Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Medica, P. A., Bury, R. B., & Luckenbach, R. A. (1980). Drinking and construction of water catchments by the desert tortoise, gopherus agassizi, in the desert. Herpetologica, 36(4), 301–304.
Added by: Admin (24 Aug 2008 19:37:35 UTC) Last edited by: Beate Pfau (22 Feb 2010 08:35:46 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article BibTeX citation key: Medica1980a View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Gopherus, Habitat = habitat, Nordamerika = North America, Physiologie = physiology, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Testudinidae, Verhalten = ethology Creators: Bury, Luckenbach, Medica Collection: Herpetologica |
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| Abstract |
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Gopherus agassizi Testudinidae Desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii, generally were active in the spring and fall. They often became active during and after infrequent showers and thunderstorms, and drank from temporary pools of standing water even when air temperatures were suboptimal (9-15 C). In several instances tortoises constructed shallow catchment basins which held water for as long as six h. Thus tortoises can obtain drinking water by modifying their environment. Following small amounts of rainfall (5.6 mm) in July 1976, six tortoises increased an average of 9.2% in body weight; this increase was due to ingestion of water. Drinking may be an important source of water for this species. Added by: Admin Last edited by: Beate Pfau |