TODAY'S SCIENCE TRIVIA: Unlike humans, sea turtles aren't born male or female based on chromosomes. Rather, they follow temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), a type of environmental sex determination followed by crocodilians as well.
Sea turtle sex is determined post-fertilization, at a particularly thermosensitive stage of embryonic development. The temperature of the nest influences this: Nests in cooler sands (below 27°C) produce more male hatchlings, while eggs incubated at higher temperatures (30°C and above) produce more female hatchlings. Fluctuating temperatures will likely produce a mix of male and female offspring.
