ABSTRACT: Populations are more effectively managed with information on breeding and dispersal behavior, making the evaluation of these characteristics essential for effective conservation of a species. In the USA, 2 critical habitat units were designated in 2009 for the federally endangered smalltooth sawfish Pristis pectinata. Previous research in the Charlotte Harbor Estuary Unit (CHEU) of critical habitat shows that female smalltooth sawfish are polyandrous and highly philopatric to nursery grounds. However, these characteristics have not yet been examined in a larger area of designated critical habitat: the Ten Thousand Islands/Everglades Unit (TTIEU). We used microsatellite genotypes from 214 juvenile smalltooth sawfish to examine mating and dispersal behavior via sibship analyses and reconstruction of parental genotypes with the program COLONY. Parental reconstruction yielded 71 female and 117 male genotypes. Many females returned to the same region within TTIEU for parturition on a biennial cycle; however, at least 1 female switched parturition sites within TTIEU and at least 2 females produced litters in both TTIEU and CHEU over the study period. The maximum number of pups genetically assigned to 1 female was 12, a number that is consistent with that found for CHEU (8 pups), and within the litter size range reported (7 to 14) for the species. Confirmation of these mating behaviors and reproductive characteristics is important for understanding how the present population uses these protected habitats at different life stages, and for determining future habitat protection and population expansion strategies to restore smalltooth sawfish to previously occupied areas of their range.

中文翻译：

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小齿锯鳐的雌性亲缘关系：保护和管理意义

摘要：通过繁殖和传播行为的信息可以更有效地管理种群，因此评估这些特征对于有效保护物种至关重要。在美国，2009 年为联邦濒危小齿锯鳐 Pristis pectinata指定了 2 个重要栖息地单位. 先前在重要栖息地的夏洛特港河口单位 (CHEU) 进行的研究表明，雌性小齿锯鳐是一夫多妻的，并且对育苗场具有高度的亲情性。然而，这些特征尚未在更大的指定关键栖息地区域进行检查：万岛/大沼泽地单位 (TTIEU)。我们使用来自 214 条幼齿锯鳐的微卫星基因型，通过亲本分析和使用 COLONY 程序重建亲本基因型来检查交配和扩散行为。亲本重建产生了 71 个女性和 117 个男性基因型。许多女性以两年为周期返回 TTIEU 内的同一地区进行分娩；然而，在研究期间，至少有 1 名雌性在 TTIEU 内更换了分娩地点，并且至少有 2 名雌性在 TTIEU 和 CHEU 中产仔。遗传分配给 1 只雌性的幼崽的最大数量为 12，这个数字与 CHEU 发现的数量一致（8 只幼崽），并且在该物种报告的窝产仔数范围内（7 到 14 只）。确认这些交配行为和繁殖特征对于了解当前种群如何在不同的生命阶段使用这些受保护的栖息地，以及确定未来的栖息地保护和种群扩张策略以将小齿锯鳐恢复到先前占据的栖息地区域非常重要。