Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Schaffer, R. , Environmental influences on the behavior of manouria emys. Paper presented at Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting.
Added by: Admin (13 Dec 2008 22:23:55 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: Schaffer2007 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Manouria, Manouria emys, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Testudinidae, Verhalten = ethology Creators: Schaffer Collection: Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting |
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| Abstract |
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Testudinidae Manouria emys, the Asian Mountain Tortoise, is disappearing in the wild. One way to ensure their survival is ex-situ breeding. In order to successfully accomplish this, more information must be known about their native behaviors, and reactions to environmental conditions. The subjects of this study were a group of 32 M.emys, from both subspecies (17 M. e. emys and 15 M. e. phayrei). There were a total of seven age cohorts ranging from adults to hatchlings. The tortoises were divided into enclosures by age, species and bloodline. During a 21 day period, hourly activity readings were taken from one-hour predawn (6:00 am) to one-hour post dusk (9:00 pm). A standardized scale was used for these observations. The average hourly activity was calculated for each cohort. These results were graphed showing the relationship between activity and photoperiod. An analysis of this graph showed a powerful unimodal relationship between photoperiod and activity for all cohort groups, with a peak at midday. The average tortoise activity began at approximately 1.4 rising to 4.2 at noon. The older animals were more active than the younger ones at most time points. So, it seems that photoperiod has a huge impact on activity. Tortoises are most active at the times of peak light. While this is universal across the age cohorts, the older and larger animals are more active across the board. This information, along with that form previous studies, has importance in the way ex-situ animals are kept to optimize their care.
Added by: Admin |