Strong male-biased operational sex ratio in a breeding population of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) inferred by paternal genotype reconstruction analysis

Jacob A. Lasala, J. Scott Harrison, Kris L. Williams, David C. Rostal

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Characterization of a species mating systems is fundamental for understanding the natural history and evolution of that species. Polyandry can result in the multiple paternity of progeny arrays. The only previous study of the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) in the USA showed that within the large peninsular Florida subpopulation, multiple paternity occurs in approximately 30% of clutches. Our study tested clutches from the smaller northern subpopulation for the presence of multiple paternal contributions. We examined mothers and up to 20 offspring from 19.5% of clutches laid across three nesting seasons (2008-2010) on the small nesting beach on Wassaw Island, Georgia, USA. We found that 75% of clutches sampled had multiple fathers with an average of 2.65 fathers per nest (1-7 fathers found). The average number of fathers per clutch varied among years and increased with female size. There was no relationship between number of fathers and hatching success. Finally, we found 195 individual paternal genotypes and determined that each male contributed to no more than a single clutch over the 3-year sampling period. Together these results suggest that the operational sex ratio is male-biased at this site. Our study uses microsatellites in conjunction with exclusion analysis of multiple paternity to establish the number of males contributing to a nesting population of loggerhead sea turtles. We suggest that the operational sex ratio is male biased at this site.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4736-4747
Number of pages12
JournalEcology and Evolution
Volume3
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2013

Keywords

  • Caretta caretta
  • Conservation genetics
  • Microsatellites
  • Northwest Atlantic Ocean
  • Paternal contributions
  • Polyandry

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