Try this article, it is great! It is also relatively easy to read and understand!
The gist is...
- turtles store sperm: "Sperm storage tubules in turtles are located in the posterior portion of the albumin-secreting region of the oviduct, a position different from that of other vertebrates"
- lots of papas: "To date, only a handful of surveys have examined genetic paternity in turtle broods from nature, but virtually every study has documented multiple paternity, typically in a high percentage of clutches" and "sperm from multiple males are often present in a female's reproductive tract simultaneously, and that these stored sperm can result in multiple sires within a clutch."
- it lasts at least three years: " painted turtles on the Mississippi River, more than 20% of the 32 females assayed were documented to have used only one male's sperm each for at least two and in one case three consecutive years. "
- it does not seem to degrade much: "This sperm storage came at no apparent fitness cost to the females, because clutches fertilized by stored sperm both within and across years had the same hatching success rate as clutches fathered by newly acquired sperm "
This is a great article that covers a lot of the issues involved- why, benefits, etc.
Hope this helps!
The gist is...
- turtles store sperm: "Sperm storage tubules in turtles are located in the posterior portion of the albumin-secreting region of the oviduct, a position different from that of other vertebrates"
- lots of papas: "To date, only a handful of surveys have examined genetic paternity in turtle broods from nature, but virtually every study has documented multiple paternity, typically in a high percentage of clutches" and "sperm from multiple males are often present in a female's reproductive tract simultaneously, and that these stored sperm can result in multiple sires within a clutch."
- it lasts at least three years: " painted turtles on the Mississippi River, more than 20% of the 32 females assayed were documented to have used only one male's sperm each for at least two and in one case three consecutive years. "
- it does not seem to degrade much: "This sperm storage came at no apparent fitness cost to the females, because clutches fertilized by stored sperm both within and across years had the same hatching success rate as clutches fathered by newly acquired sperm "
This is a great article that covers a lot of the issues involved- why, benefits, etc.
Hope this helps!