Turtles Are Not Just Walking Stones: Conspicuous Coloration and Sexual Selection in Freshwater Turtles

Brejcha, Jindřich; Kleisner, Karel

doi:10.1007/s12304-015-9249-9

Cited by 13 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…With the exception of that study, the other studies, which found male‐biased dispersal, were all conducted in saltwater turtles or fully terrestrial turtles, not freshwater turtles like C. guttata ; two of these studies were in species in the same family as C. guttata , family Emydidae (Moore et al, 2020; Sheridan et al, 2010). However, in many reptile species, including turtles, males also have evolved, via sexual selection, larger size or more or brighter coloration compared to the females as a result of greater intensity of male–male interactions (reviewed in Brejcha & Kleisner, 2016). Unlike all the other reptile species tested for sex‐biased dispersal, C. guttata is unique because it exhibits sexual dimorphism in which the female has brighter coloration – not males, while males and females are of similar size (Figure 1; Ernst & Lovich, 2009; Rowe et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

(Not) far from home: No sex bias in dispersal, but limited genetic patch size, in an endangered species, the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Liebgold

Dickey

Lamb

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Sex‐biased dispersal is common in many animals, with male‐biased dispersal often found in studies of mammals and reptiles, including interpretations of spatial genetic structure, ostensibly as a result of male–male competition and a lack of male parental care. Few studies of sex‐biased dispersal have been conducted in turtles, but a handful of studies, in saltwater turtles and in terrestrial turtles, have detected male‐biased dispersal as expected. We tested for sex‐biased dispersal in the endangered freshwater turtle, the spotted turtle ( Clemmys guttata ) by investigating fine‐scale genetic spatial structure of males and females. We found significant spatial genetic structure in both sexes, but the patterns mimicked each other. Both males and females typically had higher than expected relatedness at distances <25 km, and in many distance classes greater than 25 km, less than expected relatedness. Similar patterns were apparent whether we used only loci in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium ( n = 7) or also included loci with potential null alleles ( n = 5). We conclude that, contrary to expectations, sex‐biased dispersal is not occurring in this species, possibly related to the reverse sexual dimorphism in this species, with females having brighter colors. We did, however, detect significant spatial genetic structure in males and females, separate and combined, showing philopatry within a genetic patch size of <25 km in C. guttata , which is concerning for an endangered species whose populations are often separated by distances greater than the genetic patch size.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

(Not) far from home: No sex bias in dispersal, but limited genetic patch size, in an endangered species, the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Liebgold

Dickey

Lamb

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The turtle with the most escape behavior and social affiliative behavior (Psp1M) was a very brightly colored turtle, indicative of good health, and nutritional status (Steffen et al, 2019) and possibly stronger drive to seek mates. On days with new enrichment, Psp1M displayed significantly less escape behavior, while Psc3M displayed significantly more escape behavior, possibly associated with its higher level of interest in the colored objects than other turtles, and Trs3M and Trt1M were significantly more aggressive, suggesting food‐related, or color‐induced sexual motivation (Brejcha & Kleisner, 2016), as both showed more interest in red and yellow objects (Thomson, unpublished observations). T. scripta are environmentally aggressive turtles, who threaten and bite during competition for food (Polo‐Cavia et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can colored object enrichment reduce the escape behavior of captive freshwater turtles?

2021

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The effect of environmental enrichment on the behavior and welfare in captivity of reptiles and of freshwater turtles in particular, which are popular aquarium and pet species, is very little studied compared to other taxa. We carried out a small scale case‐study on the effect of colored object enrichment, with and without fish scent, on the behavior of a group of 15 cooters (Pseudemys sp.) and sliders (Trachemys scripta ssp.) on display at a public aquarium. The new enrichment aimed to reduce the escape behavior (interaction with transparent boundaries) and increase exploration and random swimming. We used simultaneous recording of behavior at whole group level and for focal individually‐marked turtles. The escape behavior decreased on days with new enrichment before feeding at whole group level and for the focal turtles overall, in spite of the relatively low interest in the colored objects. Fish‐scented objects attracted significantly more interest. Random swimming, enrichment focus, aggression and submission increased significantly, and basking decreased significantly at whole group level before feeding, with smaller differences after feeding. There were large differences between individual turtles with respect to activity budgets and changes in behavior on days with new enrichment, with both increases and decreases seen in escape behavior, aggression, and levels of activity. Our outcomes suggested that introducing new colored objects with food scent may be beneficial for reducing escape behavior in captive freshwater turtles. However, careful monitoring of effects at individual level and much larger scale investigations, including postenrichment periods, are needed.

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“…Table 4 relates the contribution of each stance to the proper understanding of some evolutionary mechanisms. In psychology, the anti-teleology approach concerns the black box approach of early behaviorism and classical ethology by denying mentalistic terms, but also leads to denial of emotions, cognition, self-awareness and consciousness to other animals ( Panksepp and Biven, 2012 ; Brejcha and Kleisner, 2016 ). According to Pinker (2007) ,…”

Section: Reuse Of the Three Anthropomorphic Tendencies In Understandimentioning

confidence: 99%

The Biology and Evolution of the Three Psychological Tendencies to Anthropomorphize Biology and Evolution

Varella

2018

Front. Psychol.

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At the core of anthropomorphism lies a false positive cognitive bias to over-attribute the pattern of the human body and/or mind. Anthropomorphism is independently discussed in various disciplines, is presumed to have deep biological roots, but its cognitive bases are rarely explored in an integrative way. Conversely, I present an inclusive, multifaceted interdisciplinary approach to refine the psychological bases of mental anthropomorphism. I have integrated 13 conceptual dissections of folk finalistic reasoning into four psychological inference systems (physical, design, basic-goal, and belief stances); the latter three are truly teleological and thus prone to anthropomorphisms. I then have integrated the genetic, neural, cognitive, psychiatric, developmental, comparative and evolutionary/adaptive empirical evidence that converges to support the nature of the distinct stances. The over-reactive calibration of the three teleological systems prone to anthropomorphisms is framed as an evolved design feature to avoid harmful ancestral contexts. Nowadays, these stances easily engage with scientific reasoning about bio-evolutionary matters with both negative and positive consequences. Design, basic-goal, and belief stances benefit biology by providing cognitive foundations, expressing a high-powered explanatory system, promoting functional generalization, fostering new research questions and discoveries, enabling metaphorical/analogical thinking and explaining didactically with brevity. Hence, it is neither feasible nor advantageous to completely eliminate teleology from biology. Instead, we should engage with the eight classes of problems in bio-philosophy and bio-education that relate to the three stances: types of anthropomorphism, variety of misunderstandings, misleading appeal, legitimacy controversy, gateway to mysticism, total prohibition and its backfire effect. Recognizing the distinction among design, basic-goal, and belief stances helps to elucidate much of the logic underlying these issues, so that it enables a much more detailed taxonomy of anthropomorphisms, and organizes the various misunderstandings about evolution by natural selection. It also offers a solid psychological grounding for anchoring definitions and terminology. This tripartite framework also shed some light on how to better deal with the over-reactive stances in bio-education, by organizing previous pedagogical strategies and by suggesting new possibilities to be tested. Therefore, this framework constitutes a promising approach to advance the debate regarding the psychological underpinnings of anthropomorphisms and to further support regulating and clarifying teleology and anthropomorphism in biology.

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Turtles Are Not Just Walking Stones: Conspicuous Coloration and Sexual Selection in Freshwater Turtles

Cited by 13 publications

References 111 publications

(Not) far from home: No sex bias in dispersal, but limited genetic patch size, in an endangered species, the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

(Not) far from home: No sex bias in dispersal, but limited genetic patch size, in an endangered species, the Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Can colored object enrichment reduce the escape behavior of captive freshwater turtles?

The Biology and Evolution of the Three Psychological Tendencies to Anthropomorphize Biology and Evolution

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