Inoculative freezing promotes winter survival in hatchling diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
P J Baker ◽  
J P Costanzo ◽  
R Herlands ◽  
R C Wood ◽  
R E Lee, Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
Winter Survival ◽  
Diamondback Terrapin ◽  
Malaclemys Terrapin ◽  
High Susceptibility ◽  
Freeze Avoidance ◽  
Inoculative Freezing ◽  
Diamondback Terrapins

We investigated the hibernation ecology and cold hardiness of hatchling diamondback terrapins, Malaclemys terrapin (Schoepf, 1793), an estuarine species that reaches 42°N along the Atlantic Ocean. During 3 years of study, about 50% of the nests we monitored harboured hatchlings during winter, and the majority (87%) of these individuals survived despite being intermittently exposed to subfreezing temperatures. Most such exposures were brief (ca. 12 h) and mild (minimum temperature: ca. –1.2 °C); however, turtles were occasionally subjected to longer chilling episodes and lower temperatures. In laboratory experiments, hatchlings supercooled extensively, attaining ca. –15 °C before spontaneously freezing. However, they were highly susceptible to inoculative freezing through contact with external ice and (or) ice-nucleating agents, which occur in nesting soil. Therefore, freeze avoidance through supercooling does not appear to be a viable cold-hardiness strategy in these turtles. Hatchlings subjected to experimental freezing survived exposure to temperatures as low as –3.0 °C, suggesting that freeze tolerance may account for the high winter survival observed in natural nests. We conclude that freeze tolerance in hatchling M. terrapin is promoted by high susceptibility to inoculation, which is known to moderate freezing, allowing cells time to adapt to the attendant physical and osmotic stresses.

Insect cold hardiness: metabolic, gene, and protein adaptation1This review is part of a virtual symposium on recent advances in understanding a variety of complex regulatory processes in insect physiology and endocrinology, including development, metabolism, cold hardiness, food intake and digestion, and diuresis, through the use of omics technologies in the postgenomic era.

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 456-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth B. Storey ◽  
Janet M. Storey
Keyword(s):  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Extracellular Fluid ◽  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
Winter Survival ◽  
Antioxidant Defenses ◽  
Screening Methods ◽  
Freeze Avoidance ◽  
New Information ◽  
Insect Cold Hardiness

Winter survival for thousands of species of insects relies on adaptive strategies for cold hardiness. Two basic mechanisms are widely used (freeze avoidance by deep supercooling and freeze tolerance where insects endure ice formation in extracellular fluid spaces), whereas additional strategies (cryoprotective dehydration, vitrification) are also used by some polar species in extreme environments. This review assesses recent research on the biochemical adaptations that support insect cold hardiness. We examine new information about the regulation of cryoprotectant biosynthesis, mechanisms of metabolic rate depression, role of aquaporins in water and glycerol movement, and cell preservation strategies (chaperones, antioxidant defenses and metal binding proteins, mitochondrial suppression) for survival over the winter. We also review the new information coming from the use of genomic and proteomic screening methods that are greatly widening the scope for discovery of genes and proteins that support winter survival.

Osmoregulation in the Diamondback Terrapin, Malaclemys Terrapin Centrata

1967 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. BENTLEY ◽  
W. L. BRETZ ◽  
KNUT SCHMIDT-NIELSEN
Keyword(s):  
Fresh Water ◽  
Solute Concentration ◽  
Diamondback Terrapin ◽  
Malaclemys Terrapin ◽  
Excess Sodium ◽  
Diamondback Terrapins ◽  
Do So

1. While in hypertonic environment diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys centrata) slowly lose water by osmosis through the integument and as urine through the kidney. 2. Small amounts of sodium are gained, probably largely as a result of diffusion through the integument rather than by drinking, and this sodium is principally excreted extrarenally. Nevertheless, the solute concentration in the blood of such turtles increases. 3. When returned to fresh water the animals rehydrate and excrete accumulated excess sodium. 4. In these ways they could undoubtedly survive for extended periods in the absence of fresh water, but it is not clear whether they could do so indefinitely.

scholarly journals Naive Juvenile Diamondback Terrapins: Kin Recognition in Controlled Encounter Experiments

Elements ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad Macdonald ◽  
Alexis Rife
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Kin Selection ◽  
Kin Recognition ◽  
Diamondback Terrapin ◽  
Malaclemys Terrapin ◽  
Selection Theory ◽  
Boston College ◽  
Diamondback Terrapins ◽  
Existing Data

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.

scholarly journals CHARACTERISTICS OF MANGROVE DIAMONDBACK TERRAPINS (MALACLEMYS TERRAPIN RHIZOPHORARUM) INHABITING ALTERED AND NATURAL MANGROVE ISLANDS

2014 ◽  
pp. 76-80
Author(s):  
Brian K. Mealey ◽  
John D. Baldwin ◽  
Greta B. Parks-Mealey ◽  
Gregory D. Bossart ◽  
Michael R.J. Forstner
Keyword(s):  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Mangrove Ecosystem ◽  
Diamondback Terrapin ◽  
Malaclemys Terrapin ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Mangrove System ◽  
Broad Array ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Biased Sex Ratio ◽  
Diamondback Terrapins

The Mangrove Diamondback Terrapin, (Malaclemys terrapin rhizophorarum) is dependent on a very broad array of the services provided by the mangrove ecosystem. We sought to evaluate both the turtles and their habitat by an integrated assessment of physical, chemical, and physiological parameters. Extreme site fidelity of the turtles to mangrove habitat was evident along with a strong female biased sex ratio. We provide blood serum values and microbial cultures as baselines from these turtles in the wild. Salmonella sp., a potentially zoonotic pathogen, was isolated from one female. Ultimately, the health of these turtle populations may be reflective of the integrity of the mangrove system on which they depend.

Cold-hardiness and dehydration resistance of hatchling Blanding's turtles (Emydoidea blandingii): implications for overwintering in a terrestrial habitat

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 594-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A Dinkelacker ◽  
Jon P Costanzo ◽  
John B Iverson ◽  
Richard E Lee, Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Physiological Responses ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
Frozen Soil ◽  
Terrestrial Habitat ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Emydoidea Blandingii ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Inoculative Freezing

The overwintering habits of hatchling Blanding's turtles, Emydoidea blandingii (Holbrook, 1838), are not well understood. To ascertain whether these turtles are well suited to hibernation on land, we examined susceptibility to dehydration, supercooling capacity, resistance to inoculative freezing, capacity for freeze tolerance, and physiological responses to somatic freezing in laboratory-reared, hatchling E. blandingii. Rates of evaporative water loss (mean ± SE = 4.1 ± 0.2 mg·g–1·d–1) were intermediate to rates previously reported for the hatchlings of species known to hibernate on land and in water. Supercooled hatchlings recovered from a 1-h exposure to –8 °C or a 7-d exposure to –4 °C. Additional turtles supercooled to –14.3 ± 1.2 °C (mean ± SE) before spontaneously freezing. However, when immersed in frozen soil, their capacity to supercool was severely limited by an inability to resist inoculative freezing following contact with external ice and ice nuclei. Therefore, hatchlings likely do not use supercooling as a winter survival strategy. Hatchlings tolerated a 72-h period of somatic freezing to –3.5 °C and responded to somatic freezing by increasing plasma concentrations of the putative cryoprotectants lactate and glucose. Our results suggest that hatchling E. blandingii could overwinter in moist, terrestrial hibernacula where risk of dehydration is reduced and freeze tolerance is promoted.

scholarly journals Dehardening Kinetics, Bud Development, and Dehydrin Metabolism in Blueberry Cultivars during Deacclimation at Constant, Warm Temperatures

2004 ◽  
Vol 129 (5) ◽  
pp. 667-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeev Arora ◽  
Lisa J. Rowland ◽  
Elizabeth L. Ogden ◽  
Anik L. Dhanaraj ◽  
Calin O. Marian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Freeze Tolerance ◽  
Winter Survival ◽  
Cold Sensitivity ◽  
Flower Buds ◽  
Vaccinium Ashei ◽  
Woody Perennials ◽  
Bud Opening ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Southern Species

Loss of freeze tolerance, or deacclimation, is an integral part of winter survival in woody perennials because untimely mid-winter or spring thaws followed by a hard freeze can cause severe injury to dehardened tissues. This study was undertaken to investigate deacclimation kinetics, particularly the timing and speed, of five blueberry (Vaccinium L.) cultivars (`Bluecrop', `Weymouth', `Ozarkblue', `Tifblue', and `Legacy'), with different germplasm compositions and mid-winter bud hardiness levels, in response to an environmentally controlled temperature regime. Based upon bud cold hardiness evaluations in 2000 and 2001, `Tifblue', a Vaccinium ashei Reade cultivar, was one of the least hardy and the fastest to deacclimate; `Bluecrop', a predominantly V. corymbosum L. cultivar, was the most hardy and the slowest to deacclimate; and `Ozarkblue', a predominantly V. corymbosum cultivar but including southern species V. darrowi Camp. and V. ashei, was intermediate in speed of deacclimation. `Weymouth' (predominantly V. corymbosum) and `Legacy' (73.4% V. corymbosum and 25% V. darrowi) were slow to intermediate deacclimators. Deacclimation rates did not correlate strictly with mid-winter bud hardiness. Data suggest that the southern germplasm component V. ashei may be responsible for the observed faster deacclimation whereas both southern species, V. darrowi and V. ashei, may contribute genes for cold sensitivity. Strong positive correlations between stage of bud opening and bud cold hardiness existed in both years (r = 0.90 and 0.82 in 2000 and 2001 study, respectively). Previously identified major blueberry dehydrins, 65-, 60-, and 14-kDa, progressively decreased in their abundance during incremental dehardening in `Bluecrop', `Weymouth', and `Tifblue'. However, down-regulation of the 14-kDa dehydrin most closely mirrored the loss in cold hardiness during deacclimation, and, therefore, may be involved in regulation of bud dehardening. Because differences in deacclimation rate were clearly evident among the genotypes studied, rate of deacclimation of the flower buds of blueberry should be an important consideration in breeding to improve winter survival.

scholarly journals Do diets vary over large spatial or temporal ranges? A test using interannual and interpopulation data on Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) diets

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-257
Author(s):  
Kayleigh Rose Erazmus ◽  
Miranda P. Figueras ◽  
Luca Luiselli ◽  
Russell L. Burke
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Taxonomic Resolution ◽  
Diamondback Terrapin ◽  
Malaclemys Terrapin ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Diet Variation ◽  
Diamondback Terrapins

Animal diets may vary spatially or temporally as resource availability vary. Diets of species with extensive geographic ranges often span multiple habitats, thus their diets may vary accordingly. Temporal diet variation is rarely explored because most diet studies are short term; this is problematic for long-lived species where individuals may persist as prey availability changes. We analyzed diet variation in Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin (Schoepf, 1793)), which inhabits nearly 70 000 km of United States Atlantic coastline, spanning 16.5°N latitude and 27.4°W longitude and four Köppen climatic zones, and Bermuda. We explored spatially or temporally Diamondback Terrapin diet variation, including populations from Atlantic salt marshes, an Everglades mangrove swamp, the Texas Gulf Coast, and a Caribbean golf course pond. We found remarkably high levels of similarity, indicating that although diets vary according to local prey availability, they are broadly similar at lower taxonomic resolution. Even short-term studies may be sufficient to accurately characterize diets of Diamondback Terrapins. These results are surprising given the geographic range sampled in this study and indicate that Diamondback Terrapin diets are conservative, reflecting local prey availability. Such diets apparently allow Diamondback Terrapins to exploit their extensive range and may allow Diamondback terrapin populations to persist as local prey species wax and wane.

Isolation of Fecal Coliform Bacteria from the Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin centrata)

1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 865-867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie J. Harwood ◽  
Joseph Butler ◽  
Danny Parrish ◽  
Victoria Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Brackish Water ◽  
Fecal Coliform ◽  
Fecal Coliforms ◽  
Coliform Bacteria ◽  
Diamondback Terrapin ◽  
Malaclemys Terrapin ◽  
Fecal Coliform Bacteria ◽  
Diamondback Terrapins

ABSTRACT Total and fecal coliform bacteria were isolated from the cloaca and feces of the estuarine diamondback terrapin. The majority of samples contained fecal coliforms. Escherichia coli was the predominant fecal coliform species isolated, and members of the genusSalmonella were isolated from 2 of 39 terrapins. Fecal coliform numbers are used to regulate shellfish harvests, and diamondback terrapins inhabit the brackish-water habitats where oyster beds are found; therefore, these findings have implications for the efficacy of current regulatory parameters in shellfishing waters.

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