Yellow Bellied Slider Turtle Experiment

Introduction In this study, the effect of temperature on yellow-bellied slider turtle (Trachemys scripta scripta) reproductive rates will be measured. The experiment will be controlled in a laboratory setting to determine whether either higher or lower temperatures will cause the reproductive rates of the turtle to increase or decrease. Reproductive rate, according to Pianka (1997), is defined as “average number of age class zero offspring produced by an average newborn organism during its entire lifetime.” This is important as the number of offspring produced by the species determines the growth of the population.

The experimental unit in this study is the yellow-bellied slider. The yellow-bellied slider is a common turtle found in the

During this time, a male turtle will swim in front of a female, wave his fingernails in front of her, caress her chin, or create water currents above her head. In this way, he may entice her to mate. Several weeks after mating, a female will dig a hole with her hind feet and deposit six to ten eggs in it. The eggs incubate for two to three months and the young often stay in the nest over the winter, emerging the next spring. (Mills et al., n.d.) Hatchlings are almost entirely carnivorous, preferring a diet of tadpoles, insects, and dead fish. As they age, however, these turtles can subsist on a vegetative diet, including algae, leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and seeds, although their growth rate may be severely lower than that of meat-eating turtles. Slider turtles can live for more than 30 years in the wild. (“Yellow-Bellied Slider Turtle Fact Sheet”,

Although slider turtle mating occurs inside the water, suitable terrestrial area is necessary for successful egg-laying. Many different factors affect temperature, such as location, altitude, ocean currents, and proximity to water. (Rader, 2013) Temperature can also affect other parts of an ecosystem, such as the behavior of different plant and animal species. The dependent variable is the reproductive rate of the yellow-bellied slider. Whether the temperature of this area affects the reproductive rate is what will be measured in this experiment. The controlled variables include size of turtles, habitat, water temperature, amount of food, and size of tank. The research leads one to believe that if temperatures drop, then reproductive rates will also