Evidence of aquatic plant seed dispersal by eastern painted turtles (Chrysemys picta picta) in Massachusetts, USA

2018 ◽  
Vol 149 ◽  
pp. 40-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. Padgett ◽  
Meghan Joyal ◽  
Sydney Quirk ◽  
Melissa Laubi ◽  
Thilina D. Surasinghe
1993 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nat B. Frazer ◽  
Judith L. Greene ◽  
J. Whitfield Gibbons

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1046-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon F. Timmers ◽  
Paul D. Lewis Jr.

One new monogenean is described and 11 other helminths are reported from painted turtles from eastern Manitoba. Polystomoides pauli sp.n. from the host's oral mucosa most closely resembles P. coronatum (Leidy) and P. oris Paul. It differs from the former in having more and larger genital coronet spines, and possession of anterior cecal diverticula, and from the latter in size, larger number of genital coronet spines, and possession of great hooks with entire, not bifid, roots. Price's emendation of P. coronatum to include five species he held to be its synonyms is rejected; and the five species, P. opacum Stunkard, P. megacotyle Stunkard, P. microcotyle Stunkard, P. albicollis MacCallum, and P. digitatum MacCallum are designated species inquirendae. Polystomoides coronatum is restricted to the redescription given for it by Stunkard. The trematodes Crepidostomum sp., Eustomos chelydrae, Microphallus opacus, Protenes angustus, Spirorchis parvus, S. scripta, Telorchis attenuatus, and T. corti, the cestode Proteocephalus sp., and the nematodes Serpinema trispinosa and Spiroxys contortus are reported from Chrysemys picta belli. Except for P. angustus, all represent first reports from turtles in Canada. This is the first report of E. chelydrae from the host stomach, and the second report of M. opacus from naturally infected turtles.


1981 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary C. Packard ◽  
Mary J. Packard ◽  
Thomas J. Boardman

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (8) ◽  
pp. 1129-1137 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.R. Caldwell ◽  
V.O. Nams

Orientation mechanisms allow animals to spend minimal time in hostile areas while reaching needed resources. Identification of the specific mechanism used by an animal can be difficult, but examining an animal's path in familiar and unfamiliar areas can provide clues to the type of mechanism in use. Semiaquatic turtles are known to use a homing mechanism in familiar territory to locate their home lake while on land, but little is known about their ability to locate habitat in unfamiliar territory. We tested the tortuosity and orientation of 60 eastern painted turtles ( Chrysemys picta picta (Schneider, 1783)). We released turtles at 20 release points located at five distances and in two directions from two unfamiliar lakes. Turtle trails were quite straight (fractal dimension between 1.1 and 1.025) but were not oriented towards water from any distance (V-test; u < 0.72; P > 0.1). Turtles maintained their initially chosen direction but either could not detect water or were not motivated to reach it. Furthermore, paths were straighter at larger spatial scales than at smaller spatial scales, which could not have occurred if the turtles had been using a correlated random walk. Turtles must therefore be using a reference stimulus for navigation even in unfamiliar areas.


1991 ◽  
Vol 125 (2) ◽  
pp. 245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nat B. Frazer ◽  
J. Whitfield Gibbons ◽  
Judith L. Greene

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine L. Stuble ◽  
Courtney M. Patterson ◽  
Mariano A. Rodriguez-Cabal ◽  
Relena R. Ribbons ◽  
Robert R. Dunn ◽  
...  

Climate change affects communities both directly and indirectly via changes in interspecific interactions. One such interaction that may be altered under climate change is the ant-plant seed dispersal mutualism common in deciduous forests of the eastern US. As climatic warming alters the abundance and activity levels of ants, the potential exists for shifts in rates of ant-mediated seed removal. We used an experimental temperature manipulation at two sites in the eastern US (Harvard Forest in Massachusetts and Duke Forest in North Carolina) to examine the potential impacts of climatic warming on overall rates of seed dispersal (using Asarum canadense seeds) as well as species-specific rates of seed dispersal at the Duke Forest site. We also examined the relationship between ant critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and the mean seed removal temperature for each ant species. We found that seed removal rates did not change as a result of experimental warming at either study site, nor were there any changes in species-specific rates of seed dispersal. There was, however, a positive relationship between CTmax and mean seed removal temperature, whereby species with higher CTmax removed more seeds at hotter temperatures. The temperature at which seeds were removed was influenced by experimental warming as well as diurnal and day-to-day fluctuations in temperature. Taken together, our results suggest that while temperature may play a role in regulating seed removal by ants, ant plant seed-dispersal mutualisms may be more robust to climate change than currently assumed.


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