Sea turtles have long been in trouble, with urbanization and climate affecting their very existence. Now, according to a new study, experts say they face another crisis: a lack of males. However it’s probably not for the reason you might imagine.
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00:03 Sea turtles have long been in trouble with urbanization and climate change affecting
00:07 their very existence. Now according to a new study, experts say they face another crisis,
00:12 a lack of males. The study outlines how oceanic pollutants don't just kill off sea turtles,
00:18 they seem to be promoting feminization of them as well. That is to say, the chemicals in the
00:22 water are having a physiological and biological effect on our planet's half-shelled ocean dwellers.
00:28 The chemicals are called xenoestrogens and they are known to bind to female sex hormones,
00:33 with the researchers finding that after they are absorbed by the mother, they accumulate
00:36 and pass into her offspring. With the study's lead author saying in a statement, quote,
00:40 "Our research shows that the risk of extinction due to a lack of male green sea turtles may be
00:45 compounded by contaminants that may also influence the sex ratio of developing green sea turtles,
00:50 increasing the bias towards females." The researchers looked specifically at green sea
00:54 turtles, which can be found all over the world in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean, and in
00:59 the Mediterranean Sea. And the ratio of female to male is becoming exceedingly worse in some areas
01:04 as well, with the researchers noting that around the northern Great Barrier Reef, there are hundreds
01:09 of females born for every one male.
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