Meeting Abstract
Species with large geographic distributions may experience a great diversity of climatic conditions. Developmental exposure to different conditions is especially pertinent in oviparous species that lack parental care. In these species, a majority of development transpires without any mitigation of the environmental conditions by the parents. Still, the maternal effect of nest-site choice, a female’s choice of nest location, can affect offspring survival and phenotype. To further investigate the scope of nest-site choice, we collected nest-microhabitat characteristics (thermal environments and shade cover) in a geographically widespread vertebrate, the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta). Using GIS technology to identify representative locations within a designated nesting area, we collected shade cover availability and temperatures at nest depth from these locations in each of six populations (Illinois, New Mexico, Oregon, Minnesota, Idaho, and Nebraska) across multiple nesting seasons. Using a modified constant temperature equivalent model, we transform the thermal data for analysis and interpretation in the context of the relationship between developmental rate and temperature in C. picta nests. We hypothesized that our representative locations would encapsulate a wider range of shade and thermal conditions, whereas maternally-selected nests would be found in microhabitats that are more buffered from thermal extremes that could potentially be detrimental to offspring development. Gaining a better understanding of spatial and temporal variation in oviposition sites for species with large geographic distributions provides insights into current adaptation to local climatic conditions and could predict future patterns relative to projected global climate change.
