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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Operational sex ratio estimated from drone surveys for a species threatened by climate warming
Marine Biology, Vol.169, pp.1-11
2022
Abstract
Rising sand temperatures resulting from climate warming may cause the ‘feminization’ of sea turtle populations, which have temperature-dependent sex determination. In July and October 2021, we conducted surveys using a drone (also referred to as an unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV) and shore-based observations to assess the operational sex ratio (OSR) (number of males and females in breeding condition) for green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia (23.44 °S, 151.92 °E). Using drone-imagery, the length:width (L:W) ratio of a turtle’s head was used to distinguish loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from green turtles, and the L:W of the carapace was used to distinguish juveniles from adult-sized green turtles. The first breeding pair was observed in shore-based surveys on 14 September 2021 and the number of mating turtles then increased to a peak on 4 October, about 8 weeks before the peak in nesting. A total of 94 km of drone transects with associated video footage was analysed. In October, at the peak of the mating season, the ratio of adult turtles displaying breeding behaviours near the island was 0.51 female (95% CI ± 0.17), supporting previous conclusions that despite the female-biased (> 80%) hatchling sex ratio, this population likely has a fairly balanced OSR. These findings are likely explained by males breeding 2–3 times more frequently than females, which helps mitigate female-biased hatchling sex ratios. Assessing the OSR of populations with extreme female hatchling bias may help to inform whether intervention is needed to increase male hatchling production.
Details
- Title
- Operational sex ratio estimated from drone surveys for a species threatened by climate warming
- Authors
- Melissa N. Staines (Corresponding Author) - The University of QueenslandCaitlin E. Smith (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringChristine A. Madden Hof (Author) - World Wildlife FundDavid T. Booth (Author) - The University of QueenslandIan R. Tibbetts (Author) - The University of QueenslandGraeme C. Hays (Author) - Deakin University
- Publication details
- Marine Biology, Vol.169, pp.1-11
- Publisher
- Springer
- Date published
- 2022
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00227-022-04141-9
- ISSN
- 1432-1793; 0025-3162
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99696657702621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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