Florida’s sea turtle populations are increasing due to conservation efforts;
however, sea turtle species are vulnerable to climate change. Turtles exhibit temperaturedependent
sex determination, in which nest environment influences sex. Environmental
changes may produce altered sex ratios that limit reproduction potential; therefore
hatchling sex ratios should be monitored. Hatchlings are not externally sexually
dimorphic, making sex identification difficult. This study established baseline plasma
hormone concentrations in hatchling and post-hatchling green (Chelonia mydas) and
loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles using High Performance Liquid Chromatography.
Five hormones were assayed and were present in the majority of samples (testosterone:
N.D.-10.12, progesterone: N.D.-0.43, estradiol: N.D.-4.78, estriol: N.D.-5.55 and estrone:
N.D.-1.67 μg/mL). Plasma hormones did not distinguish hatchling sex because male and
female ranges overlapped. Hormone concentrations varied with sex but also with incubation temperature, indicating that climate change could impact hatchling and posthatchling
hormone profiles and thus could impact future fitness. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_33485 |
| Contributors | Reis, Andrea (author), Milton, Sarah L. (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 85 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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