Meeting Abstract
For most ectotherms, environmental temperature plays a pivotal role in their survival, as they are dependent on external sources for body heat, by definition. However, within many species, how temperature affects survival varies in different life history stages. For example, in painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) adults alternate between being in and out of the water, while newly hatched turtles spend much of their first year underground. Much of what we know about how ecological conditions associated with maternal-nest selection affect hatching success and overwinter survival in painted turtles come from studies in the Midwest. As C. picta is found over much of North America, this study explores how the ecological conditions affect hatching success in a population of C. picta near the northern edge of its range. Specifically, this study first examines the frequencies of canopy cover, soil moisture, and vegetation density of maternal nest-site selection and those variables’ effects on temperatures within the nests throughout incubation. Second, this study focuses on the effects of both nest-site selection factors and temperature on hatching success. The results of maternal preferences for nest sites with low vegetation density percent, median canopy cover percent, and low soil moisture level will be correlated with temperatures within each nest through the incubation processes and hatching success. Future studies will examine the effects of these variables on over winter survival of the hatchlings.
