Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Incubation in Natural Conditions Is Possible on Guatemalan Beaches

B. Alejandra Morales-Mérida, Alejandra Morales-Cabrera, Carlos Chúa and Marc Girondot ()
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B. Alejandra Morales-Mérida: CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris-Saclay, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Alejandra Morales-Cabrera: Laboratorio de Ciencias Biológicas y Oceanográficas, Centro de Estudios del Mar y Acuicultura, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala 01012, Guatemala
Carlos Chúa: Escuela de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, Guatemala 01012, Guatemala
Marc Girondot: CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris-Saclay, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: The Guatemalan strategy for sea turtle conservation was defined by the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) in 1989. Hatcheries lie at the core of this strategy: egg collectors are allowed to deliver 20% of a nest to a hatchery in exchange for selling or eating the remaining eggs. Consequently, nearly 100% of nests are collected, with no nests being left on the beaches. Hatchery design promotes shading using roofs made from vegetation. The logic behind this recommendation is that the natural incubation of eggs is supposedly impossible due to the overly high temperatures on the beach. However, changing the incubation temperature of sea turtle eggs can profoundly alter the sex ratio in sea turtles with temperature-dependent sex determination. It can also modify the physiology or behavior of juvenile turtles. Here, we test whether incubation in natural conditions is possible on Guatemalan beaches, and for the first time, we determine the thermal reaction norm of embryo growth to ensure hatching success in sea turtles. We show that incubation in natural conditions is possible since three out of the four monitored nests produced hatchlings. We urge the Guatemala National Council of Protected Areas to reevaluate its strategy for sea turtle conservation in Guatemala in light of these results.

Keywords: Guatemala; olive ridley; Lepidochelys olivacea; sea turtle; hatchery; natural incubation; hatching success; beach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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