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How many males are there? An examination of operational sex ratio within marine turtle nesting populations in southern Florida.

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Date Issued:
2014
Summary:
Characterizing a species mating system is integral to understanding its natural history and is critical to the development of effective conservation strategies. A mating system is typically described by examining a single population and subsequently drawing inferences on the whole of the species. Variation among populations and gaps in understanding of a species often are revealed when studies are compared between several locations. The majority of available marine turtle mating system data stem from nesting females or hatchlings scurrying off the beach. This practice left glaring holes in the understanding of these imperiled organisms in particular with respect to males. We use exclusion paternity analysis to compare the genotype of a nesting female with genotypes from a subset of her offspring and deduce male genotypes to identify and count the number of males contributing per clutch. Loggerheads Caretta caretta, green turtles Chelonia mydas and tleatherbacks Dermochelys coriacea are protected species with spatially and temporally overlapping nesting beaches. The genotypes of the three species nesting in southern Florida will be compared among clutches to define mating systems. Additionally, we will provide the first measure of operational population size for both males and females in southern Florida. Finally, by comparing results from several beaches, the interconnectedness of rookeries through male-mediated gene flow will be determined as well as the relatedness of males. Our approach to establishing the mating systems of hard-to access-life stages will have strong conservation value in strengthening the demographics that form the core of species assessment and management.
Title: How many males are there? An examination of operational sex ratio within marine turtle nesting populations in southern Florida.
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Name(s): Lasala, Jacob, author
Wyneken, Jeanette
Graduate College
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Poster
Date Created: 2014
Date Issued: 2014
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Florida
Physical Form: pdf
Extent: 1 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Characterizing a species mating system is integral to understanding its natural history and is critical to the development of effective conservation strategies. A mating system is typically described by examining a single population and subsequently drawing inferences on the whole of the species. Variation among populations and gaps in understanding of a species often are revealed when studies are compared between several locations. The majority of available marine turtle mating system data stem from nesting females or hatchlings scurrying off the beach. This practice left glaring holes in the understanding of these imperiled organisms in particular with respect to males. We use exclusion paternity analysis to compare the genotype of a nesting female with genotypes from a subset of her offspring and deduce male genotypes to identify and count the number of males contributing per clutch. Loggerheads Caretta caretta, green turtles Chelonia mydas and tleatherbacks Dermochelys coriacea are protected species with spatially and temporally overlapping nesting beaches. The genotypes of the three species nesting in southern Florida will be compared among clutches to define mating systems. Additionally, we will provide the first measure of operational population size for both males and females in southern Florida. Finally, by comparing results from several beaches, the interconnectedness of rookeries through male-mediated gene flow will be determined as well as the relatedness of males. Our approach to establishing the mating systems of hard-to access-life stages will have strong conservation value in strengthening the demographics that form the core of species assessment and management.
Identifier: FA00005155 (IID)
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: FAU Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00005155
Restrictions on Access: Author retains copyright.
Host Institution: FAU