Gender is decided during fertilization in the majority of organisms.

The majority of turtles,

alligators, and crocodiles, on the other hand, find out their sex after conception. Whether a child
will be male or female depends on the temperature of the developing eggs. TSD, or temperature-
dependent sex determination, is the term used for this.

As the world's climate warms quickly, sex ratios and other features will be disrupted,
endangering vertebrates with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). The
consequences of the higher thermal variations that are projected to come with climate change are
less clear. Greater fluctuations could either counteract or exacerbate the feminization of species
that produce females in warmer environments, putting TSD animals at much greater risk.
(reducing extinction risk).

All species of sea turtles and more than 400 other animals that rely on temperature-dependent

sex determination (TSD) may be threatened by global warming. Rising temperatures may

cause overproduction of one sex during embryonic development, which could endanger

the persistence of populations by distorting the ratio of males to females. Unless adaptive

mechanisms—behavioral, physiological, or molecular—are present to mitigate these

temperature-driven consequences, animals with TSD may go extinct quickly if climate

change forecasts prove to be accurate and biased sex ratios diminish population viability.

Lockley, E. C., & Eizaguirre, C. (2021). Effects of global warming on species with temperature‐

dependent sex determination: Bridging the gap between empirical research and

management. Evolutionary Applications. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13226

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Research shows that if a turtle's eggs incubate below 27.7° Celsius (81.86° Fahrenheit), the turtle
hatchlings will be male. If the eggs incubate above 31° Celsius (88.8° Fahrenheit), however, the
hatchlings will be female. Temperatures that fluctuate between the two extremes will produce a
mix of male and female baby turtles.

Researchers have also noted that the warmer the sand, the higher the ratio of female turtles. As
the Earth experiences climate change, increased temperatures could result in skewed and even
lethal incubation conditions, which would impact turtle species and other reptiles.