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The adaptive significance of temperature-dependent sex determination in a reptile

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  • D. A. Warner

    (School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
    Present address: Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.)

  • R. Shine

    (School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia)

Abstract

Sex determined by degrees In mammals and birds, sex is determined by genotype, at fertilization. But many reptiles, hedge their bets, determining the sex of an individual by interaction with the environment, typically temperature. Thirty years ago, Eric Charnov and James Bull (Nature 266, 828–830; 1977) speculated that environmental sex determination will be favoured by selection if it could be shown that different temperature regimes maximized reproductive fitness for each sex. Until now it has not been confirmed, partly because of the difficulty of setting up a 'control' experiment in which the 'wrong' sex is produced at a given temperature. Hormone treatments have been used to overcome this difficulty, and Daniel Warner and Rick Shine now confirm, in a species of Australian lizard, that the Charnov/Bull model is correct.

Suggested Citation

  • D. A. Warner & R. Shine, 2008. "The adaptive significance of temperature-dependent sex determination in a reptile," Nature, Nature, vol. 451(7178), pages 566-568, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:451:y:2008:i:7178:d:10.1038_nature06519
    DOI: 10.1038/nature06519
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    Cited by:

    1. Sylvain Dubey & Richard Shine, 2011. "Predicting the effects of climate change on reproductive fitness of an endangered montane lizard, Eulamprus leuraensis (Scincidae)," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 531-547, August.
    2. Boyle, Maria & Schwanz, Lisa & Hone, Jim & Georges, Arthur, 2016. "Dispersal and climate warming determine range shift in model reptile populations," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 328(C), pages 34-43.
    3. Parrott, Amy & David Logan, J., 2010. "Effects of temperature variation on TSD in turtle (C. picta) populations," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(10), pages 1378-1393.

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