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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Impact Of Environmental Factors On Potential Nest Environment Of The Painted Turtle (Chrysemys Picta), Alyssa W. Taylor
Impact Of Environmental Factors On Potential Nest Environment Of The Painted Turtle (Chrysemys Picta), Alyssa W. Taylor
Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works
The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) has temperature-dependent sex determination, meaning that the temperature of the nest determines sex. Vegetation cover of nests has been found to affect the hatchling sex ratio, indicating that there is an indirect causal relationship between sex ratio and vegetation cover. This study looked at the relationship between thermal nest environment and environmental variables (nest temperature and soil composition). Simulated turtle nests were created around a lake located on Elizabethtown College’s campus in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in locations with varying amounts of cover. A temperature data logger was placed in each nest to record the …
Evaluating Temporal Changes In Landscape Heterogeneity As An Influence On Freshwater Turtle Habitat In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Dibiase
Evaluating Temporal Changes In Landscape Heterogeneity As An Influence On Freshwater Turtle Habitat In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Elizabeth Dibiase
Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works
Human activity causes landscape changes, which in turn can influence habitat fragmentation and a loss of habitat connectivity. The purpose of this project was to evaluate temporal changes in landscape heterogeneity on potential habitat availability and accessibility for the painted turtle, Chrysemys picta. We hypothesized that the number of freshwater ponds has increased and that the landscape between freshwater ponds has become more heterogeneous from the 1960s to 2016 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We obtained historical wetlands and land use data from the 1950s to 1970s as well as wetlands and land use data from 2011 to 2016 to …