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Full-Text Articles in Population Biology
Stress And Body Composition Of Juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys Temminckii), Brandon Scott Tappmeyer
Stress And Body Composition Of Juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys Temminckii), Brandon Scott Tappmeyer
MSU Graduate Theses
The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), is a species of conservation concern that is the subject of multiple head-start and reintroduction efforts across its range. In captive propagation programs, producing offspring that are in optimal physiological condition maximizes the likelihood of success after release. The purpose of my study was to compare stress and body composition between one free-ranging reintroduced population and two captive populations. The two captive populations were both housed in southern Oklahoma, but one group was reared indoors whereas the other inhabited outdoor ponds at a national fish hatchery. I used circulating glucocorticoid (corticosterone) concentrations as an …