Adult Sex-Ratio Bias Does Not Lead to Detectable Adaptive Offspring Sex Allocation Via Nest-Site Choice in a Turtle With Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination.

ABSTRACT: Sex-ratio theory predicts that parents can optimise their fitness by producing offspring of the rare sex, yet there is a dearth of empirical evidence for adaptive sex allocation in response to the adult sex ratio (ASR). This is concerning, as anthropogenic disruption of the sex ratios of reproductive individuals threatens to cause demographic collapse in animal populations. Species with environmental sex determination (ESD) are especially at risk but may possess the capacity to adaptively influence offspring sex via control over the developmental environment. For example, reptiles with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) could conceivably choose nest sites with thermal characteristics that produce offspring of the rare sex. To test this hypothesis, we seeded three secure outdoor

SUBMITTER: Crowther C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11560344 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature