Climate change turning male dragon lizards into females

Melbourne: Scientists have confirmed for the first time that sex change in reptiles can occur naturally due to exposure to increased temperatures resulting from climate change. A climate-induced change of male dragon lizards into females occurring in the wild has been confirmed for the first time, researchers said.

They are from the University of Canberra, studied Australia's bearded dragon lizards, have been able to show that a reptile's sex determination process can switch rapidly from one determined by chromosomes to one determined by temperature. "We had previously been able to demonstrate in the lab that when exposed to extreme temperatures, genetically male dragons turned into females," said lead author Dr Clare Holleley, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Canberra's Institute for Applied Ecology.