Restricted diet in a vulnerable native turtle, Malaclemys terrapin (Schoepff), on the oceanic islands of Bermuda
| dc.contributor.author | Outerbridge, Mark E. | |
| dc.contributor.author | O'Riordan, Ruth M. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Quirke, Thomas | |
| dc.contributor.author | Davenport, John | |
| dc.contributor.funder | Atlantic Conservation Partnership | |
| dc.contributor.funder | Bermuda Zoological Society | |
| dc.contributor.funder | Mid Ocean Golf Club, Bermuda | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2017-03-08T11:43:33Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2017-03-08T11:43:33Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-01-26 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2017-03-07T12:25:57Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are native to Bermuda, presently inhabiting only four small brackish-water ponds. Their foraging ecology was investigated using direct observation, fecal analysis, and necropsy. They do not have as varied a diet as reported from their North American range. Small gastropods (<3 mm shell height) were found in 66.7% of fecal samples and made up 97.3% of animal material dry mass, thus dominating their diet. Scavenged fish and other vertebrates (19% of samples overall), plus terrestrial arthropods (14.3% of samples) were other common items. Polychaete worms and bivalves each occurred in less than 3% of fecal samples. Pond sediment was found in 74% of the samples, probably incidentally ingested while foraging (by oral dredging) for the gastropods. The distribution and abundance of arthropods and molluscs within the terrapins’ brackish-water environment were assessed in three different habitats; pond benthos, mangrove swamp, and grass-dominated marsh. These indicated that Bermuda’s terrapins do not fully exploit the food resources present. On Bermuda M. terrapin is basically a specialist microphagous molluscivore and mainly forages by deposit-feeding on gastropods living in soft sediments. This dietary restriction has made them particularly vulnerable to environmental contamination. | en |
| dc.description.status | Peer reviewed | en |
| dc.description.version | Published Version | en |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | en |
| dc.identifier.articleid | e134 | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Outerbridge, M. E., O'Riordan, R., Quirke, T. and Davenport, J. (2017) 'Restricted diet in a vulnerable native turtle, Malaclemys terrapin (Schoepff), on the oceanic islands of Bermuda', Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, 11(1), pp. 25-35. | en |
| dc.identifier.endpage | 35 | en |
| dc.identifier.issn | 1083-446X | |
| dc.identifier.issued | 1 | en |
| dc.identifier.journaltitle | Amphibian & Reptile Conservation | en |
| dc.identifier.startpage | 25 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10468/3755 | |
| dc.identifier.volume | 11 | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | Amphibian & Reptile Conservation | en |
| dc.relation.uri | http://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/issues.html | |
| dc.rights | © 2017, the Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use for non-commercial and education purposes only, in any medium, provided the original author and the official and authorized publication sources are recognized and properly credited. The official and authorized publication credit sources, which will be duly enforced, are as follows: official journal title Amphibian & Reptile Conservation; official journal website <amphibianreptile-conservation.org>. | en |
| dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ | en |
| dc.subject | Anchialine pond | en |
| dc.subject | Diamondback Terrapin | en |
| dc.subject | Fecal analysis | en |
| dc.subject | Feeding ecology | en |
| dc.subject | Aquatic gastropod | en |
| dc.title | Restricted diet in a vulnerable native turtle, Malaclemys terrapin (Schoepff), on the oceanic islands of Bermuda | en |
| dc.type | Article (peer-reviewed) | en |
