<p> South Florida's loggerhead (<i>Caretta caretta</i>), green (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>) and leatherback (<i>Dermochelys coriacea </i>) sea turtles hatchling have environmentally determined sex. The <i> in situ</i> nest mean hatchling sex ratios (SR) were highly femalebiased: loggerhead <i>F</i>=0.89) and green turtle <i>F</i>=0.81; leatherback's SR was nearly balanced (0.55<i>F</i>). Nest temperatures and SRs differed between leatherbacks and loggerhead and green turtles. The latter two did not differ. The loggerhead response parameters were estimated within biological limitations by both 50-65% of incubation and mean middle 1/3 temperature. The maximum middle 1/3 temperature was the best-fit predictor for green turtles. No best-fit sex ratio-temperature response could be identified for leatherbacks. Clutches incubating under natural conditions can vary greatly in SR; TRT differences may account for differences among species' sex ratios.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:1523458 |
| Date | 14 August 2013 |
| Creators | Rogers, Micah Marie |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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