How climate change threatens sea turtle nesting success and the welfare implications of temperature effects on embryos and hatchlings.
Sea turtle nesting welfare is increasingly shaped by climate change effects that threaten both immediate hatchling welfare and population-level viability. Thermal stress in nests causes embryo mortality and developmental abnormalities that represent direct welfare harms. Extreme temperature bias toward female production threatens the genetic diversity of future populations. Hatchling disorientation from artificial beach lighting causes hours of struggle toward the wrong direction, with mortality from exhaustion and predation. Conservation interventions including nest shading, light management on nesting beaches, and in some cases head-starting hatchlings for release provide meaningful welfare and conservation benefits. The fundamental driver, climate change, requires systemic intervention beyond what beach management can compensate.