A Review of the Effects of Climate Change on Chelonians

Abstract

Climate change is occurring at an unprecedented rate and has begun to modify the distribution and phenology of organisms worldwide. Chelonians are expected to be particularly vulnerable due to limited dispersal capabilities as well as widespread temperature-dependent sex determination. The number of papers published about the effects of climate change on turtles has increased exponentially over the last decade; here, I review the data from peer-reviewed publications to assess the likely impacts of climate change on individuals, populations, and communities. Based upon these studies future research should focus on: (1) Individual responses to climate change, particularly with respect to thermal biology, phenology, and microhabitat selection; (2) improving species distribution models by incorporating fine-scale environmental variables as well as physiological processes; (3) identifying the consequences of skewed sex ratios; and (4) assessments of community resilience and the development of methods to mitigate climate change impacts. Although detailed management recommendations are not possible at this point, careful consideration should be given regarding how to manage low vagility species as habitats shift poleward. In the worst-case scenario, proactive management may be required in order to ensure that widespread losses do not occur.

Multi-scale Assessment of Rock Barrens Turtle Nesting Habitat: Effects of Moisture and Temperature on Hatch Success

“…In a relatively undistributed rock barrens landscape, we found that nesting habitat was naturally limited. Therefore, impacts to the landscape such as anthropogenic alterations (Kolbe and Janzen, 2002;Thompson et al, 2017;Piczak and Chow-Fraser, 2019), climate change (Refsnider et al, 2013;Butler, 2019;Valenzuela et al, 2019), and severe wildfire (Markle et al, 2020) that alter the amount or function of natural nesting habitat could negatively affect sensitive turtle populations. Our study reveals that the shallow rock barrens nesting habitat has unique soil temperature and moisture dynamics that are tightly coupled with soil properties and bedrock morphology to provide successful incubation conditions.…”

Threats from wildlife trade: The importance of genetic data in safeguarding the endangered Four-eyed Turtle (Sacalia quadriocellata)

“…Success of re-introduction programmes relies on a good understanding of physiological demand of targeted species (IUCN/SSC 2013; Tarszisz et al 2014). As an ectotherm, turtles are sensitive to changes of microclimate and cannot easily adapt if they are translocated to non-native habitat with different climate regimes (Butler 2019). In case of the Four-eyed Turtle, it would be detrimental to release animals originating from south-central Vietnam to northern Vietnam, because the two regions have very different climatic conditions (Sterling et al 2006).…”

Climate change winners and losers: The effects of climate change on five palm species in the Southeastern United States

“…Anthropogenic climate change has caused widespread changes in biological communities, with ongoing shifts in distribution, phenology, ecophysiology, and community interactions (Blois, Zarnetske, Fitzpatrick, & Finnegan, 2013; Butler, 2019; Parmesan & Hanley, 2015; Poloczanska et al., 2013). These changes have been linked with the spread of diseases (Semenza & Menne, 2009; Wu, Lu, Zhou, Chen, & Xu, 2016), invasive species (Stephens, Dantzler‐Kyer, Patten, & Souza, 2019; Walther et al., 2009), and a reduction in the amount of suitable habitat for species (Sekercioglu, Schneider, Fay, & Loarie, 2008; Thuiller et al., 2006).…”