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González-Cortés L, Labastida-Estrada E, Karam-Martínez SG, Montoya-Márquez JA, Islas-Villanueva V. Within-season shifts in multiple paternity patterns in mass-nesting olive ridley sea turtles. ENDANGER SPECIES RES 2021. [DOI: 10.3354/esr01144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple paternity is common to all sea turtle species, but its causes and consequences are hard to ascertain and the behaviors and success of males difficult to observe. This study aims to describe patterns of multiple paternity for olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea at Playa de Escobilla, an ‘arribada’ (mass-nesting) site on the Mexican Pacific coast with over a million clutches laid each reproductive season. A total of 15 females and their hatchlings were sampled during 3 arribada events which occurred over the 2016-2017 nesting season. Females and hatchlings (N = 329) were genotyped at 5 microsatellite loci, from which we inferred the alleles of 46 contributing males. Multiple paternity was detected in 60% of the analyzed clutches, which were sired by a range of 2 to 7 males. Multiple paternity rates differed significantly across arribada events, suggesting more males achieved fertilizations earlier in the breeding season. Paternal contribution in 6 of the clutches with multiple paternity was skewed towards a single male; the remaining clutches had a homogeneous male contribution. However, our results are based on relatively small within-arribada sample sizes. The frequency of multiple paternity among turtle clutches laid on this arribada beach could be related to the density of breeding individuals in the reproductive patch off Playa de Escobilla, rather than to the nesting population size or female size.
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Affiliation(s)
- L González-Cortés
- Programa de Maestría en Ciencias: Ecología Marina, División de Estudios de Posgrado, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
| | - E Labastida-Estrada
- Programa de Maestría en Ciencias: Ecología Marina, División de Estudios de Posgrado, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
| | - SG Karam-Martínez
- Instituto de Recursos, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
| | - JA Montoya-Márquez
- Instituto de Recursos, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
| | - V Islas-Villanueva
- CONACYT, Universidad del Mar, Campus Puerto Ángel, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, Oaxaca 70902, Mexico
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