Sea turtle nests on beaches face multiple welfare threats from rising temperatures altering sex ratios, coastal development disrupting nesting behavior, and predation on hatchlings.
Sea turtle nesting welfare encompasses both adult female welfare during the nesting process and hatchling welfare during the emergence and ocean-finding journey. Female sea turtles nesting on light-polluted beaches become disoriented and may spend hours wandering above the high tide line, exhausting themselves and risking dehydration before finding their way back to the ocean. Hatchlings drawn inland by artificial lights face exhaustion, predation, and morning heat that kills them before they can reach the sea. Nest predation — while natural — is amplified by introduced predators and high nest densities that concentrate predator attention. Temperature-driven sex ratio skewing creates population-level welfare implications: heavily female-biased populations face genetic bottlenecks and reduced reproductive potential that may ultimately compromise population viability. Beach management programs including light ordinances, predator control, and shading of nests represent meaningful welfare interventions.