The incubation period is the number of days from egg-laying to the emergence of hatchlings inside the nest. (File) A new study into the Olive Ridley nesting has found that the sparsely vegetated casuarina plantations along the state’s coastline, plantations of which have been prohibited by the Union Environment Ministry, will regulate the incubation temperature of the Olive Ridley turtle nests.
The Mangrove Foundation under the state government commissioned a research study to assess the incubation temperature of nests. The project, which completed its third and final phase was conducted by Sumedha Korgaonkar, a PhD scholar from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
The incubation period is the number of days from egg-laying to the emergence of hatchlings inside the nest. The incubation period is inversely proportional to temperature. The greater the incubation period the hatchlings tend to be larger, more active in the movement and less malformed thus increasing their chances of emergence and survival success. Generally, after a 50-60-day incubation period, juvenile turtles break the eggshell and crawl to the sea.
Terming it as a “breakthrough”, the study stated that the Casuarina plantation on the beach provides cooler ambient temperature and dispersed light that helps to maintain the nest temperature below its threshold temperature of 33 degrees Celsius. “In the current scenario of the highly skewed sex ratio of hatchlings due to an increase in temperature, it provides the most natural means to balance the sex ratio. This is the breakthrough of the data logger project,” stated the report.
The National Marine Turtle Action Plan released by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) last year has prohibited the plantation of Casuarina, calling it non-native and an invasive species.
Casuarina is native to Australia and is extensively found along the state’s coastline as it is found to be an effective bio-shield, which can minimise the impact of rough seas.
Based on the guidelines, the Maharashtra Forest Department announced to stop planting casuarina along the coast.
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