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Sex ratio of immature Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempi) from Gullivan Bay, Ten Thousand Islands, south-west Florida

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2005

W.N. Witzell ,
A.A. Geis ,
J.R. Schmid  and
T. Wibbels
W.N. Witzell
Affiliation:
National Marine Fisheries Service, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, Florida 33149, USA
A.A. Geis
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1300 University Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA
J.R. Schmid
Affiliation:
Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, Florida 33149, USA The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, 1450 Merrihue Drive, Naples, Florida, 34102, USA
T. Wibbels
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1300 University Boulevard, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA
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Abstract

The sex ratio of 100 immature Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempi) captured in Gullivan Bay, Ten Thousand Islands, south-west Florida was determined through radioimmunoassay analysis (RIA) of plasma testosterone levels. We determined the sex ratio to be 1·9F:1·0M, corroborating the female dominance reported from other studies. The mean sizes of female (N=57) and male turtles (N=30) were 40·9 cm (±6·9 SD) and 41·9 cm (±6·2 SD), respectively. There were an additional 13 turtles (41·3 cm±6·5 SD) for which sex could not be determined by this technique. Female-biased sex ratios are not uncommon in reptiles with temperature dependent sex determination. If fecundity is not male-limited, the occurrence of a female-biased sex ratio could enhance the recovery of the endangered Kemp's ridley turtle.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 85 , Issue 1 , February 2005 , pp. 205 - 208
Copyright
2005 Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

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