Climate Change and Temperature-dependent Sex Determination in Turtles

Turtles globally are increasingly imperiled, primarily by anthropogenic processes. Now, rapid climate change stands to exacerbate these problems, since so many of these species also have temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). To illuminate this pressing matter, I will present findings obtained from a quarter of a century of study of populations of turtles with TSD, focusing on the sensitivity of sex ratio to climatic variation and the inheritance of key traits underpinning TSD. Can these iconic, long-lived animals adapt fast enough to match ongoing climate change or will they fail by evolving at a turtle’s pace instead