Original scientific paper

Investigating temperature tolerance in wild broods of Trachemys scripta elegans (Reptilia: Testudines: Emydidae) in Austria

Andreas Kleewein ; University of Vienna, Department of Integrative Zoology, Althanstraße 14, A-1090 Vienna, Austria

Abstract

Reproduction of the freshwater chelonian, the red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans (Wied-Neuwied, 1836), has been documented numerous times in the wild in Europe. The aim of this work was to show the temperature tolerance in wild broods of T. s. elegans in Austria. In the Austrian province of Carinthia, this allochthonous subspecies displays a huge tolerance regarding clutch temperature. Clutch temperature was measured in half-hour intervals during the entire incubation period of 118 days. The greatest variation in temperature in a single day ranged from 19.3°C to 37.1°C: a shift of 17.8°C. The maximum temperature reached during the entire incubation period was 38.7°C, the minimum temperature was 11.5°C. Average temperature was 22.5°C. Shell dimensions and weight of hatchlings were low. This indicates a negative influence of the extreme temperatures in clutches that are incubated under natural conditions in Austria. Nevertheless, broods in the wild are to be expected much more frequently in Europe than hitherto assumed.

Keywords

Reproduction; clutch temperature; temperature variation; incubation period

Hrčak ID:

147159

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/147159

Publication date:

31.7.2015.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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