Differential early–life survival underlies the adaptive significance of temperature–dependent sex determination in a long–lived reptile

Journal Article · Tue Sep 19 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Functional Ecology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14420· OSTI ID:2350671

Bock, Samantha L. ^[1]; Loera, Yeraldi ^[2]; Johnson, Josiah M. ^[3]; Smaga, Christopher R. ^[3]; Haskins, David L. ^[4]; Tuberville, Tracey D. ^[5]; Singh, Randeep ^[6]; Rainwater, Thomas R. ^[7]; Wilkinson, Philip M. ^[8]; Parrott, Benjamin B. ^[3]

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1. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States); Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL); Savannah River Ecology Laboratory - University of Georgia
2. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
3. Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States); Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL)
4. Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL); Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)
5. Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL)
6. Clemson Univ., Georgetown, SC (United States)
7. Clemson Univ., Georgetown, SC (United States); Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, Georgetown, SC (United States)
8. Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center, Georgetown, SC (United States)

1. Many ectotherms rely on temperature cues experienced during development to determine offspring sex. The first descriptions of temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) were made over 50 years ago, yet an understanding of its adaptive significance remains elusive, especially in long-lived taxa. 2. One novel hypothesis predicts that TSD should be evolutionarily favoured when two criteria are met—(a) incubation temperature influences annual juvenile survival and (b) sexes mature at different ages. Under these conditions, a sex-dependent effect of incubation temperature on offspring fitness arises through differences in age at sexual maturity, with the sex that matures later benefiting disproportionately from temperatures that promote juvenile survival. 3. The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) serves as an insightful model in which to test this hypothesis, as males begin reproducing nearly a decade after females. Here, through a combination of artificial incubation experiments and mark-recapture approaches, we test the specific predictions of the survival-to-maturity hypothesis for the adaptive value of TSD by disentangling the effects of incubation temperature and sex on annual survival of alligator hatchlings across two geographically distinct sites. 4. Hatchlings incubated at male-promoting temperatures (MPTs) consistently exhibited higher survival compared to those incubated at female-promoting temperatures. This pattern appears independent of hatchling sex, as females produced from hormone manipulation at MPT exhibit similar survival to their male counterparts. 5. Additional experiments show that incubation temperature may affect early-life survival primarily by affecting the efficiency with which maternally transferred energy resources are used during development. 6. Results from this study provide the first explicit empirical support for the adaptive value of TSD in a crocodilian and point to developmental energetics as a potential unifying mechanism underlying persistent survival consequences of incubation temperature.

• Research Organization: Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL)
• Sponsoring Organization: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM)
• Grant/Contract Number: EM0005228
• OSTI ID: 2350671
• Journal Information: Functional Ecology, Journal Name: Functional Ecology Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 37; ISSN 0269-8463
• Publisher: British Ecological Society; Wiley
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
evolution
reptile
survival
temperature-dependent sex determination