Laterality has been found in a variety of reptiles. In turtles, one important behaviour is the righting response. Here, we studied laterality of righting response of two species of freshwater turtles, the Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) and the Eastern Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus). We found evidence of individual-level laterality in righting response inC. picta, but notS. odoratus. Neither species showed evidence of population-level laterality in righting response. Our results suggest that there is variation in the extent of laterality of righting response in turtles. Possible explanations for variation in laterality of righting response in turtles include shell shape and use of terrestrial habitats. However, more species of turtles need to be examined to demonstrate any general patterns in laterality of righting response in turtles.
We collected leeches from freshwater turtles at two sites in southwestern Ontario. Five leech species (Placobdella parasitica, P. ornata, Helobdella modesta, Erpobdella punctata and Alboglossiphonia heteroclita) were collected from five turtle species (Chrysemys picta, Chelydra serpentina, Clemmys guttata, Emydoidea blandingii and Sternotherus odoratus). We report a new leech record (P. ornata) for C. guttata. The unexpectedly high frequency of H. modesta on freshwater turtles is discussed.
Current and historic records of species occurrences in particular localities enable researchers to monitor changes in species distribution and abundance. While current fauna can be documented with sufficient effort, missing historical records represent data that can never again be obtained. It is with this importance in mind that we report for the first time records of eight reptile species in Montgomery County, Indiana, USA, that were documented in 1964, though no vouchered specimens persist. These species include: Sternotherus odoratus, Terrapene carolina carolina, Chrysemys picta marginata, Apalone spinifera spinifera, Thamnophis sauritus sauritus, Storeria dekayi wrightorum, Lampropeltis calligaster, Lampropeltis triangulum. We also provide a list of the 23 currently documented reptile species that occur (or have occurred recently) in Montgomery County.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an increasingly used non-invasive molecular tool for detecting species presence and monitoring populations. In this article, we review the current state of non-avian reptile eDNA work in aquatic systems, as well as present a field experiment on detecting the presence of painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) eDNA. Thus far, turtle and snake eDNA studies have been successful mostly in detecting the presence of these animals in field conditions. However, some instances of low detection rates and non-detection occur for these non-avian reptiles, especially for squamates. We explored this matter by sampling lentic ponds with different densities (0 kg/ha, 6 kg/ha, 9 kg/ha, and 13 kg/ha) of painted turtles over three months, attempting to detect differences in eDNA accumulation using a qPCR assay. Only one sample of the highest density pond readily amplified eDNA. Yet, estimates of eDNA concentration from pond eDNA were rank-order correlated with turtle density. We present a “shedding hypothesis”–the possibility that animals with hard, keratinized integument do not shed as much DNA as mucus-covered organisms–as a potential challenge for turtle eDNA studies. Despite challenges with eDNA inhibition and availability in water samples, we remain hopeful that eDNA can be used to detect freshwater turtles in the field. We provide key recommendations for biologists wishing to use eDNA methods for detecting non-avian reptiles.
The present study examined the kinematic patterns of initial food uptake, food transport, pharyngeal packing and swallowing in the common musk turtle Sternotherus odoratus. These data are supplemented by morphological descriptions of the skull and the hyolingual complex. Although the hyoid is mainly cartilaginous, S. odoratus still use exclusively hydrodynamic mechanisms in prey capture and prey transport. The tongue is relatively small, with weakly developed intrinsic musculature. We propose that the elasticity of the hypoglossum and the hyoid body impacts the capability of S. odoratus to suction feed, but allows these turtles to effectively re-position the food items within the oropharyngeal cavity during transport, manipulation and pharyngeal packing. We standardised conditions in all feeding events by using food items of the same consistence and size, and by always offering the food at the same position at the bottom of the aquarium. Nonetheless, the measured kinematic values varied considerably. The duration of prey capture and prey transport cycles were relatively long in S. odoratus compared to other freshwater turtles studied so far. The initiation of hyoid retraction relative to the onset of jaw opening can be modulated not only in prey capture but also in prey transport cycles. In the common musk turtle, the jaw and hyoid movements apparently have a low level of integration.
Freshwater turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii Gray) were acclimated to temperatures of 5, 10, 20 and 30°C for at least 12 days, and pulmonary ventilation, oxygen uptake and arterial pH, PCOCO2 and POO2 were determined in completely unrestrained specimens. Oxygen uptake (V·OO2) increased overproportionately (6.7-fold) as compared to pulmonary ventilation (V·1, 4.4-fold) when the temperature increased from 10 to 30°C. The observed rise in arterial PCOCO2 from 13 (5°C) to 32mmHg (30°C) was the result of a decrease in V·1/V·OO2, whereas an increase of arterial POO2 from 12Torr at 5°C to about 60Torr at 20 and 30°C mainly resulted from the effects of intracardiac blood shunting combined with temperature-dependent shifts of the oxygen dissociation curve. Arterial pH fell with rising temperature significantly less (ΔpH/Δt =−0.010U/°C) than required for constant relative alkalinity and for constant dissociation of imidazole. The changes of cerebrospinal fluid pH with temperature, calculated from the mean arterial PCOCO2 values, were even smaller [ΔpH/ΔtCSF = −0.008). It is concluded that the observed temperature dependence of the acid-base status is not in agreement with the alphastat hypothesis.
Freshwater turtles found in higher latitudes can experience extreme challenges to acid-base homeostasis while overwintering, due to a combination of cold temperatures along with the potential for environmental hypoxia. Histidine containing dipeptides (HCDs; carnosine, anserine and balenine) may facilitate pH regulation in response to these challenges, through their role as pH buffers. We measured the HCDs content of three tissues (liver, cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle) from the anoxia-tolerant painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) acclimated to either 3 or 20 C. HCDs were detected in all tissues, with the highest content shown in the skeletal muscle. Turtles acclimated to 3 C had more HCD in their skeletal muscle than those acclimated to 20 C (carnosine = 20.8 +/- 4.5 vs 12.5 +/- 5.9 mmol/kg DM; ES = 1.59 (95%CI: 0.16 - 3.00), P = 0.013). The higher HCD content observed in the skeletal muscle of the cold-acclimated turtles suggests a role in acid-base regulation in response to physiological challenges associated with living in the cold, with the increase possibly related to the temperature sensitivity of carnosine's dissociation constant and buffering power of the skeletal muscle during anoxic submergence.
Capillaria serpentina Harwood, 1932, is redescribed from specimens collected from Chelydra s. serpentina, Chrysemys p. picta, and Sternotherus odoratus from Westhampton Lake, Richmond, Virginia. Worms were found in the mucosa and submucosa of the small and large intestine. Comparisons of worms from different hosts and locations within hosts revealed no differences that would warrant establishment of new taxa. Chrysemys p. picta and S. odoratus are new host records and Virginia is a new locality record for this nematode.
Leech (Annelida: Hirudinea) Infestations on Canadian Turtles, Including the First Canadian Record of Helobdella modesta from Freshwater Turtles