Temperature-dependent sex determination in the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle: effects of incubation temperatures on sex ratios

Abstract

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 19:123-128 (2012) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00465 Temperature-dependent sex determination in the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle: effects of incubation temperatures on sex ratios Anne Marie LeBlanc1,*, Thane Wibbels1, Donna Shaver2, Jennifer Shelby Walker2 1Department of Biology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama 35294-1170, USA 2Padre Island National Seashore, National Park Service, Corpus Christi, Texas 78480-1300, USA *Email: annemarielbeich@gmail.com ABSTRACT: This study provides the most comprehensive evaluation to date of the temperature range that produces mixed sex ratios as well as the temperature that produces a 1:1 sex ratio (denoted 1:1 temperature in the following) in the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle Lepidochelys kempii. We analyzed temperature data from Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS), Texas (USA). Using 2006 to 2008 PAIS sex ratio data sorted by mean temperature, which fluctuated minimally in this study, we found a 1:1 temperature of 30.0°C utilizing the Hill distribution model. The upper limit of the temperature range that was estimated to produce mixed sex ratios was 32.5°C; the lower end could not be determined. These values are in the upper range of those reported for other sea turtle species, except the olive ridley. The Kemp’s ridley temperature-dependent sex determination parameters described here can be used to predict sex ratios from nests with known incubation temperatures in order to help manage the recovery of this species. KEY WORDS: Sex ratio · Sea turtle · Kemp’s ridley · Sex determination · Temperature · Conservation Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: LeBlanc AM, Wibbels T, Shaver D, Walker JS (2012) Temperature-dependent sex determination in the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle: effects of incubation temperatures on sex ratios. Endang Species Res 19:123-128. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00465 Export citation Mail this link - Contents Mailing Lists - RSS Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 19, No. 2. Online publication date: December 13, 2012 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2012 Inter-Research.