2022/01/09 by Steven Kell, Njal Rollinson, Ronald J. Brooks +1 · 1 citation
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Turtle Biology and Conservation #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Animal Behavior and Reproduction
paper · doi:10.1139/cjz-2021-0159
openalex publication_date 2022/01/09 · openalex created_date 2022/01/26 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
Many oviparous reptiles nest in aggregations and with temporal synchrony. We hypothesized that these traits reflect attraction by conspecifics rather than limiting suitable habitat. We quantified whether Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta (Schneider, 1783)) in Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada, were nesting communally, identified cues females used to select nest sites, and tested whether hatching success was higher in spatially clustered nests. We found that nests were closer to one another than expected by chance (i.e., were clustered), but that individual nest-site selection was only weakly influenced by microhabitat characteristics. Survival of clustered nests (49%) was not significantly higher than that of solitary nests (39%). When turtle models were placed on the nesting embankment, females nested most often with the highest density of models. Given that reproductive lifespan is the major axis of fitness and that there was little benefit to nest survival in clustered nests, we suggest that clustering is related to females cueing to conspecific nests to expedite the nesting process and gain a good-quality nest site (chosen by the first nesting female in the cluster) while investing little energy in nest-site selection. This strategy may reduce time spent on land, thereby minimizing chances of dehydration, temperature stress, and adult depredation.