High Spatiotemporal Diversity of Sand Temperatures and Estimated Hatchling Sex Ratios of Green Turtle in an Important North Pacific Rookery

A new study on the Ogasawara Islands reveals significant spatiotemporal diversity in sand temperatures, leading to varying hatchling sex ratios of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) across seven key nesting beaches. The research, conducted from 2018 to 2019, found that these variations—ranging from male-biased to female-biased ratios—are likely influenced by environmental factors such as shading, vegetation cover, and sand color, rather than nest depth. This diversity underscores the need for continuous monitoring of nesting environments to inform effective conservation strategies for this critical North Pacific rookery.

Sugimoto, Y., Kondo, S., Nishizawa, H., Ijichi, T., Yamamoto, Y., Strüssmann, C. A., & Kobayashi, S. (2025). High Spatiotemporal Diversity of Sand Temperatures and Estimated Hatchling Sex Ratios of Green Turtle in an Important North Pacific Rookery. Marine Ecology, 46(2). Portico. https://doi.org/10.1111/maec.70004