scholarly journals Post-Emergence Movements and Overwintering of Snapping Turtle, Chelydra serpentina, Hatchlings in New York and New Hampshire

2007 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon R. Ultsch ◽  
Matt Draud ◽  
Barry Wicklow
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Shallow Water ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Long Island ◽  
Chelydra Serpentina ◽  
Aquatic Habitats ◽  
Snapping Turtle ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Snapping Turtles

Hatchling Common Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) were captured within, or as they emerged from, their nest cavities in Long Island, New York, and in southeastern New Hampshire. They were fitted with radiotransmitters and released at their nest sites. Their movements were monitored for as long as possible, which for some included tracking them to their overwintering sites and relocating them the following spring. On Long Island, all hatchlings initially moved to water. Later movements were both aquatic and terrestrial, and those that could be located while overwintering had left the water and hibernated in spring seeps, where they were recovered alive the following April. In New Hampshire, hatchlings moved directly to nearby aquatic habitats after emergence, where they spent the winter submerged in shallow water in root masses near banks.

scholarly journals Not just any old pile of dirt: evaluating the use of artificial nesting mounds as conservation tools for freshwater turtles

Oryx ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 607-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Paterson ◽  
Brad D. Steinberg ◽  
Jacqueline D. Litzgus
Keyword(s):  
Hatching Success ◽  
Freshwater Turtle ◽  
Transplant Experiment ◽  
Chelydra Serpentina ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Aquatic Habitats ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Risk Of Mortality ◽  
Nesting Sites ◽  
Gravid Females

AbstractThe viability of freshwater turtle populations is largely dependent on the survivorship of reproducing females but females are frequently killed on roads as they move to nesting sites. Installing artificial nesting mounds may increase recruitment and decrease the risk of mortality for gravid females by enticing them to nest closer to aquatic habitats. We evaluated the effectiveness of artificial nesting mounds installed in Algonquin Park, Canada. Artificial mounds were monitored for 2 years to determine if turtles would select them for nest sites. We also simulated turtle paths from wetlands to nests to determine the probability that females would encounter the new habitat. A transplant experiment with clutches of Chrysemys picta and Chelydra serpentina eggs compared nest success and incubation conditions in the absence of predation between artificial mounds and natural sites. More turtles than expected used the artificial mounds, although mounds comprised a small proportion of the available nesting habitat and the simulations predicted that the probability of females encountering mounds was low. Hatching success was higher in nests transplanted to artificial mounds (93%) than in natural nests (56%), despite no differences in heat units. Greater use than expected, high hatching success, and healthy hatchlings emerging from nests in artificial mounds suggest promise for their use as conservation tools.

scholarly journals Phenotypic plasticity in the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina): long-term physiological effects of chronic hypoxia during embryonic development

2016 ◽  
Vol 310 (2) ◽  
pp. R176-R184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver H. Wearing ◽  
John Eme ◽  
Turk Rhen ◽  
Dane A. Crossley
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Hypoxia ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Physiological Effects ◽  
Chelydra Serpentina ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Snapping Turtle ◽  
Snapping Turtles ◽  
The Common ◽  
Hypoxic Incubation

Studies of embryonic and hatchling reptiles have revealed marked plasticity in morphology, metabolism, and cardiovascular function following chronic hypoxic incubation. However, the long-term effects of chronic hypoxia have not yet been investigated in these animals. The aim of this study was to determine growth and postprandial O2 consumption (V̇o2), heart rate ( fH), and mean arterial pressure ( Pm, in kPa) of common snapping turtles ( Chelydra serpentina) that were incubated as embryos in chronic hypoxia (10% O2, H10) or normoxia (21% O2, N21). We hypothesized that hypoxic development would modify posthatching body mass, metabolic rate, and cardiovascular physiology in juvenile snapping turtles. Yearling H10 turtles were significantly smaller than yearling N21 turtles, both of which were raised posthatching in normoxic, common garden conditions. Measurement of postprandial cardiovascular parameters and O2 consumption were conducted in size-matched three-year-old H10 and N21 turtles. Both before and 12 h after feeding, H10 turtles had a significantly lower fH compared with N21 turtles. In addition, V̇o2 was significantly elevated in H10 animals compared with N21 animals 12 h after feeding, and peak postprandial V̇o2 occurred earlier in H10 animals. Pm of three-year-old turtles was not affected by feeding or hypoxic embryonic incubation. Our findings demonstrate that physiological impacts of developmental hypoxia on embryonic reptiles continue into juvenile life.

A description of intraerythrocytic schizonts and gametocytes of a haemogregarine of the snapping turtle Chelydra serpentina

1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherwin S. Desser
Keyword(s):  
Chelydra Serpentina ◽  
Snapping Turtle ◽  
Snapping Turtles

Examination of blood from 37 snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) from Algonquin Park, Ontario, revealed that all harbored haemogregarine gametocytes. Only after prolonged examination of thin blood films was schizogony observed within erythrocytes of two turtles. Mature schizonts contained six merozoites. The number of merozoites and the scarcity of schizonts are discussed in relation to haemogregarines of other cheloneans, as well as of teleosts and elasmobranchs.

scholarly journals CHEMICAL SIGNALS IN VERTEBRATE PREDATOR-PREY SYSTEMS INVOLVING COMMON MUSK TURTLES, STERNOTHERUS ODORATUS, AND THEIR PREDATORS

2014 ◽  
pp. 69-75
Author(s):  
Don Moll ◽  
Neil Dazet
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Chelydra Serpentina ◽  
Agkistrodon Piscivorus ◽  
Predator Prey ◽  
Snapping Turtle ◽  
Snapping Turtles ◽  
Sternotherus Odoratus ◽  
The Common ◽  
And Control

Rathke’s gland secretions (RGS) of Common Musk Turtles have a variety of proposed functions including predator deterrence and attraction, but experimental studies testing these hypotheses are lacking. This study used laboratory and field experiments to test whether RGS had attraction or repellent effects on two natural predators, the Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus), and the Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina). In a laboratory experiment, we examined latency to feed and consumption times for Cottonmouths offered RGS-treated minnows and control minnows. In a field study, we investigated the ratio of snapping turtles appearing in traps with and without RGS-treated bait. The latency to feed times for Cottonmouths offered RGS-treated minnows were not significantly different from those offered control minnows. However, prey consumption times for Cottonmouths feeding on RGS-treated minnows were significantly greater than those feeding on control minnows. These results suggest that the RGS may lengthen the time of a predation sequence, possibly allowing the turtle more time to escape from the predator. The number of snapping turtles appearing in traps with RGS-treated bait was significantly greater than the number of snapping turtles in traps without RGS-treated bait. These results support the predator attraction hypothesis, where the signal may attract additional predators that interfere with a predation event, providing an opportunity for the prey to escape.

scholarly journals Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) behaviour, interactions with Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina), and their Pleistocene history

2013 ◽  
Vol 127 (2) ◽  
pp. 138
Author(s):  
Harry G. Lumsden
Keyword(s):  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Chelydra Serpentina ◽  
Snapping Turtle ◽  
Cygnus Buccinator ◽  
Snapping Turtles ◽  
Trumpeter Swan ◽  
Trumpeter Swans

Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) prey on and injure Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) cygnets. Adult Trumpeter Swans stamp on and attack turtles, and this sometimes saves the lives of cygnets. Stamping behaviour, duetting, clamouring, and mobbing are directed at predators. The stamping behaviour may be derived from the water treading display. During the Pleistocene ice sheet maxima, all Trumpeter Swans east of the Rockies nested within the range of the Snapping Turtle. Snapping Turtle predation may have selected for the stamping behaviour.

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