Roles of diet protein and temperature in the nutritional energetics of juvenile slider turtles, Trachemys scripta:
Juvenile slider turtles (Trachemys scripta) were used in laboratory experiments to determine the effects of dietary protein and ambient temperature on growth rates, food consumption rates, digestion rates and digestive efficiencies, in order to better understand how the interactive roles these environmental factors may potentially influence body sizes and growth rates of individuals among wild slider turtle populations. Changes in plastron length, carapace length and body mass were significantly greater for Trachemys scripta eating 25% and 40% crude protein diets than for those eating 10% crude protein. Those consuming 10% crude protein showed significant decreases in all measurements of body size over a 13 wk period. These data suggest that dietary protein may be an important nutritional component to the growth of juvenile slider turtles, and that elevated thermal conditions, combined with a high dietary protein availability, may in part explain the exceedingly high growth rates of slider turtles attained in certain wild populations. 63 refs., 11 figs., 6 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- State Univ. of New York, Buffalo (USA). Dept. of Biology
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-88ER60727
- OSTI ID:
- 6836677
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER/60727-3; ON: DE88016896
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (MA). Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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