Meeting Abstract

P3.41  Tuesday, Jan. 6  The relationship between egg size, clutch size, pelvis size & body size in Gopherus polyphemus CARRUTH, W C*; ENTZ, J W; MARLEY, P H; ROSTAL, D C; Georgia Southern University wcarrut1@georgiasouthern.edu

Female size is directly related to reproductive output. A larger sized female has the ability to invest more energy into its offspring. Reproduction is viewed as a model; a female can either create fewer but larger offspring or more but smaller offspring. In many chelonian species egg size changes with body size; however, in Gopherus polyphemus egg size does not strongly correlate with carapace size. A higher correlation was found between egg size and pelvic size in G. polyphemus, but not enough to account for the variation seen in the egg sizes. Similar to previous studies on various freshwater turtles, it is predicted that mass, clutch size and a PCA will better correlate with egg size. For the past fourteen years a life history study of G. polyphemus from three different populations has been carried out. The females were X-rayed and morphometric measurements were taken to determine female reproductive characteristics. In order to test the predictions, X-rays will be measured from three different populations dating from 1994 to present. The females Straight Carapace Length (SCL), pelvic aperture opening, clutch size, and two dimensions of the eggs will be measured in the X-rays. In addition to X-ray measurements, field weights and measurements will be used to compare with X-ray data.