Laloë Jacques-Olivier, Tedeschi Jamie N, Booth David T, Bell Ian, Dunstan Andy, Reina Richard D, Hays Graeme C
School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University Geelong Vic. Australia.
School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane Qld Australia.
Ecol Evol. 2020 Dec 17;11(1):560-565. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7076. eCollection 2021 Jan.
Understanding how climate change impacts species and ecosystems is integral to conservation. When studying impacts of climate change, warming temperatures are a research focus, with much less attention given to extreme weather events and their impacts. Here, we show how localized, extreme rainfall events can have a major impact on a species that is endangered in many parts of its range. We report incubation temperatures from the world's largest green sea turtle rookery, during a breeding season when two extreme rainfall events occurred. Rainfall caused nest temperatures to drop suddenly and the maximum drop in temperature for each rain-induced cooling averaged 3.6°C ( = 79 nests, min = 1.0°C, max = 7.4°C). Since green sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, with low incubation temperatures producing males, such major rainfall events may have a masculinization effect on primary sex ratios. Therefore, in some cases, extreme rainfall events may provide a "get-out-of-jail-free card" to avoid complete feminization of turtle populations as climate warming continues.
了解气候变化如何影响物种和生态系统是保护工作不可或缺的一部分。在研究气候变化的影响时，气温变暖是一个研究重点，而极端天气事件及其影响受到的关注则少得多。在此，我们展示了局部极端降雨事件如何对一个在其分布范围的许多地区都濒临灭绝的物种产生重大影响。我们报告了在世界上最大的绿海龟繁殖地，在一个繁殖季节发生两次极端降雨事件期间的孵化温度。降雨导致巢穴温度突然下降，每次降雨引起的降温的最大温度降幅平均为3.6°C（n = 79个巢穴，最小值 = 1.0°C，最大值 = 7.4°C）。由于绿海龟的性别由温度决定，较低的孵化温度会产生雄性，因此这种重大降雨事件可能会对初生性别比例产生雄性化影响。所以，在某些情况下，随着气候变暖持续，极端降雨事件可能会提供一张“免罪金牌”，以避免海龟种群完全雌性化。
