The eggs of a Painted Turtles are known to have different genders based on the temperatures the eggs are raised in. For whatever unknown reason, males tend to thrive in cooler temperatures and females in warmer.
Students at Iowa State University developed an mathematical equation that almost always projects the correct gender of the unborn eggs of the turtles.
To temperature over the next century is set to rise, overall, by 4 degrees C. This will result in the extinction of male Painted Turtles, a simple rise of 1.1 degrees C would achieve this. This rise in temperature is mainly due to global warming.
Some researchers are hopeful that a mutation could save the turtles, while overs fear that there is simple not enough time.
NOS:
1. Science is Collaborative- multiple people on teams were working on this.
2. Science is based on Evidence- They tested their equation and collected data.
3. People's views and experience can influence data- some researches think the turtles will live, others do not.
This Article: Painted Turtles set to become all-female
OTHER RELATED LINKS:
http://genomebiology.com/2013/14/3/R28/abstract
http://phys.org/news/2013-05-turtles-extinction-due-global.html
This is crazy, and so sad! This is one of those situations that relates so directly to the evolution unit that we just finished. While those scientists are hoping that a mutation could save them, would that really be enough time? It is conditions like these that do make species go extinct. They can't choose to have that mutation. Some information that would be interesting to know is how fast they reproduce. This could help determine if the mutation would even be helpful. Such a small timespan could keep that mutation from spreading to the rest of the populations in time.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad. I used to have a painted turtle for a pet. Perhaps there will a adaptation so that they don't go extinct. Perhaps we should help preserve them putting them in incubators. It would help to know how long a generation is so that we could determine the amount of time we have to save them. Hopefully enough turtles will develop the mutation so that the species can survive.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sad. I used to have a painted turtle for a pet. Perhaps there will a adaptation so that they don't go extinct. Perhaps we should help preserve them putting them in incubators. It would help to know how long a generation is so that we could determine the amount of time we have to save them. Hopefully enough turtles will develop the mutation so that the species can survive.
ReplyDeleteThis article fasincates me that students are able to do this. It's really amazing how they have discovered the equation to learn which gender the offspring will be as well as the effect of temperature on turtles. I also find this article sad due to the near extinction of male painted turtles. I hope researchers do more of these kinds of experiments and create more awareness to people about how much harm global warming is causing in our enviorment and how it is hurting the lives of many animals.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I found an article online that claimed that the outlook for the turtles could even be worse: rising temperatures could kill all eggs, male and female, before they hatch. It seems unlikely that they could evolve quickly enough to save themselves, as their body design hasn't changed in about 210 million years. Luckily, scientists have been able to sequence the painted turtle's genome so that we can hopefully discover some of the mysteries of this species.
ReplyDeleteHere's the article: http://www.care2.com/causes/a-warmer-earth-means-no-more-male-painted-turtles.html
I remember reading somewhere that alligators' gender is similarly dependent on temperature. Could this same problem affect other reptile species? You hear a lot about global warming and how it's threatening polar bears and coastal areas, but it seems like there are a lot of consequences that no one ever thinks about, and probably more unexpected ones that will occur if climate change continues. I don't think that painted turtles will go extinct, though, if only because they are a relatively common pet. They could be saved by intentionally breeding and releasing male turtles, or maybe they will migrate further north.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! I think its kind of strange that eggs' gender can be influenced by the temperature. Hopefully the turtles will not go extinct! I read another article about a species of lizard that IS all female, and they haven't gone extinct, instead they reproduce asexually.
ReplyDeletehttp://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2010/02/21/extra-chromosomes-allow-all-female-lizards-to-reproduce-with/
Cool Article! I think if the painted turtle population does survive, but this problem persists, then painted turtles may eventually be selected for a hermaphrodite trait that will allow for self-reproduction. While it would take a long time for an organism as complex as a turtle to be selected for such a trait it wouldn't be the first organism to do so. Many worms have been selected for the hermaphroditic trait because it is hard for them to find viable mates.
ReplyDelete