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Bassett LG, Mali I, Nowlin WH, Foley DH, Forstner MR. Diet and Isotopic Niche of the Rio Grande Cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) and Syntopic Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) in San Felipe Creek, Texas, USA. CHELONIAN CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.2744/ccb-1556.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence G. Bassett
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas 78666 USA [; ; ]
| | - Ivana Mali
- Department of Biology, Eastern New Mexico University, 1500 South Avenue K, Station 33, Portales, New Mexico 88130 USA
| | - Weston H. Nowlin
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas 78666 USA [; ; ]
| | - Daniel H. Foley
- Department of Natural and Behavioral Sciences, Sul Ross State University, 205 Wildcat Drive, Del Rio, Texas 78840 USA []
| | - Michael R.J. Forstner
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, Texas 78666 USA [; ; ]
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Chaves EP, Aragão NRC, Piorski NM, Souza CPA, Medeiros AM, Chaves LPFA, Tchaicka L, Sousa AL. Sexual dimorphism in Kinosternon scorpioides (Linnaeus, 1766) from the Brazilian Amazon. BRAZ J BIOL 2022; 82:e264358. [PMID: 36169528 DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.264358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The sexual dimorphism of the Kinosternon scorpioides was evaluated using two different techniques (linear and geometric morphometry) from images and linear measurements of the carapace and plastron of adults (male and female). Linear morphometry indicated that the height and width of carapace and plastron are statistically different between sexes, with females being wider and taller. In the evaluation of geometric morphometry, ANOVA demonstrated variation in the size of the plastron and the shape of the carapace and plastron, expressing a tendency in shape for each sex. Sexual dimorphism, therefore, is verified for this species, notably by the plastron. This study indicates an additional tool for the phenotypic knowledge of animals, contributing to the study of threatened populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- E P Chaves
- Universidade Estadual do Maranhão - UEMA, Zootechnics Department, São Luís, MA, Brasil
| | | | - N M Piorski
- Universidade Federal do Maranhão - UFMA, São Luís, MA, Brasil
| | - C P A Souza
- Universidade Federal do Maranhão - UFMA, University Hospital, Genomic Studies and Histocompatibility Laboratory, São Luís, MA, Brasil
| | - A M Medeiros
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Maranhão - IFMA, Department of Biological Sciences, Barreirinhas, MA, Brasil
| | | | - L Tchaicka
- Universidade Estadual do Maranhão - UEMA, Department of Chemistry and Biology, São Luís, MA, Brasil
| | - A L Sousa
- Universidade Estadual do Maranhão - UEMA, Department of Clinics, São Luís, MA, Brasil
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Stemle LR, Martinet KM, Langford GJ. Natural History Traits and Ecology of the Striped Mud Turtle in a Florida Wetland. SOUTHEAST NAT 2020. [DOI: 10.1656/058.019.0307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Leyna R. Stemle
- Department of Biology, Florida Southern College, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801
| | - Kristen M. Martinet
- Department of Biology, Florida Southern College, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801
| | - Gabriel J. Langford
- Department of Biology, Florida Southern College, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801
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Nicholson EG, Manzo S, Devereux Z, Morgan TP, Fisher RN, Brown C, Dagit R, Scott PA, Shaffer HB. Historical museum collections and contemporary population studies implicate roads and introduced predatory bullfrogs in the decline of western pond turtles. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9248. [PMID: 32566396 PMCID: PMC7295021 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The western pond turtle (WPT), recently separated into two paripatrically distributed species (Emys pallida and Emys marmorata), is experiencing significant reductions in its range and population size. In addition to habitat loss, two potential causes of decline are female-biased road mortality and high juvenile mortality from non-native predatory bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana). However, quantitative analyses of these threats have never been conducted for either species of WPT. We used a combination of historical museum samples and published and unpublished field studies shared with us through personal communications with WPT field researchers (B. Shaffer, P. Scott, R. Fisher, C. Brown, R. Dagit, L. Patterson, T. Engstrom, 2019, personal communications) to quantify the effect of roads and bullfrogs on WPT populations along the west coast of the United States. Both species of WPT shift toward increasingly male biased museum collections over the last century, a trend consistent with increasing, female-biased road mortality. Recent WPT population studies revealed that road density and proximity were significantly associated with increasingly male-biased sex ratios, further suggesting female-biased road mortality. The mean body size of museum collections of E. marmorata, but not E. pallida, has increased over the last 100 years, consistent with reduced recruitment and aging populations that could be driven by invasive predators. Contemporary WPT population sites that co-occur with bullfrogs had significantly greater average body sizes than population sites without bullfrogs, suggesting strong bullfrog predation on small WPT hatchlings and juveniles. Overall, our findings indicate that both species of WPT face demographic challenges which would have been difficult to document without the use of both historical data from natural history collections and contemporary demographic field data. Although correlational, our analyses suggest that female-biased road mortality and predation on small turtles by non-native bullfrogs are occurring, and that conservation strategies reducing both may be important for WPT recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Griffin Nicholson
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Stephanie Manzo
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Zachary Devereux
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Thomas Paul Morgan
- Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Robert N Fisher
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Christopher Brown
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Rosi Dagit
- Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, Topanga, CA, USA
| | - Peter A Scott
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - H Bradley Shaffer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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