Detecting patterns of fertilization and frequency of multiple paternity in Chelonia mydas of Colola (Michoacan, Mexico)

A microsatellite analysis that allows an indirect determination of the process of fertilization in the genital tract of Chelonia mydas was realized. The strategy was based in that the order of oviposition is related to fertilization order. Once the genotype of the offspring was obtained through microsatellite analyses, it was possible to determine the frequency of multiple paternity and to infer the presence of anatomical structures or physiological mechanisms that allow females to undergo cryptic choice processes, which allowed us to hypothesize the existence of post-copula factors that determine reproductive success in a polyandrous system. This paper does not show the presence of physiological mechanisms that allow control of fertilization order in polyandrous females of Chelonia mydas.