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Sea Turtle Nest Sex Ratio: Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination

Interactive 3D model of a sea turtle nest: sand temperature at each egg's depth sets the odds it hatches male or female. Adjust beach temperature, nest depth and shade cover and watch the clutch's sex ratio and hatch viability respond in real time.

Ecology & Conservation Biology3DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 2D version

Sea turtles have no sex chromosomes — every hatchling's sex is decided by the sand temperature its egg experienced during incubation. This simulator renders a real 3D nest cross-section buried on a beach: eggs near the warm surface skew female, eggs near the cool bottom skew male, and the whole clutch's balance shifts as you adjust surface sand temperature, nest depth, shade cover and the species' pivotal temperature. Live readouts track the female/male split, the temperature gradient from top to bottom of the clutch, and a hatch-viability estimate that falls off at both thermal extremes — the same mechanism conservation biologists use to explain why warming beaches are quietly skewing wild turtle populations toward all-female.

⚙ Under the hood

A 3D model of a sea turtle nest where each egg's depth sets its incubation temperature, and that temperature decides whether it hatches male or female — adjust beach temperature, nest depth, shade cover and species pivotal temperature and watch the clutch's sex ratio and hatch viability respond.

marine ecologysea turtlestemperature-dependent sex determinationconservation biologyclimate change

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install