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.
Highlights
Characterization of a species mating system is an important part of understanding its natural history (Wright 1931; Bjorndal et al 1983)
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
We report a frequency of 75% multiple paternity in a breeding population of loggerhead marine turtles; and a male/female by clutch ratio of 2.65/1
Summary
Characterization of a species mating system is an important part of understanding its natural history (Wright 1931; Bjorndal et al 1983). Variation among populations and gaps in our understanding of a species are often revealed when studies are compared over many locations (Dutton et al 1999; Crim et al 2002; Jensen et al 2006; Bowen and Karl 2007). This is to be expected as populations within a species can experience different environmental and demographic variables that influence factors such as breeding, mate availability, mate quality, and mate com-
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