Hatchling Size in the Turtle Chrysemys picta bellii from Western Nebraska: Relationships to Egg and Maternal Body Size

Abstract

Eggs of the turtle Chrysemys picta bellii from four western Nebraska populations were incubated under laboratory conditions to compare egg size and hatchling size as measures of offspring size among populations and in the context of maternal body size. Generally, hatchling size (mass and carapace length) was linearly related to egg size (mass, width, and length) and did not vary between the two years of the study or among populations after adjusting for egg size. However, hatchling carapace length adjusted for egg width was greatest in a population with the most elongate eggs indicating that linear egg measurements may not be useful for interpopulation comparisons. The smaller range of variation, but greater variability in hatchling size relative to egg size and a narrow range of maternal body sizes (carapace length and mass), seemed to preclude a correlation between maternal body size and hatchling size within two populations. In two other populations, hatchling carapace length, egg width, and egg length increased with maternal carapace length by a common slope, although egg wet mass had a steeper slope than did hatchling wet mass. It is probable that under natural incubation conditions (e.g., warmer, drier, and more variable), hatchling mass may increase only slightly or not at all with maternal body size. My results suggest that both hatchling and egg size should be considered in turtle life history studies, particularly for models that predict delayed sexual maturation when offspring size and survival increase with maternal body size and age.