Featured image courtesy of USFWS/Becky Skiba via Flickr

Scientists have found that female sea turtles may be able to store sperm for an entire mating season. This finding offers new insight into what we know about sea turtle mating habits.

How we know this.

In the Sanibel Island region, satellite tagging data estimates that female sea turtles lay an average of 3.9 to 5.4 nests each season. From nests on Sanibel Island, researchers from Florida Atlantic University and Mote Marine Laboratory compared the genes of mothers who laid multiple nests and their hatchlings to identify whether the turtles were monogamous or had multiple mates.

The team found that 75% of female sea turtles who nested on the Island had a single mate, and hatchlings from their nests shared the same paternal genes. This finding is in contrast with a hypothesis that suggests female sea turtles may mate multiply to ensure fertilization.

It is also unlikely, the researchers say, that a female sea turtle would seek out the same male in between clutches, or nests. Instead, the researchers say the likely explanation is that females mate at the beginning of the mating season, and store the sperm from their initial mate for future clutches.

Why it matters.

This study gives new insight into the breeding habits of one of Florida’s many endangered species. It also helps estimate the male breeding population, which is more difficult to study than females who come ashore to nest.

The authors noted that the number of nests with multiple paternity was significantly lower than previously reported for this location. The results suggest that there is no significant benefit to female sea turtles having multiple mates. The few females with multiple paternity nests were identified as younger and smaller than the rest. The authors suggest this might be because the younger, smaller turtles may struggle to deny new mates.

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