The Effect of Thermal Variance on the Phenotype of Marine Turtle Offspring

Temperature can have a profound effect on the phenotype of reptilian offspring, yet the bulk of current research considers the effects of constant incubation temperatures on offspring morphology, with few studies examining the natural thermal variance that occurs in the wild. Over two consecutive ne...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Physiological and biochemical zoology 2014-11, Vol.87 (6), p.796-804
Hauptverfasser: Horne, C. R., Fuller, W. J., Godley, B. J., Rhodes, K. A., Snape, R., Stokes, K. L., Broderick, A. C.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Temperature can have a profound effect on the phenotype of reptilian offspring, yet the bulk of current research considers the effects of constant incubation temperatures on offspring morphology, with few studies examining the natural thermal variance that occurs in the wild. Over two consecutive nesting seasons, we placed temperature data loggers in 57 naturally incubating clutches of loggerhead sea turtlesCaretta carettaand found that greater diel thermal variance during incubation significantly reduced offspring mass, potentially reducing survival of hatchlings during their journey from the nest to offshore waters and beyond. With predicted scenarios of climate change, behavioral plasticity in nest site selection may be key for the survival of ectothermic species, particularly those with temperature-dependent sex determination.
ISSN:1522-2152
1537-5293
DOI:10.1086/678238