Do You Believe It? Turtle Gender Determined by Temperature
Animals have both males and females, so who determines their gender? Some can switch autonomously, some are determined by ‘the King’, and others depend on weather changes – it’s truly remarkable. Scientific Zoo explores those extraordinary secrets of animal gender!
The winner is ‘female’, the loser is ‘male’
We’re all familiar with clownfish, but did you know their gender is determined through competition?
A large and a small clownfish ‘couple’
Newly born clownfish are genderless; the largest among them wins in competition and develops into a female, while the one with the next largest body becomes a male. The most amazing thing is, once a female fish dies, the male fish can quickly transform into a female.
Gender determined by competition in clownfish ‘couple’
What about the smaller ones? They will remain genderless until a male and female position is vacant, and the larger one has the opportunity to fill it.
Genderless juvenile clownfish
The Queen Bee determines ‘gender’
Worker bees control the gender ratio
The Queen Bee is the highest-ranking member of the bee colony, and can precisely control the gender of her offspring. If she doesn’t mate, she produces eggs, which develop into males; if she mates with a drone, the resulting eggs develop into females. She can collect and store large amounts of sperm and fertilize eggs over many years.
The Queen Bee produces eggs of different sizes based on the size of the brood cell
But how many drones are needed in the bee kingdom? This is determined by the worker bees. They build the eggs’ brood cells, and if they’re building cells for male bees, the cells will be slightly larger, while the worker bees’ cells will be smaller. The Queen Bee measures the size of the brood cell to produce eggs of different genders.
The Queen Bee produces eggs of different sizes based on the size of the honeycomb
How does the Queen Bee come into being? Besides being born in a designated location – the queen cell – she eats royal jelly from early childhood, possessing a strong reproductive ability. As for the taste of wild royal jelly, let the host’s expression tell you.
Host Zhang Tengyue tastes wild royal jelly
Weather determines gender in some animals
This is a rare animal whose gender is decided by the weather: most turtles’ gender is determined by temperature. In warmer environments, the hatchlings born are mostly female, and in colder temperatures, they are mostly male.
Turtle hatchlings
If the weather changes like a baby’s face, does the gender of the turtles in the eggs change too? During the first 1/3 of the incubation period, it does, but after this time, their gender will be finalized.
Turtle gender determined by temperature during incubation
Can turtles’ gender be entirely controlled by the climate? In fact, climate warming has increased the proportion of female turtles in some sea turtles, but research also shows that turtle embryos can move within the eggs. If there is a temperature difference on either side of the egg, it can also influence its own gender to some extent.
Laboratory observation of turtle embryos in eggs
More amazing news about animals’ gender! Stay tuned for more in Scientific Zoo!
Health Tip: Please wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, and ventilate frequently, and avoid crowded places.
Scientific Zoo
Secrets of Animal Gender
Disclaimer: This article is shared for the purpose of disseminating more information. If there are any errors in the source labeling or infringement of your legal rights, please contact the author with proof of ownership, and we will promptly correct, delete, and thank you.
