Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Houghton, J. D. R., Myers, A. E., Lloyd, C., King, R. S., Isaacs, C., & Hays, G. C. (2007). Protracted rainfall decreases temperature within leatherback turtle (dermochelys coriacea) clutches in grenada, west indies: ecological implications for a species displaying temperature dependent sex determination. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 345(1), 71–77.
Added by: Admin (13 Sep 2009 10:11:12 UTC) Last edited by: Beate Pfau (07 May 2011 08:17:21 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article BibTeX citation key: Houghton2007a View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Dermochelyidae, Dermochelys, Dermochelys coriacea, Habitat = habitat, Mittelamerika = Central America, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Zeitigung = incubation Creators: Hays, Houghton, Isaacs, King, Lloyd, Myers Collection: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology |
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| Abstract |
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Protracted or intense rainfall may affect the reproductive success of reptilian species on a number of levels ranging from the availability of prey, the integrity of the nesting site and the subsequent survivability of offspring. For sea turtles (a species displaying temperature sex determination) nesting throughout the tropics and subtropics, rainfall has previously been shown to influence the development environment of clutches; in its extreme resulting in high levels of egg or hatchling mortality. Yet when compared to other abiotic variables affecting clutch success, rainfall has received relatively little attention. We therefore examined how fluctuations in local rainfall at a tropical nesting site for leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) affected the nest environment. Temperature data loggers placed within clutches (n = 8) revealed that protracted rainfall had a marked cooling effect on nests, so that seasonally improbable male-producing temperatures (< 29.75 °C) were produced. We use these data to explore how rainfall may ultimately influence the sex ratios of sea turtle hatchlings both within and between nesting seasons, and discuss the importance of robust estimates of rainfall for future demographic models.
Added by: Admin Last edited by: Beate Pfau |