Reptile Reproduction

Dear Colleagues,

Reproductive biology is an important part of snake life history, and the evolutionary understanding causes trends such as timing of events in the reproductive cycle, frequency of reproduction in females, number and size of offspring, and size at reproductive maturity. Many ecological studies provide considerable information on the role of species and their adaptation to the environment, which can influence or even determine reproductive patterns, as in the case of associated or dissociated cycles of gametogenesis. Among snakes, the asynchronous nature of the timing of spermatogenesis, vitellogenesis, mating, and ovulation may present prolonged periods before the sperm may be utilized (Birkhead and Møller, 1993. Almeida-Santos and Salomão, 2002).

Thus, the evolution of long-term or short-term sperm storage is the result of ecological factors that select for the mating season in females. These models assume that it is the female that determines the mating season, and several investigators have suggested that shedding is a part of the estrus signal in snakes: with an ecdysis, pheromones are released, informing males about the female’s reproductive status. As a result, the characteristics of the behavior of snakes within the male–male combat, and mating aggregations in many species, attract a lot of attention.

The timing of physiological events such as spermatogenesis, vitellogenesis, sperm storage in oviducts, and the renal sexual segment can only be studied by examining tissue from preserved specimens that have been collected and deposited in museums. The sexual segment of the kidney (SSK) is often hypertrophied during spermatogenesis due to the influence of androgens (see Schuett et al., 2002). However, its function is largely unknown, and it has been hypothesized to function within the one or more ways related to mating, including sperm activation and/or contribution to semen (Sever et al., 2012).

Other studies can be carried out in laboratory or free-ranging snakes via ultrasonography, such as timing of vitellogenesis, ovulation, and the progression of gestation. However, the vast majority of snake populations are not being studied by radiotelemetry, few studies track females at all, and even fewer have access to portable ultrasound equipment to bring to the field. The best studies therefore use both field and laboratory techniques, including the study of preserved specimens, to try to fully understand species’ reproductive biology.

Dr. Selma Maria De Almeida-Santos
Guest Editor

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