Olfaction as a Cue for Nest-Site Choice in Turtles

Iverson, John B.; Klondaris, Hanna; Angell, Christopher; Tori, Wendy

doi:10.2744/ccb-1199.1

Cited by 9 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Female turtles can receive and respond to environmental cues prior to nesting via touch (Morjan & Valenzuela, 2001), sight (Moore & Seigel, 2006) and/or olfaction (Iverson et al, 2016). Female turtles have been recorded 'beach watching', whereby they wait in the water to select the time to emerge from the water onto the nesting area (Moore & Seigel, 2006).…”

Section: Nest-site Suitability: Proportion Of Removed Nestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Female turtles have been recorded 'beach watching', whereby they wait in the water to select the time to emerge from the water onto the nesting area (Moore & Seigel, 2006). Additionally, the use of olfactory cues is an important but poorly explored component of nest-site section in freshwater turtles (Iverson et al, 2016). Pre-nesting olfaction could be presented as ground-nuzzling behavior prior to final nest-site selection (Morjan & Valenzuela, 2001), and a recent experimental study suggests that female painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) may nest closer to the nests of other females due to olfactory cues (Iverson et al, 2016).…”

Section: Nest-site Suitability: Proportion Of Removed Nestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, the use of olfactory cues is an important but poorly explored component of nest-site section in freshwater turtles (Iverson et al, 2016). Pre-nesting olfaction could be presented as ground-nuzzling behavior prior to final nest-site selection (Morjan & Valenzuela, 2001), and a recent experimental study suggests that female painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) may nest closer to the nests of other females due to olfactory cues (Iverson et al, 2016). Such pre-nesting behaviors remain undocumented in the Podocnemididae, however, observations suggest that female P. unifilis appear to evaluate nesting areas prior to making their nests.…”

Section: Nest-site Suitability: Proportion Of Removed Nestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nest removal by humans creates an evolutionary trap for Amazonian freshwater turtles

et al. 2019

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Nest‐site selection exerts a fundamental maternal effect on offspring fitness in oviparous species. In many freshwater turtles, females do not care for their eggs after oviposition but rather rely on a nest's micro‐environment to incubate developing embryos although linkages between oviposition choices and overall fitness remain poorly evaluated. We tested predictions derived from multiple hypotheses to examine nesting patterns of the yellow‐spotted river turtle Podocnemis unifilis, a species imperiled by egg harvesting by humans throughout its range, based on data collected from 73 nesting sites along 118 km of river in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. Nesting area size largely explained nest‐site selection by turtles, but only weakly explained turtle egg harvesting by humans. Despite the wide availability of alternative nesting habitats, turtles do not appear to be capable of avoiding hazardous nesting sites associated with increased egg harvesting by humans. Because signals used by female turtles to select nesting areas are apparently not sufficient for avoiding nesting along rivers accessible to humans, direct conservation action will be vital for persistence of these and likely other Amazonian freshwater turtles.

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Section: Nest-site Suitability: Proportion Of Removed Nestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nest-site Suitability: Proportion Of Removed Nestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nest-site Suitability: Proportion Of Removed Nestsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nest removal by humans creates an evolutionary trap for Amazonian freshwater turtles

et al. 2019

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“…Although the mechanisms of breeding and natal homing behaviors of sea turtles remain moot, one possibility is the detection of chemical cues via olfaction [4,6,8,9,18], as recently found in the terrestrial painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) [12].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After reaching maturity, they seasonally migrate between foraging and breeding areas [ 22 ], and adult males and females return to the sites of their birth (natal homing) to breed [ 7 , 18 , 28 ]. Although the mechanisms of breeding and natal homing behaviors of sea turtles remain moot, one possibility is the detection of chemical cues via olfaction [ 4 , 6 , 8 , 9 , 18 ], as recently found in the terrestrial painted turtle ( Chrysemys picta ) [ 12 ].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral effects of scents from male mature Rathke glands on juvenile green sea turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>)

Kitayama¹,

Yamaguchi

Ogawa³

et al. 2020

The Journal of Veterinary Medical Science

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Sea turtles can detect airborne and waterborne odors, but whether they recognize scents from the same species and if so, how they affect their behavior remains unknown. The present study evaluated the behavioral effects of odorants on juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). The odorants were derived from Rathke glands (external scent glands) of mature male green sea turtles, and from two types of food. The activity of the juveniles increased when exposed to food scents, and significantly decreased compared with controls when exposed to scents from Rathke glands. These findings indicated that scents from the same species affect behavior, and that chemical communication via olfaction has important outcomes for sea turtles.

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Movement ecology of adult and juvenile spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in a seasonally dynamic environment

2023

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Context Understanding the temporal and spatial scales at which wildlife move is vital for conservation and management. This is especially important for semi-aquatic species that make frequent inter-wetland movements to fulfil life-history requirements. Aims We aimed to investigate the drivers of movement and space-use of the imperilled spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), a seasonal wetland specialist, in three large, isolated wetland complexes in Virginia, USA. Methods We used VHF radio-transmitters to radio-locate adult and juvenile turtles, and estimated movement and space-use during their active and aestivation seasons (March–August). We then used generalised linear mixed models to examine how movement and space-use varied, based on intrinsic turtle characteristics and extrinsic wetland and climatic factors. Key results We show that, on average, individual spotted turtles used five wetlands per year (range 3–13), and that their inter-wetland movement and movement distance varied seasonally in accordance with wetland availability and breeding phenology. Spotted turtle movement and space-use was influenced by the arrangement and size of the wetland complexes, with turtles moving further and occupying larger home-ranges as size and distance between wetlands increased. Inter-wetland movement was not influenced by intrinsic turtle effects but larger adult turtles moved further, used more wetlands, and had larger home-ranges than smaller turtles. Conclusions Turtle responses to variation in season and wetland configuration highlight the need for complex and dynamic landscapes required to sustain this species. Implications This study has important conservation implications showing that spotted turtles rely on a large number of diverse wetlands, as well as upland habitat, to fulfil their resource needs – and that these habitat associations vary seasonally. Results from our study can aid the understanding of spatial and temporal variation in patch characteristics (e.g. quality and extent) and inter-patch movement by organisms, which is critical for the conservation and management of semi-aquatic species and other organisms that occupy patchy habitat complexes.

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Olfaction as a Cue for Nest-Site Choice in Turtles

Cited by 9 publications

References 43 publications

Nest removal by humans creates an evolutionary trap for Amazonian freshwater turtles

Nest removal by humans creates an evolutionary trap for Amazonian freshwater turtles

Behavioral effects of scents from male mature Rathke glands on juvenile green sea turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>)

Movement ecology of adult and juvenile spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in a seasonally dynamic environment

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