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Sex determination of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) via hormonal analysis by high performance liquid chromatography

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Date Issued:
2005
Summary:
Sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, with males being produced at cooler temperatures and females at warmer ones. Thus, sex ratios are often estimated on average nest temperatures, but this is unreliable. Therefore, many studies have begun to look to alternative methods to identify sex ratios. Other methods used to determine sex require hatchling sacrifice or are labor intensive. This study utilized high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to investigate correlations between steroid hormone levels in hatchling plasma and allantoic fluid, nest temperature and sex. Hatchling sex was determined laparoscopically to ground-truth hormone profiles. No correlation was found between hormones, nest temperature and sex. However, as hormones were readily detectable by HPLC, the technique may be applicable to juvenile or adult turtles with mature profiles.
Title: Sex determination of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) via hormonal analysis by high performance liquid chromatography.
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Name(s): Botterill, Brooke L.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Milton, Sarah L., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2005
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 78 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Sea turtles have temperature-dependent sex determination, with males being produced at cooler temperatures and females at warmer ones. Thus, sex ratios are often estimated on average nest temperatures, but this is unreliable. Therefore, many studies have begun to look to alternative methods to identify sex ratios. Other methods used to determine sex require hatchling sacrifice or are labor intensive. This study utilized high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to investigate correlations between steroid hormone levels in hatchling plasma and allantoic fluid, nest temperature and sex. Hatchling sex was determined laparoscopically to ground-truth hormone profiles. No correlation was found between hormones, nest temperature and sex. However, as hormones were readily detectable by HPLC, the technique may be applicable to juvenile or adult turtles with mature profiles.
Identifier: 9780542386794 (isbn), 13284 (digitool), FADT13284 (IID), fau:10136 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2005.
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Subject(s): Sea turtles--Nests--United States
Loggerhead turtle--Breeding
Sex (Biology)
High performance liquid chromatography
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13284
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.