Inter-Seasonal Maintenance of Individual Nest Site Preferences in Hawksbill Sea Turtles

Within a single population of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), we found a behavioral polymorphism for maternal nest site choice with respect to beach microhabitat characteristics. Some females preferred to nest in littoral forest and in places with overstory vegetation cover, and othe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Ecology (Durham) Vol. 87; no. 11; pp. 2947 - 2952
Main Authors:	Kamel, Stephanie J., Mrosovsky, N., Mirosovsky, M.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Washington, DC Ecological Society of America 01-11-2006
Subjects:	Amphibia. Reptilia Animal and plant ecology Animal behavior Animal nesting Animal, plant and microbial ecology Animals Bathing Beaches Beaches behavioral polymorphism Biological and medical sciences Clutch Size Ecosystem Eretmochelys imbricata Female Female animals Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology General aspects Geography Guadeloupe Habitats hawksbill sea turtle Linear Models Marine ecology Microhabitats nest-site choice Nesting Behavior - physiology Nesting sites Overstory Plants plasticity Polymorphism preference Reptiles & amphibians sea turtle Sea turtles Sex determination sex ratio Studies temperature-dependent sex determination Trees Turtles Turtles - physiology Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution Guadeloupe Nesting site Temperature sea turtle Eretmochelys imbricata Sex ratio Vertebrata Chelonia Sex determination Preference Seasonal variation Plasticity nest-site choice behavioral polymorphism hawksbill sea turtle Reptilia Behavior temperature-dependent sex determination Polymorphism
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Summary:	Within a single population of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), we found a behavioral polymorphism for maternal nest site choice with respect to beach microhabitat characteristics. Some females preferred to nest in littoral forest and in places with overstory vegetation cover, and others preferred to nest in more open, deforested areas. Nest site choice was consistent within and between nesting seasons two years apart. This was not a result of females simply returning to the same location along the shoreline; beach sections used by individual turtles varied between seasons. Nest site choice was not influenced by changes in beach environment (e.g., beach width and foliage cover) or by changes in females' reproductive output (e.g., clutch size), suggesting that fidelity to particular microhabitats is a major determinant of the observed nesting patterns. Because hawksbills exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination, if the behavioral polymorphism in nest site choice has a genetic basis, as is plausible, then this would have implications for sex ratio evolution and offspring survival. By taking an individual-based approach to the study of maternal behavior we reveal previously overlooked individual variation and hope to provide some impetus for more detailed studies of nest site choice.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0012-9658 1939-9170
DOI:	10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[2947:IMOINS]2.0.CO;2