The Growth of the Slider Turtle, Pseudemys Scripta Elegans
1946; University of Notre Dame; Volume: 36; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/2421465
ISSN1938-4238
Autores Tópico(s)Avian ecology and behavior
ResumoThe naturalist's fragmentary knowledge of the habits and life history of turtles has been only feebly augmented since the days of Agassiz. The modern herpetologist has no thorough knowledge of the ecology of any one species and little or no information is available on the bionomics of many others. In 1939 a long term program designed to collect data on the turtles of Illinois was initiated at Carbondale, in the southern part of the state, and data have been accumulated on many phases of the life histories of the more abundant species. In an attempt to obtain data on growth, longevity, attainment of sexual maturity, migration, home ranges, and associated problems, approximately 3000 turtles have been marked and released, and about 500 of these have been recovered at least once. Several hundred stomachs and gonads have been preserved for the study of food and for the analysis of the sex cycle. The present report, concerning growth in the slider turtle Pseudernys scripta elegans Wied, represents the first segment of a long term program on the bionomics of this form. The primary purposes of this paper are: (a) to present and evaluate techniques for studying absolute growth in turtles and (b) to summarize our knowledge of the growth of the turtle named in southern Illinois.
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