The Nile Softshell Turtle (Trionyx triunguis): Nest Parameters and A New Nesting Site
Öz
There are no studies carried out on nest parameters of the Nile softshell turtle (Trionyx triunguis) in
Turkey except for few studies on the Western Mediterranean coast of Turkey. In this study, 12 nests of the
Nile softshell turtle were examined in terms of nest parameters during 2016 and 2017 nesting seasons on
Belek, Göksu, and Burnaz beaches located on the Central and Eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey.
Nesting period started in May (17%) but intensified in June (83%). The distance of nests to the shore,
depth of nests, clutch temperature, clutch size, and hatching success in the nests were recorded and
calculated. Among three beaches, the lowest hatching success rate was on Göksu Beach (0.18 ± 0.26),
whereas the values were similar on Belek (0.75 ± 0.22) and Burnaz (0.72 ± 0.36) beaches. Although clutch
temperatures were measured in a range (29.5–33.0 °C) that is optimal for embryo development, most of
the eggs inside nests were dead at the late embryonic period (5.1 ± 9.6) which was followed by early (1.8
± 3.1) and middle stage embryos (0.3 ± 0,6). The highest number of unfertilized eggs was recorded on
Burnaz Beach (14.5 ± 19.1) and the lowest was on Belek Beach (1.0 ± 1.5). Regarding the relationship
between the nest parameters, it was detected that only the clutch temperature has a significant relationship
with the clutch size. In this study, a new nesting site for the softshell Nile turtle on Burnaz Beach was
discovered and nest parameters in this species were indicated on three beaches.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Kaynakça
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Ayrıntılar
Birincil Dil
İngilizce
Konular
Yapısal Biyoloji
Bölüm
Diğer
Yazarlar
Onur Candan
*
Ordu University
0000-0002-9254-4122
Türkiye
Yayımlanma Tarihi
1 Aralık 2018
Gönderilme Tarihi
16 Mart 2018
Kabul Tarihi
18 Nisan 2018
Yayımlandığı Sayı
Yıl 2018 Cilt: 14 Sayı: 4