title: The effect of thermal variance on the phenotype of marine turtle offspring.
abstract: Temperature can have a profound effect on the phenotype of reptilian offspring, yet the bulk of current research considers the effects of constant incubation temperatures on offspring morphology, with few studies examining the natural thermal variance that occurs in the wild. Over two consecutive nesting seasons, we placed temperature data loggers in 57 naturally incubating clutches of loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta and found that greater diel thermal variance during incubation significantly reduced offspring mass, potentially reducing survival of hatchlings during their journey from the nest to offshore waters and beyond. With predicted scenarios of climate change, behavioral plasticity in nest site selection may be key for the survival of ectothermic species, particularly those with temperature-dependent sex determination.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, United Kingdom; 2Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Near East University, Nicosia, North Cyprus, Mersin 10, Turkey; 3North Cyprus Society for Protection of Turtles, PK65, Kyrenia, North Cyprus, Mersin 10, Turkey.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Horne
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Godley
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Rhodes
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Snape
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Broderick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003535:Cyprus; D005260:Female; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D010058:Oviposition; D010641:Phenotype; D013696:Temperature; D014426:Turtles / Q000502:physiology*