Pivotal and beach temperatures for hawksbill turtles nesting in Antigua

Abstract

Eggs of hawksbill turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata, from Antigua were incubated at constant tempe ratures. The pivotal temperature (the temperature at which 50% of each sex is produced) for the sample was estimated to be 29.2 °C. Sand temperatures at the depth of turtle nests were recorded over two nesting seasons at Pasture Bay, Antigua. Although sand temperatures were sometimes higher than the pivotal temperature, more often they were lower. On this basis, it is unlikely that hatchling hawksbill turtles in this area have the highly female-biased sex ratios reported for some other reptiles.