Evidence of adult male scarcity associated with female-skewed offspring sex ratios in sea turtles

Abstract

Climate change is a clear and present threat to species survival. For species with temperature-dependent sex determination, including all sea turtles, it has been hypothesised that climate change may drive the creation of sex-ratio biases leading to population extinctions1. Through a global analysis across multiple species, we present the first direct empirical evidence for a demographic consequence of male scarcity in sea turtle populations, with a lower incidence of multiple paternity being found in populations with more extreme female-biased hatchling sex-ratio skews. For green turtles, when the female bias in hatchling sex ratio was >90%, the incidence of multiple paternity was low compared to other nesting sites, being 24.5% in the eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus), 36.4% on Redang Island (Malaysia) and 15.4% on the southern Great Barrier Reef (Heron Island, Australia) compared to higher values (range 61.1-91.7%) at other sites globally. These results suggest that a low incidence of multiple paternity may serve as a harbinger of future problems with egg fertility if males become even scarcer. Assessments of the incidence of multiple paternity at sites where adult males are expected to become scarce, such as Raine Island on the northern Great Barrier Reef in Australia, may help to identify when a lack of males raises the threat of local extinctions. In such cases, intervention to increase the production of male hatchlings may be needed.