Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Graham, T. E., Georges, A., & McElhinney, N. (1996). Terrestrial orientation by the eastern long-necked turtle, chelodina longicollis, from australia. Journal of Herpetology, 30(4), 467–477.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (23 Aug 2008 14:56:16 UTC) Last edited by: Sarina Wunderlich (15 Oct 2008 09:59:11 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article BibTeX citation key: Graham1996a View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Chelidae, Chelodina, Chelodina longicollis, Physiologie = physiology, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Verhalten = ethology Creators: Georges, Graham, McElhinney Collection: Journal of Herpetology |
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| Abstract |
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Overland movements by the Australian chelid, Chelodina longicollis, have been documented extensively, and their relative straightness has led observers to conclude that these turtles must have a navigational sense. We observed terrestrial migration by adult C. longicollis between a permanent fresh- water lake and an ephemeral swamp in Jervis Bay National Park, New South Wales, from January-March 1994. Migrating turtles used similar non-random paths to reach their goal; movements were exclusively diurnal and occurred only under sunny conditions. Experimental studies of the orientation mechanism showed that on sunny days turtles from 2.5 km away demonstrated highly significant directional orien- tation, but that this ability was disrupted on overcast days. Animals field-tested from a distant (23 km) population oriented randomly. Turtles acclimated to a 6 hr phase-advanced light regime demonstrated a clockwise shift in their angle of orientation which was not significantly different from the expected 90?, thus implicating a biological clock component in their sun-compass orientation. Open field vs. arena (no view of horizon) trials suggest the probable use of terrestrial landmarks in navigation. Olfactory cues may play an important role in terrestrial orientation because animals tested in a Y-tank showed highly sig- nificant directional preference when swamp mud and debris were used in one of the arms.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich Last edited by: Sarina Wunderlich |