Low annual reproductive output in female reptiles from New Zealand

Abstract

Abstract This paper summarises evidence for low rates of annual reproductive output (no. of offspring or eggs/female/yr) in New Zealand reptiles. Tuatara (Sphenodon spp.) and the geckos Hoplodactylus maculatus and H. duvaucelii are cold‐adapted, nocturnal, and long‐lived, with evidence in at least some populations of less‐than‐annual reproduction. Annual reproductive output estimated for three tuatara populations ranges from 1.27 to 2.28 eggs/ female/yr. New Zealand geckos produce ≤2 offspring/female/yr. Hoplodactylus maculatus in the Macraes‐Middlemarch region of Central Otago produces only about 0.85 offspring/female/yr, as a consequence of biennial reproduction and clutch sizes that are often less than two. The diurnal skinks Leiolopisma grande and L. otagense from the same region breed annually and have larger clutch sizes, so their annual reproductive output is higher (2.17 and 2.34 offspring/female/yr, respectively). Other wild populations of New Zealand skinks typically produce 1–5 offspring/female...