Meeting Abstract
P3.40 Thursday, Jan. 6 Long-Term Study of Loggerhead Sea Turtle Hatchling Sex Ratios on Two Georgia Barrier Islands (2000-2010) WILLIAMS, K. L.*; FRICK, M. G.; LEBLANC, A. M.; DRAKE, K. K.; TUTTLE, J.; SPARROW, J.; ROSTAL, D.; Caretta Research Project, Savannah, GA; Friends of the National Zoo, Washington DC; Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA; Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA; Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA; Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA; Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA wassawcrp@aol.com
Hatchling sex ratios have been reported for loggerhead sea turtle beaches worldwide. Most studies have estimated sex ratios by recording nest temperatures throughout incubation for one or two seasons and have extrapolated those results to previous years. Alternatively, researchers have analyzed nest incubation durations, as speed of development increases with warmer temperatures, thus producing female hatchlings. However, there are many factors influencing nest temperatures both within and among seasons, including time of season, placement of nest on the beach and yearly environmental conditions. We estimated the sex ratios of 455 nests on Wassaw and Blackbeard Islands, Georgia from 2000-2010 using the pivotal temperature of 28.9oC reported by LeBlanc (2004). Most years produced a female biased sex ratio. No years were completely male biased. Mean incubation temperatures and mean critical period temperatures varied by both time of season and year, re-enforcing the importance of considering such fluctuations when making projections for management and conservation efforts.
