Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Ramsay, S. L., Hofmeyr, M. D., & Joshua, Q. I. (2002). Activity patterns of the angulate tortoise (chersina angulata) on dassen island, south africa. Journal of Herpetology, 36(2), 161–169.
Added by: Admin (14 Aug 2008 20:35:31 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article BibTeX citation key: Ramsay2002 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Chersina, Chersina angulata, Habitat = habitat, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Südafrika = Southern Africa, Testudinidae Creators: Hofmeyr, Joshua, Ramsay Collection: Journal of Herpetology |
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| Abstract |
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Chersina angulata Testudinidae We examined the activity patterns of angulate tortoises, Chersina angulata, on Dassen Island, South Africa, during spring, summer and winter. During typical spring and summer days, C. angulata exhibited a bimodal pattern of activity, with activity being suspended around midday. However, during winter, and on cool and wet summer days, activity was unimodal, peaking around midday. Temporal patterns of activity appeared strongly influenced by environmental factors, particularly temperature. Chersina angulata were never observed to be active at air temperatures below 14.0C or above 28.7C. Activity levels were lowest during summer, when animals were active only 1.75% of the time. Brief appearances of available water (usually from condensing fog) during summer, however, resulted in a dramatic increase in activity levels. Males were significantly more active than females during summer and spring, but no significant difference was found between the sexes in winter. Results of this study are principally contrasted with those from a study conducted near the easternmost range of C. angulata, an area that experiences a markedly different climate.
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