Current Search: Eggs--Incubation (x)
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- Title
- Assessing the Effects of Incubation Temperature on the Cognitive Ability of Hatchling Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) Sea Turtles.
- Creator
- Serra, Ivana, Milton, Sarah, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
- Abstract/Description
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Under the expected warmer temperatures due to climate change, sea turtle embryos may be subjected to thermal conditions detrimental to nest success and hatchling quality; one trait which may be negatively affected is cognitive ability. In this study, loggerhead sea turtle eggs were acquired from Boca Raton, FL and lab incubated under two female-producing temperatures: an “optimal” temperature of 31°C and a sublethal temperature of 33°C. Cognitive ability of post-hatchlings, assessed via...
Show moreUnder the expected warmer temperatures due to climate change, sea turtle embryos may be subjected to thermal conditions detrimental to nest success and hatchling quality; one trait which may be negatively affected is cognitive ability. In this study, loggerhead sea turtle eggs were acquired from Boca Raton, FL and lab incubated under two female-producing temperatures: an “optimal” temperature of 31°C and a sublethal temperature of 33°C. Cognitive ability of post-hatchlings, assessed via associative learning and reversal was investigated using a y-maze. The sublethal temperature decreased incubation duration, hatch success, hatchling growth rates and produced smaller hatchlings with significantly more scute anomalies. Hot hatchlings performed worse on the reversal, taking longer to train, and thus hint at an effect of incubation temperature on cognitive flexibility in loggerhead turtles. With temperatures rising on beaches in South Florida, this study provides evidence of further potential threats to hatchling quality and potentially even survival.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2020
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013559
- Subject Headings
- Loggerhead turtle, Eggs--Incubation, Temperature, Cognition
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- WHAT MECHANISMS UNDERLIE SYNCHRONOUS HATCHING IN LOGGERHEAD TURTLE NESTS?.
- Creator
- Field, Angela, Salmon, Michael, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
- Abstract/Description
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The goal of this study was to determine if hatching synchrony occurs in loggerhead sea turtle nests and if it does, what mechanism(s) promote that synchrony. Synchrony may occur because oviposition takes place during a single evening, and because incubation temperatures within the nest show relatively little variation; thus, rates of embryonic development among the eggs are similar ("temporal synchrony hypothesis"). Alternatively, synchrony might be enhanced through embryo-to-embryo...
Show moreThe goal of this study was to determine if hatching synchrony occurs in loggerhead sea turtle nests and if it does, what mechanism(s) promote that synchrony. Synchrony may occur because oviposition takes place during a single evening, and because incubation temperatures within the nest show relatively little variation; thus, rates of embryonic development among the eggs are similar ("temporal synchrony hypothesis"). Alternatively, synchrony might be enhanced through embryo-to-embryo communication that stimulates and synchronizes development ("coordinated hatching hypothesis"). Experiments were designed to distinguish between these two hypotheses. I found that if only a few embryos survive, temporal synchrony occurs. However, if many embryos survive, the duration of incubation and hatching shortens, presumably because embryonic movements inside soft-shelled eggs are detected by and transmitted between eggs and stimulate development, expediting hatching synchrony.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2020
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013505
- Subject Headings
- Loggerhead turtle, Nests, Eggs—Incubation, Synchrony
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Incubation temperature, morphology, and loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle hatchling hydrodynamics.
- Creator
- Moyle, Alexis K., Milton, Sarah L., Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
- Abstract/Description
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High nest incubation temperatures can result in numerous physiological and behavioral outcomes in sea turtle hatchlings, including body characteristics for efficient swimming. This project examined the effects of incubation temperature on yolk metabolization, body morphology, buoyancy, swimming kinematics, and blood chemistry to better understand variations in locomotor performance in loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle hatchlings of South Florida. Nest temperatures, body measurements,...
Show moreHigh nest incubation temperatures can result in numerous physiological and behavioral outcomes in sea turtle hatchlings, including body characteristics for efficient swimming. This project examined the effects of incubation temperature on yolk metabolization, body morphology, buoyancy, swimming kinematics, and blood chemistry to better understand variations in locomotor performance in loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle hatchlings of South Florida. Nest temperatures, body measurements, and blood samples were collected in conjunction with swim-trial force measurements and video recordings. Data suggest hatchlings from nests with higher incubation temperatures tend to be significantly smaller in size, less buoyant, and display lower power stroke frequencies. These variations between hatchling morphology and performance indicate hatchlings from high temperature nests (i.e., >33°C) may exhibit weaker swimming abilities. The results of this study provide a further understanding of the effect of incubation temperatures on hatchling physiology and early survival in their important frenzy period.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2023
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014268
- Subject Headings
- Loggerhead turtle, Eggs--Incubation, Sea turtles--Ecology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Incubation Temperature Effects on Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Green (Chelonia mydas) Sea Turtle Hatchling Vigor.
- Creator
- Henaghan, Christopher, Milton, Sarah, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
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Climate change has the potential to expose sea turtle nests to higher temperatures, which may negatively impact sea turtle hatchling vigor. In this study, loggerhead and green hatchlings were sampled from the Boca Raton, Florida beach and via lab incubation, and hatchling vigor was determined. Elevated nest temperatures decreased loggerhead and green turtle hatchling performance and corticosterone levels, with the most significant effects found in hatchlings exposed to maximum incubation...
Show moreClimate change has the potential to expose sea turtle nests to higher temperatures, which may negatively impact sea turtle hatchling vigor. In this study, loggerhead and green hatchlings were sampled from the Boca Raton, Florida beach and via lab incubation, and hatchling vigor was determined. Elevated nest temperatures decreased loggerhead and green turtle hatchling performance and corticosterone levels, with the most significant effects found in hatchlings exposed to maximum incubation temperatures above 35°C during late development. Lab-incubated loggerhead post-hatchling corticosterone levels and growth rates were also determined. The differences seen in corticosterone levels with overall nest incubation temperatures, mean temperatures during early, middle or late stages of development, and its negative correlation with hatchling performance improves our understanding of the underlying physiological mechanisms linking elevated incubation temperatures and sub-lethal physiological effects that may significantly impact hatchling survival, a critical step for sea turtle conservation in south Florida and elsewhere.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2018
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013157
- Subject Headings
- Loggerhead turtle--Florida, Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, Green turtle, Temperature, Eggs--Incubation
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE (CARETTA CARETTA) HATCHLING BIOLOGY.
- Creator
- Lolavar, Alexandra A., Wyneken, Jeanette, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
- Abstract/Description
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The eggs of all sea turtle species develop in underground nests on oceanic nesting beaches. Eggs are unattended and their incubation conditions are subject to effects of the environment. Nest temperature influences various aspects of hatchling biology, including sex determination. Past studies identified that sea turtle embryos have a warm female cool male response pattern and rainfall has been thought to cool nest temperature. The effects of rainfall or periods of drought were often inferred...
Show moreThe eggs of all sea turtle species develop in underground nests on oceanic nesting beaches. Eggs are unattended and their incubation conditions are subject to effects of the environment. Nest temperature influences various aspects of hatchling biology, including sex determination. Past studies identified that sea turtle embryos have a warm female cool male response pattern and rainfall has been thought to cool nest temperature. The effects of rainfall or periods of drought were often inferred but not verified. Using laboratory and field studies, I examined how changes in environmental factors during incubation, particularly sand moisture, can affect nest conditions and hatchling biology. I derived temperature-sex ratio response curves for eggs incubated at different moisture levels to determine the effect of moisture on how embryos respond to temperature. I also studied how increasing moisture levels in relocated nests through daily watering influence nest conditions and discuss if this method is an effective mitigation strategy for the detrimental effects of increasing temperatures on embryo survival and sex ratios. I investigated how environmental factors, nest conditions, and hatchling biology can differ among sites on a nesting beach. Extreme moisture conditions, both low and high, result in a narrower transition between one sex ratio bias to another. I demonstrated that watering nests decreases nest temperatures and increases hatching success but watering has a minimal impact on sex ratios. Ambient beach conditions vary slightly in air temperature, rainfall, solar radiation, and humidity, depending on beach location. Nest conditions such as nest temperature and moisture also differ, but hatching success and sex ratios do not vary among different sites on the same nesting beach in Boca Raton, Florida. Ultimately, these studies together help identify and demonstrate how these environmental factors and drivers can affect the nest environment during incubation. Further developing our understanding of environmental factors, particularly nest moisture, and their variability will provide better predictions of future climate change effects and perhaps create more effective mitigation strategies.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013390
- Subject Headings
- Loggerhead turtle, Sea turtles--Nests, Environment, Eggs--Hatchability, Eggs--Incubation, Moisture
- Format
- Document (PDF)