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Sea Turtle Glossary

Please report errors to glossary@seaturtle.org.

 

Temperature-dependent sex determination

Variations: TSD

TSD stands for Temperature-dependent Sex Determination. This is the condition where the sex of the offspring is influenced by the prevailing temperatures during embryonic development. In sea turtles, warmer temperatures produce more or all females, cool temperatures produce more or all males, and the pivotal temperature is the constant incubation temperature that produces equal numbers of males and females. TSD also occurs in other reptiles (crocodilians, some freshwater and land turtles, some lizards), some types of fish, some types of invertebrates, etc.

See also: pivotal temperature

WWW References:

• TSD in turtles

Citations:

• Bull, J. J. 1980. Sex determination in reptiles. - Quarterly Review of Biology 55: 3-21.
• Janzen, F. J. and Paukstis, G. L. 1991. Environmental sex determination in reptiles: ecology, evolution, and experimental designs. - Quarterly Review of Biology 66: 149-179.

Entered by: Brendan Godley
Modified by: Matthew Godfrey, Michael Coyne,
Entered: 2004-12-13 16:50:23
Last modified: 2005-07-31 15:49:55