Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Atkinson, C. L. (2013). Razor-backed musk turtle (sternotherus carinatus) diet across a gradient of invasion. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 8(3), 561–570.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (06 Jul 2014 16:10:28 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article BibTeX citation key: anon2013.15834 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Emydidae, Emys orbicularis, Ernährung - nutrition, Habitat - habitat, invasive Arten - invasive species, Nordamerika - North America, Schildkröten - turtles + tortoises Creators: Atkinson Collection: Herpetological Conservation and Biology |
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| Abstract |
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diets of freshwater turtles often reflect the availability of food resources in the environment. accordingly, bottomfeeding turtles’ diets are typically composed of benthic macroinvertebrate fauna (e.g., insects and mollusks). However, the composition of benthic systems has changed because many freshwater ecosystems have been invaded by non-native species, including bivalve species such as the asian clam, corbicula fluminea. i studied the diet of Sternotherus carinatus, the Razorbacked Musk Turtle, in southeastern oklahoma across three zones of corbicula abundances: no corbicula, moderate corbicula densities, and high corbicula densities. i hypothesized that the composition of corbicula in the diet would increase with increased abundance of corbicula in the riverine environment. Turtles were caught by snorkel surveys in the little and Mountain fork rivers and kept overnight for the collection of fecal samples. The diet was similar to that found in previous studies on S. carinatus except that corbicula is a new component of the diet and composed the majority of the diet in high-density corbicula areas. an index of Relative importance (iRi) showed that corbicula was the most important prey item in the areas with high corbicula density, was equally as important as gastropods in the areas with moderate corbicula density, and was absent from the diet in areas without corbicula. as indicated by a non-metric dimensional scaling ordination, the diet of turtles in the areas without corbicula was more diverse, containing insects, crayfish, gastropods, unionids, and seeds in high proportions. My data suggest that the diet of S. carinatus has become more molluscivorous and diet diversity has been reduced as the result of the presence of corbicula.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich |