Maternally derived sex steroid hormones impact sex ratios of loggerhead sea turtles Article Swipe
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· 2020
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.10.901520
Global warming could drive species with temperature-dependent sex determination to extinction by persistently skewing offspring sex ratios. Evolved mechanisms that buffer these biases are therefore paramount for their persistence. Here, we tested whether maternally-derived sex steroid hormones affect the sex-determination cascade and provide a physiological mechanism to buffer sex ratio bias in the endangered loggerhead sea turtle ( Caretta caretta ). We quantified estradiol and testosterone in nesting females and their egg yolks at oviposition, before incubating nests in situ at standardised temperatures. Upon hatchling emergence, we developed a new, non-lethal method to establish the sex of individuals. Despite standardised incubation temperatures, sex ratios varied widely among nests, correlating non-linearly with the estradiol:testosterone ratio in egg yolks. Males were produced at an equal ratio, with females produced either side of this optimum. This result provides evidence that maternal hormone transfer forms a physiological mechanism that impacts sex determination in this endangered species.
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- Type
- preprint
- Language
- en
- Landing Page
- https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.10.901520
- https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2020/12/18/2020.01.10.901520.full.pdf
- OA Status
- green
- Cited By
- 7
- References
- 64
- Related Works
- 10
- OpenAlex ID
- https://openalex.org/W2999967145