Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Brooks, R. J., Shilton, C. M., Brown, G. P., & Quinn, N. W. S. (1992). Body size, age distribution, and reproduction in a northern population of wood turtles (clemmys insculpta). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 70(3), 462–469.
Added by: Admin (23 Aug 2008 12:13:03 UTC) Last edited by: Beate Pfau (22 May 2010 08:17:22 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article DOI: 10.1139/z92-070 BibTeX citation key: Brooks1992 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Clemmys, Emydidae, Fortpflanzung = reproduction, Glyptemys, Glyptemys insculpta, Habitat = habitat, Nordamerika = North America, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises Creators: Brooks, Brown, Quinn, Shilton Collection: Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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| Abstract |
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Abstract: A population of the wood turtle (Clemmys insculpta) was studied on the east side of Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, from 1987 to 1990. A total of 77 adults (56 females, 21 males) and 13 juveniles were captured, measured, and individually marked. Age at maturity was 17–18 years at a minimum carapace length of 185 mm for females and 199 mm for males. Our data supported the hypothesis that turtles in northern populations are larger and older at maturity than are those in southern populations. For 21 nests, mean clutch size was 8.8 eggs and egg mass was 96 g. Predators destroyed 15 of 17 nests in 1990, and had injured 60% of adult turtles observed. Therefore, our population had low recruitment, few juveniles, and high levels of predation on nests and adults. Comparisons among females refuted two predictions from optimal egg size theory. Mean width and mass, but not length, of eggs correlated positively with female size, and correlated positively with clutch size, even after effects of body size were removed by partial correlation. However, smaller females in the population had relatively longer eggs than did larger females, whereas the Algonquin females have absolutely smaller eggs than do much smaller females in a New Jersey population.
Added by: Admin Last edited by: Beate Pfau |