovers Mechanisms of Brain Damage in Sepsis and Neurodegenerative Diseases

October 7, 2025

How Sleep Patterns Influence Health, Cognition, Lifestyle, and Brain Structure

October 7, 2025

Leafcutter Ants Have Blind Spots — Just Like Truck Drivers

October 7, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • Sperm MicroRNAs: Crucial Mediators of Paternal Exercise Capacity Transmission

    939 shares
    Share 375 Tweet 235
  • New Study Reveals the Science Behind Exercise and Weight Loss

    99 shares
    Share 40 Tweet 25
  • New Study Indicates Children’s Risk of Long COVID Could Double Following a Second Infection – The Lancet Infectious Diseases

    95 shares
    Share 38 Tweet 24
  • Ohio State Study Reveals Protein Quality Control Breakdown as Key Factor in Cancer Immunotherapy Failure

    77 shares
    Share 31 Tweet 19

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Machine Learning Predicts Live Birth Outcomes in IVF

Biochar Derived from Invasive Weeds Protects Rice Crops from Toxic Nanoplastics and Heavy Metals

Natural ‘Battery’ of Soil Bacteria and Minerals Dismantles Antibiotics in Darkness

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 63 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.