Reprint: A Review of Patterns of Multiple Paternity Across Sea Turtle Rookeries

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Behavioral Ecology
• Conservation Science

Background:

• The evolutionary reasons for female mating with multiple partners, leading to multiple paternity, remain debated.
• Hypotheses suggest either direct benefits to females or it being a consequence of male harassment and encounter rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the drivers of multiple paternity in sea turtles.
• To test competing hypotheses: female benefits versus encounter rates.

Main Methods:

• Reviewed incidence of multiple paternity across 30 sea turtle rookeries globally.
• Utilized high-resolution at-sea GPS tracking to analyze individual movement patterns.
• Combined movement data with abundance to calculate "packing density".

Main Results:

• Multiple paternity showed a weak initial link to rookery size (r²=0.14).
• Packing density, influenced by movement patterns, strongly correlated with multiple paternity (r²=0.96).
• High packing densities (up to 100x) occurred when individuals shared focal areas.

Conclusions:

• Multiple paternity in sea turtles appears to be a consequence of high male-female encounter rates.
• Female mating strategies may not confer direct benefits but are influenced by spatial ecology and density.