The temperature of the sand several Panamanian beaches where turtles come to lay their eggs, are reaching maximum so they can have their limits creatures warned Saturday the member of a foundation dedicated to environmental protection. AFP
"With that rise a couple of degrees global average temperature will be many species of turtle nests disappear because they go directly to fry," he told AFP Gerardo Alvarez, a member of the Turtle Foundation.
According to Alvarez, the Foundation has conducted studies on the beaches of Punta Chame and Cambutal, in the Panamanian Pacific, where the temperature of the sand, where each year thousands of turtles come to lay their eggs were taken.
According to the analysis, there have been times where "peak temperatures have reached 36 degrees Celsius," said Alvarez.
However, the temperature for the gestation of the eggs must be between 26 and 35 degrees because from there "is for pregnancy, proteins are denatured eggs and fry," said Alvarez.
Furthermore, the temperature of the sand determines the sex of the turtles, because if it is between 27 and 31 degrees Celsius there is a greater chance to be born males, whereas if it exceeds 32 degrees more females born, according to this specialist.
"In these circumstances the turtle population is increasingly feminized and there will be enough males to copulate with them and have babies," Alvarez said.
Alvarez's statements came during a ceremony held on the beach of Punta Chame, 80 kilometers southwest of Panama City, at a public event where about 300 people released similar amount of sea turtle hatchlings.
For weeks eggs of Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) were moved from their original nests on the beach and placed in an incubator, where in recent hours have pups born this Saturday have been released into the sea.
His first entry into the small water turtles must do for themselves, because that is the path they will remember to return 20 years later to the same beach to lay their eggs.
"Global warming sounds a bit apocalyptic but is already being felt in turtle populations," Alvarez said.
Of the seven species of marine turtles, five can be seen in Panama.