Abstract

Northern diamondback terrapin (<span style="font-family: mceinline;"><em>malaclemys terrapin</em>) turtle </span>hatchlings raised as part of a laboratory headstarting program are the focus of kin recognition studies taking place at Boston College. Experiments examining basking behaviors in 13 trials of familiar kin and 11 trials of unfamiliar non-kin. Familiar kin averaged more aggressive engagements per trial (2.44 vs. 0.36), more displacements per trial (13.36 vs. 3.91), and more instances of climbing on one another (13.36 vs. 2.36). Familiar kin basked in congregations more frequently per trial than unfamiliar non-kin. These data suggest that diamondback terrapins treat each other differently based on either kinship or familiarity-or both. Further research will be conducted on familiar and unfamiliar kin and non-kin groupings to help elucidate the existing data by determining which variable has greater consequence and if Hamilton's kin selection theory can be applied to terrapin juvenile social behavior.

Highlights

  • Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are a brackish species of water turtle, living i n salt marshes, whose range includes most of the eastern seaboard of the United States, extending from Florida to Cape Cod, Massachusetts

  • The Boston College Diamondback terrapin headstarting project recovers nests that are highly vulnerable and unlikely to hatch from Sandy Neck Barrier Beach i n Barnstable, Massachusetts on Cape Cod

  • As such, raising Diamondback terrapins in a laboratory setting for the first ten months of their lives may impact their ability to cope with challenges i n their natural environment once they have been released, including interactions with wild conspecifics

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are a brackish species of water turtle, living i n salt marshes, whose range includes most of the eastern seaboard of the United States, extending from Florida to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Boston College Diamondback terrapin headstarting project recovers nests that are highly vulnerable and unlikely to hatch from Sandy Neck Barrier Beach i n Barnstable, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. Selected nests are incubated, the eggs hatched, and the hatchlings reared i n a laboratory setting for a ten-month period. As such, raising Diamondback terrapins in a laboratory setting for the first ten months of their lives may impact their ability to cope with challenges i n their natural environment once they have been released, including interactions with wild conspecifics (members of the same species)

Methods
Results
Conclusion
Full Text
Paper version not known

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

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.