Skip to main content
WCS
Menu
Library
Library Catalog
eJournals & eBooks
WCS Research
Archives
Research Use
Finding Aids
Digital Collections
WCS History
WCS Research
Research Publications
Science Data
Services for WCS Researchers
Archives Shop
Bronx Zoo
Department of Tropical Research
Browse By Product
About Us
FAQs
Intern or Volunteer
Staff
Donate
Search WCS.org
Search
search
Popular Search Terms
WCS History
Library and Archives
Library and Archives Menu
Library
Archives
WCS Research
Archives Shop
About Us
Donate
en
fr
Title
A Dietary Study of the Rough-Footed Mud Turtle (Kinosternon Hirtipes) in Texas, USA
Author(s)
Platt, Steven G.;Berezin, Andrew R.;Miller, Dennis J.;Rainwater, Thomas R.
Published
2016
Publisher
Herpetological Conservation and Biology
Abstract
We conducted a dietary study of the Rough-footed Mud Turtle (Kinosternon hirtipes) at Plata Wetland Complex (PWC) in Presidio County, Texas, USA, from 2007–2008. We collected feces from 88 turtles, including 42 males, 14 females, and 32 juveniles. Items recovered from fecal samples included filamentous algae, vegetation, seeds and fruits, aquatic, terrestrial, and flying arthropods, and aquatic gastropods. Based on percent occurrence (number of samples in which a particular dietary item occurs divided by the sample size), vegetation and insects were the principal foods consumed. Lesser amounts of filamentous algae, seeds and fruits, and aquatic gastropods were recovered from feces. Kinosternon hirtipes at PWC appear to be generalist omnivores. The remains of terrestrial arthropods in feces suggest some foraging activity occurs terrestrially or at the land-water interface. Kinosternon hirtipes undergoes an ontogenetic dietary shift from insects to vegetation as body size increases, which presumably facilitates rapid growth and minimizes the time an individual remains at a size vulnerable to predators. Although males are the larger sex at PWC, we found nothing to suggest that larger body size provided access to an expanded resource base. Instead we found high dietary overlap between sexes indicating that male and female K. hirtipes consume similar foods.
Keywords
diet;fecal analysis;food habits;Kinosternidae;ontogenetic dietary change
Access Full Text
A full-text copy of this article may be available. Please email the
WCS Library
to request.
Back
PUB19277