Rising global temperatures seem to affect animal species differently, as proven by the adaptive path turtles in the United States set on in the last decade. While in the 1990s, their nesting period was somewhere in early June, a new extended study, focused on more species, found out that, currently, the amphibians start laying their eggs by as much as 10-15 days earlier than usual.
 

Scientists say that this happens because the eggs need a certain sand temperature to incubate and hatch properly. As warmer weather sets in faster, turtles learn to procreate earlier. The weird part about this behavior is not that first-generation, as in the youngest, turtles do this, but that older ones do it as well. This means that the shift in temperature is so sudden, that their genes trigger this behavior beforehand, instead of waiting for it to be transmitted from mothers to the little ones.
 

This phenomenon, known as species plasticity, allows all living things to adapt to changes in their environments, be they in the atmosphere or underwater. However, plasticity only works if the changes affect the species gradually. This seems to be the case with turtles as well, scientists at Iowa State University, led by ecology, evolution and organismal biology professor, Fred Janzen, believe.

 
Another problem that affects the turtles is the fact that the gender of their offspring is generally decided by temperatures near the nesting place. And while more females usually hatch when the temperatures rise, the exact opposite is happening now. "But what we think is happening is, since the air feels warmer, the turtles are nesting earlier. But the ground is still cold, so the cold ground is causing us to get more males," explained Janzen.
 

More males put even more strain on the species, as the race for females will "purge" most of them from existence. Millions of years of evolution for turtles mean that the species will try to adapt to these changes. But coping with both climate change and increasing numbers of males may require more energy on the part of the amphibians than they have. And fast. And we all know that speed is not the turtle's strong point.