A comparison of non-surgical methods for sexing young gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus)

ABSTRACT: Many turtle species have temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), raising the prospect that climate change could impact population dynamics by altering sex ratios. Understanding how climate change will affect populations of animals with TSD requires a reliable and minimally invasive method of identifying the sexes of young individuals. This determination is challenging in many turtles, which often lack conspicuous external sexual dimorphism until years after hatching. Here, we explore four alternatives for sexing three age classes of captive-reared young gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), a terrestrial turtle of conservation concern native to the southeastern United States: (1) naive testosterone levels, (2) testosterone levels following a follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) chal

SUBMITTER: Loope K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9205304 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature