Hatching Failure in Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) Is Linked to Maternal Identity
Wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) have been suffering range-wide population declines since the 1900s. Most monitoring efforts of these turtles involve population surveys to assess population size and viability but relatively few investigate rates of reproductive success. We collected four consecuti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.836800/full |
| _version_ | 1811343353702252544 |
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| author | Thomas J. Duchak Thomas J. Duchak Russell L. Burke |
| author_facet | Thomas J. Duchak Thomas J. Duchak Russell L. Burke |
| author_sort | Thomas J. Duchak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) have been suffering range-wide population declines since the 1900s. Most monitoring efforts of these turtles involve population surveys to assess population size and viability but relatively few investigate rates of reproductive success. We collected four consecutive years (2013–2016) of wood turtle nesting data at a nesting site in northwestern New Jersey; population-level hatching success was unusually low. Furthermore, annual, intra-individual hatch rates and comparisons between natural and artificial incubation revealed that approximately half of all females usually produced clutches with low (<50%) hatch rates, regardless of incubation conditions. In contrast, the annual hatch rates of other females were either consistently high (>50%) or highly variable, ranging from 0 to 100%. Thus, some adult females are potentially making much larger contributions to the next generation than others. A repeatability analysis suggested that approximately 60% of the hatch rate variability observed in this population can be attributed to maternal identity. The remaining 40% may be attributed to the random environmental factors that are often theorized to be potential reasons for reduced hatch rates in turtle populations (e.g., unsuitable incubation conditions, flooding, desiccation, egg infertility, egg damage due to improper handling by researchers, root and insect predation, and microbial infection). The ultimate causes of this population’s hatching success variability are uncertain, but maternally-linked hatching failure in turtle populations could be associated with inbreeding, infertility, senescence, inadequate maternal diets, or environmental contamination. This study indicates that commonly suggested hypotheses for hatching failure, such as unsuitable incubation conditions or infertility, are unlikely to explain all of the hatch rate variability in some turtle populations. This study also reveals a cryptic conservation implication for vulnerable turtle populations: that the presence of many nesting females and nests does not necessarily assure high or even sustainable reproductive rates. When coupled with the high rates of nest predation and low juvenile survival rates that are common in most turtle populations, the exceedingly low hatch rates observed in this population suggest that recruitment in some turtle populations could be severely hindered even when nests are protected in the field or incubated in laboratory settings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:27:52Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:27:52Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-611bb96bb1384a229028645bca426ea42022-12-22T02:33:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2022-06-011010.3389/fevo.2022.836800836800Hatching Failure in Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) Is Linked to Maternal IdentityThomas J. Duchak0Thomas J. Duchak1Russell L. Burke2Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, United StatesDepartment of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University Newark, Newark, NJ, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, United StatesWood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) have been suffering range-wide population declines since the 1900s. Most monitoring efforts of these turtles involve population surveys to assess population size and viability but relatively few investigate rates of reproductive success. We collected four consecutive years (2013–2016) of wood turtle nesting data at a nesting site in northwestern New Jersey; population-level hatching success was unusually low. Furthermore, annual, intra-individual hatch rates and comparisons between natural and artificial incubation revealed that approximately half of all females usually produced clutches with low (<50%) hatch rates, regardless of incubation conditions. In contrast, the annual hatch rates of other females were either consistently high (>50%) or highly variable, ranging from 0 to 100%. Thus, some adult females are potentially making much larger contributions to the next generation than others. A repeatability analysis suggested that approximately 60% of the hatch rate variability observed in this population can be attributed to maternal identity. The remaining 40% may be attributed to the random environmental factors that are often theorized to be potential reasons for reduced hatch rates in turtle populations (e.g., unsuitable incubation conditions, flooding, desiccation, egg infertility, egg damage due to improper handling by researchers, root and insect predation, and microbial infection). The ultimate causes of this population’s hatching success variability are uncertain, but maternally-linked hatching failure in turtle populations could be associated with inbreeding, infertility, senescence, inadequate maternal diets, or environmental contamination. This study indicates that commonly suggested hypotheses for hatching failure, such as unsuitable incubation conditions or infertility, are unlikely to explain all of the hatch rate variability in some turtle populations. This study also reveals a cryptic conservation implication for vulnerable turtle populations: that the presence of many nesting females and nests does not necessarily assure high or even sustainable reproductive rates. When coupled with the high rates of nest predation and low juvenile survival rates that are common in most turtle populations, the exceedingly low hatch rates observed in this population suggest that recruitment in some turtle populations could be severely hindered even when nests are protected in the field or incubated in laboratory settings.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.836800/fullreproductive ecologyhatching successmulti-year turtle nesting studyrepeatabilityegg incompetencematernal effects |
| spellingShingle | Thomas J. Duchak Thomas J. Duchak Russell L. Burke Hatching Failure in Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) Is Linked to Maternal Identity Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution reproductive ecology hatching success multi-year turtle nesting study repeatability egg incompetence maternal effects |
| title | Hatching Failure in Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) Is Linked to Maternal Identity |
| title_full | Hatching Failure in Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) Is Linked to Maternal Identity |
| title_fullStr | Hatching Failure in Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) Is Linked to Maternal Identity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hatching Failure in Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) Is Linked to Maternal Identity |
| title_short | Hatching Failure in Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) Is Linked to Maternal Identity |
| title_sort | hatching failure in wood turtles glyptemys insculpta is linked to maternal identity |
| topic | reproductive ecology hatching success multi-year turtle nesting study repeatability egg incompetence maternal effects |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.836800/full |
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