Abstract
Abstract Von Bertalanffy growth-curve parameters were calculated from plastral annuli of specimens of Graptemys ouachitensis and G. pseudogeographica kohnii captured in western Kentucky, and museum specimens of G. ernsti from Alabama and G. caglei (males only) from Texas. Males had estimated values of k (intrinsic rate of growth toward asymptotic plastron length, PLA) ranging from 0.264 to 0.498. Values of k for females of three species (range 0.110–0.182) were significantly less than the corresponding values for males, whereas PLA values for females (range 175.3–220.2 mm) greatly exceeded PLA values of males (range 91.5–114.5 mm). There was a significant negative correlation of PLA with k within 13 emydid turtle populations for which von Bertalanffy parameter estimates were available, with a slope similar to those reported for fish taxa; however, this relationship was not evident for either male values or female values when data were analyzed by phylogenetically independent contrasts. Use of the Richards...
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call