1990/03/01 by John Davenport, J. Davenport, E.‐A. Macedo · 1 citation
Environmental Science · #Ichthyology and Marine Biology #Marine animal studies overview #Turtle Biology and Conservation
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1990.tb04320.x
openalex publication_date 1990/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Diamond terrapins, Malaclemys terrapin Latreille, inhabit salt marshes and estuaries where they may encounter sustained high salinities for weeks or months. Terrapins can discriminate between salinities. When salt‐loaded they avoid drinking high salinities (27.2–34.0%), drink small amounts of salinities which are a little more concentrated than the blood (13.6–20%), and drink copious quantities of lower salinities (0–10.2%). After seven days in full sea water (34%) they can rehydrate themselves in < 15 min if given access to fresh water. Terrapins are capable of drinking from the thinnest of freshwater films (1.6 mm), exploit menisci and have specific postural responses to collect small quantities of fresh water from horizontal and vertical surfaces. Specimens of Malaclemys terrapin respond to the vibration of simulated rainfall by rapid emergence followed by drinking from thin films, either on the exposed substratum or from the surface of the water column. Under simulated conditions of heavy rainfall they collect rain directly from above.