Multiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators

Abstract Maternal risk-management, an extension of r/K selection, is an indispensable tool for understanding the natural selection pressures that shape the evolution of reproduction. Central to the construct of maternal risk-management is its definition of reproductive success as replacement fitness...

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Autor principal:	Deby L. Cassill
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/0884ce6cf9d543fabc5cddc149ec754d
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:0884ce6cf9d543fabc5cddc149ec754d2021-12-02T10:48:31ZMultiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators10.1038/s41598-021-81968-02045-2322https://doaj.org/article/0884ce6cf9d543fabc5cddc149ec754d2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81968-0https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Maternal risk-management, an extension of r/K selection, is an indispensable tool for understanding the natural selection pressures that shape the evolution of reproduction. Central to the construct of maternal risk-management is its definition of reproductive success as replacement fitness (w = 2), the survival of one breeding daughter to replace the female and one outbreeding son to replace her mate. Here, I apply maternal risk-management as a theoretical framework to explain multiple reproductive adaptations by loggerhead sea turtles nesting on a barrier island off the southern coast of Florida, US, from 1988 to 2004. Extrapolated over a 30-year reproductive span, nesting females averaged 4000–4500 eggs. I show that, rather than “putting all their eggs in one basket,” females divided eggs into 40 clutches of variable size (50–165 eggs). To deposit clutches, females migrated to the barrier island 10–12 times at unpredictable intervals of 2–8 years. Each nesting season, females deposited 1–7 clutches over diversified time intervals at diversified locations on the beach. Despite devastating clutch losses caused by ten catastrophic hurricanes, hundreds of erratic thunderstorms and dozens of predation events during this study, 72% of clutches produced by nesting females on this barrier island were undisturbed—median hatching success for these clutches was an astonishing 92%. I conclude that diversified maternal investments over time and space by nesting females are reproductive adaptations that have successfully offset clutch losses, thus enabling populations of loggerhead females to meet or exceed their reproductive goal of replacement fitness.Deby L. CassillNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-15 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Deby L. Cassill Multiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators
description	Abstract Maternal risk-management, an extension of r/K selection, is an indispensable tool for understanding the natural selection pressures that shape the evolution of reproduction. Central to the construct of maternal risk-management is its definition of reproductive success as replacement fitness (w = 2), the survival of one breeding daughter to replace the female and one outbreeding son to replace her mate. Here, I apply maternal risk-management as a theoretical framework to explain multiple reproductive adaptations by loggerhead sea turtles nesting on a barrier island off the southern coast of Florida, US, from 1988 to 2004. Extrapolated over a 30-year reproductive span, nesting females averaged 4000–4500 eggs. I show that, rather than “putting all their eggs in one basket,” females divided eggs into 40 clutches of variable size (50–165 eggs). To deposit clutches, females migrated to the barrier island 10–12 times at unpredictable intervals of 2–8 years. Each nesting season, females deposited 1–7 clutches over diversified time intervals at diversified locations on the beach. Despite devastating clutch losses caused by ten catastrophic hurricanes, hundreds of erratic thunderstorms and dozens of predation events during this study, 72% of clutches produced by nesting females on this barrier island were undisturbed—median hatching success for these clutches was an astonishing 92%. I conclude that diversified maternal investments over time and space by nesting females are reproductive adaptations that have successfully offset clutch losses, thus enabling populations of loggerhead females to meet or exceed their reproductive goal of replacement fitness.
format	article
author	Deby L. Cassill
author_facet	Deby L. Cassill
author_sort	Deby L. Cassill
title	Multiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators
title_short	Multiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators
title_full	Multiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators
title_fullStr	Multiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators
title_full_unstemmed	Multiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators
title_sort	multiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/0884ce6cf9d543fabc5cddc149ec754d
work_keys_str_mv	AT debylcassill multiplematernalriskmanagementadaptationsintheloggerheadseaturtlecarettacarettamitigateclutchfailurecausedbycatastrophicstormsandpredators
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Multiple maternal risk-management adaptations in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) mitigate clutch failure caused by catastrophic storms and predators

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